Unit 4 Terms - Part 1

Spoils System

First used by Jackson, this is when a government official awards jobs to friends and supporters, instead of basing job selection on ability. As a result, many unqualified people were (and still are) filling important governing positions. Jackson named some of his best buddies and loyal supporters to fill high government positions using this.

Bucktails

It was a political faction formed in 1819 by the New Yorker Martin Van Buren. They were a party formed of average Americans, and were angered by the actions of rich aristocrats in the government (especially DeWitt Clinton, the governor of New York).

Jackson's Inauguration

Jackson took the unusual step of inviting the public to the White House to celebrate his Inauguration on March 4, 1829. Unfortunately, alcohol was served, and the people became a drunken mob. Thousands of dollars in damages, including broken china and broken windows, were done. The mob was only dispersed when the punch bowls were brought outside on the lawn!

Westward expansion, effect on suffrage

When all the new states during the 1810s and 1820s were being set up, they extended the right to vote to all white men over the age of 21. This caused the older states to follow their example, and many of the original states extended the right to vote to all white men. The amount of men who could vote tripled during the 1820s.

Election of 1828

A rematch between Jackson and the Democrats vs. Adams and the new, but very short-lived, National Republican Party. Andrew Jackson won in a landslide. This campaign was characterized by personal attacks, and didn't focus much on the issues. Jackson's victory was called a "revolution" because it seemed to represent the victory of the common man (Jackson) over the rich aristocrats (Adams).

King Mob

Adams' supporters sneered at the events at the Inauguration, saying that Jackson was the leader of drunken rabble. They gave him this nickname to symbolize their disgust with the "common man."

John C. Calhoun

A Senator from South Carolina, he was a War Hawk and nationalist during the War of 1812, but gradually became an advocate for states' rights, nullification, and slavery. He served as Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Vice-President, and was a member of both the House and Senate during his long career. He was one of the "Immortal Trio," including Clay and Webster, who were named among the five greatest senators in US history in 1957. Unfortunately, his passionate defense of slavery had a lot to do with convincing South Carolinians to secede from the Union ten years after his death. He also wrote (anonymously), while he was Jackson's VP, The South Carolina Exposition and Protest, which argued in favor of nullification (the right of a state to cancel a federal law it doesn't like).

Daniel Webster

He was a politician from Massachusetts. He was very similar to Alexander Hamilton in that he wanted a strong national government, high protective tariffs for manufacturing, internal improvements paid by the federal government, and a national bank. In other words, he supported the American System! He is most famous for the Webster-Hayne debate in 1830, which was where he vigorously defended the federal government against states' rights. That speech is still known as the greatest speech in American history. He also served twice as Secretary of State and served in both the House and Senate.

Henry Clay

He was from Kentucky and represented the West. He was charming, witty, and always eager to forge political compromises, and was known as the "Great Compromiser." He was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1811 to 1825 and later served in the Senate. He promoted the American System, which looked to improve national roads, canals, and railroads, and add protective tariffs and a national bank. He became the Secretary of State when J. Q. Adams became president, part of what some people consider the "corrupt bargain."

Martin Van Buren

He was the only person in Jackson's Cabinet who didn't have a wife and therefore didn't have a problem with Peggy Eaton (see #17). While the wives of the other Cabinet members were causing social problems within the Cabinet, nothing important could get done. He was also part of the group called the Kitchen Cabinet (see #18). He served as Jackson's Secretary of State, and then as his VP. He became President in 1837.

Jackson, common man?

Jackson was not a common man. He was a war hero, a rich slave owner, lived in a huge mansion, and had an undemocratic personality. He ran as a regular guy to get votes, much like some politicians do today. Jackson was the first candidate to respond to the ways that the extension in suffrage to more "regular Joes" changed politics. For some reason, Americans have often been attracted to hard cider-drinking good old boys, and Jackson was a great example of that.

Peggy Eaton

She was the beautiful wife of Secretary of War, John Eaton; allegedly she was unfaithful to her former husband (which may have caused him to commit suicide) and had been John Eaton's mistress before they married. The other Cabinet wives didn't accept her because of this accusation, and that caused problems within the Cabinet. Jackson, still angered by the accusations of bigamy leveled at his wife (who died of a broken heart!), defended her. But, he was unsuccessful. The women snubbed poor _____. The meanest witch of all of them was Mrs. Calhoun. She made Jackson so angry that he transferred his favor of John C. Calhoun, his vice-president, to Martin Van Buren, his Secretary of State. Van Buren, a widower, had been nice to her! Calhoun soon resigned from the vice-presidency (after this and the Jefferson Day Dinner - see #37). Some historians say that the _____ _____ Affair caused Jackson to elevate Van Buren to the vice-presidency and then to the presidency. Jackson dismissed almost all of his Cabinet and relied instead on the "Kitchen Cabinet." The _____ _____ Affair is sometimes called the "Petticoat Affair."

Rachel Robards Jackson

She was the wife of Andrew Jackson. During the election of 1828, she was accused of having been married to two men at once (bigamy). Although this was a true accusation, her "crime" was a mistake. Her divorce files from her first marriage had not been processed by the time she married Jackson, so she wasn't truly unmarried at the time of their wedding. Her alleged bigamy and his rumored seduction of a married woman were the basis of frequent fist fights with opponents, and occasional duels. In 1806, for example, in response to an insult about his wife's character, Andrew Jackson fought a duel with attorney Charles Dickinson, who wounded him before being shot and killed by the future President. Rachel died less than two months after the 1828 campaign, supposedly due to a broken heart because the National Republicans were so mean! Jackson blamed the National Republicans and Adams for her death.

Election of 1824

The Democratic-Republican Party leadership chose William Crawford of Georgia as their nominee for president. However, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun decided not to accept the choice of the party leadership, and instead chose to run against Crawford. Calhoun dropped out early and ran as Jackson's VP. In the election, none of the candidates won a majority of the vote, so the election went to the House of Representatives. Clay and Crawford did poorly in the election, so the contest was between Adams and Jackson. Even though Andrew Jackson had the majority of the popular and electoral votes, Speaker of the House Henry Clay chose John Quincy Adams to be president. Some people think that a "corrupt bargain" was made between Adams and Henry Clay (who was the Speaker of the House at the time), because Adams chose Clay as Secretary of State afterwards. On the other hand, Clay and Adams both believed in the American System, while Jackson did not, so it is natural that Clay would support Adams.

Corrupt Bargain

The idea amongst many Jackson supporters after the 1824 election that John Quincy Adams made a deal with Henry Clay that if Adams were elected, he would choose Clay as Secretary of State. The truth is that Clay and Adams were much more close in their beliefs (both supported the American System) than Clay and Jackson, so Clay probably chose Adams because Adams believed in the same things. However, it did look pretty bad when Clay was named the Secretary of State immediately after the election was decided!

The Age of the Common Man

The name given to the time period when Jackson "ushered in a new era in American politics," after the election of 1828. Non-landowning white men gained political rights in the United States at this time.

Universal Suffrage

The right for all people to vote. This was not the case in the early 19th century, because only white men had the right to vote, not women or minorities.