Jacksonian Democracy

Jacksonian Democracy The Rise of a Democratic Society In America there an egalitarian sense to the American atmosphere because men and women ate together and everybody often wore the same clothes. o There was an equality of opportunity and allow for a man from humble origins to rise up to greatness, essentially a "self-made man." (No equal opportunities for women.) o Politics of the Common Man  Political power transitioned form wealthy southern planters and northern merchants to middle and lower-class homes. Universal Male Suffrage Newly admitted western states such as Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri allowed for universal male suffrage which was soon adopted by every other state. (White men could vote without owning property or on the basis of religion.) o Universal white male suffrage increased the voting output dramatically in the United States. o Party Nominating Conventions Candidates for ofÏce were nominated by a King Caucus, a closed meeting of party leaders in Congress. Caucuses didn’t allow for common citizens to participate. o Eventually, caucuses were replaced by nominating conventions where party politicians and voters would gather in large meeting halls to nominate a candidate, this allowed more common citizens to participate. o Popular Election of the President o Every other state other than South Carolina used the Party Nominating Conventions to allow common voters to choose a state's presidential electors. Two-party System o Due to more people voting due to expanded voting rights candidates needed large political parties leading to the two-party system. Rise of Third Parties o New parties emerged to appeal to the new voting masses or people who had shown little intrest in politics. More Elected OfÏces o A larger number of state and local ofÏcials were being elected instead of being appointed to ofÏce because more common men could vote. Popular Campaigning o Candidates directed their campaigns to the intrest of the common man to acquire their vote because a tremendous amount of more men could vote. Spoils System and Rotation of OfÏceholders o Upon winning Jackson exclusively observed the spoils systems, a system in which a winner of an election would give government jobs to supporters. Jackson's use of the spoils systems created a cabinet and a national government that was tremendously loyal to Jackson's ideals. o Jackson also gave each person he appointed one term so he could place another Democratic-Republican in the same ofÏce. (Strengthened the belief of the commonman.) o Jackson Versus Adams  In the election of 1824, Jackson won more popular and electoral votes than any other candidate but ended up losing the election. The Election of 1824   Four Democratic-Republican candidates campaigned for presidency, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, William Crawford, and Andrew Jackson. Although Jackson won the popular vote, he lacked majority in the electoral college, and the decision went to the house, in which Henry Clay used his influence for Adams. Therefore, Adams became president and Henry Clay his secretary of state. ("corrupt bargain.") President John Quincy Adams   John Adams asked money for internal infrastructures such as a university and astronomical observatory, which angered Jackson's fallowers, Democratic-Republicans who believed such actions violated the consitution. Adams passed a tariff that satisfied northern planters but alienated southern planters, known as the "tariff of abominations." The Revolution of 1828  Adams seeking reelection of 1828 failed because Jacksonians used the discontent of the southern planters and westerners to win the election for Jackson. The Presidency of Andrew Jackson  Jackson became a symbol of and for the common man by coming form humble origins in the frontier to being a hero of the war of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans, and a wealthy planters in the south. Presidential Power Jackson opposed spending federal funds on internal improvements and the national debt such as blocking the construction of the Maysville Road. o Jackson interpreted the powers of Congress narrowly and therefore vetoed more bills than every other presidents combined. o Jackson closest advisors were called the "kitchen cabinet", which was different from his actual cabinet and therefore his presidential cabinet had less influence on policy. o Peggy Eaton Affair o Jackson forced the cabinet wives to respect the recently widowed wife of the secretary of state Peggy Eaton socially leading most of the cabinet including his VP to resign. Eventually, Martin Van Buren to become the new vice president. Indian Removal Act (1830) Jackson agreed with the land-hungry citizens and decided to move the Indians to the west of the Mississippi, and thus passed the Indian Removal Act. (Most eastern tribes decided to move, and most politicians supported the act.) o Georgia and other states to require Indians to move west so the Indians went to court, the Supreme Court in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia were not a foreign nation so any state and federal law applied. o In Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that Indian lands were a foreign nation and thus the laws of Georgia had no effect. Jackson ignored the ruling and decided to remove them anyway. o Trail of Tears o The U.S Army forced 15000 Cherokee to leave Georgia, which caused the death of 4,000 Indians in an event known as the "trail of tears." Nullification Crisis South Carolina legislature declared the tariff of 1828 to be unconstitutional, leading to afÏrming John C. Calhoun theory of nullification which declared that a state had a right to nullify a federal law. o In 1832, Calhoun held a convention to nullify the tariff of 1828 and tariff of 1832 to wit the convention passed a resolution preventing any new federal tariff within Carolina. As a result, Jackson mobilized federal troops to stop the treason. o Jackson, Calhoun, and South Carolina compromised postponing nullification and creating a new tariff with lower rates. (Jackson defense of federal power forced militant advocates of states' rights to retreat.) o Bank Veto o Jackson belived that the bank abused its powers and served the intrest of only the wealthy, not to mention he belived the bank was unconsitutional leading Jackson to veto a bank-recharter bill. Two-Party System  The people who supported Jackson were known as Democrats (supported Jeffersonian values) and Henry Clay's supporters were known as the Whigs (resembled Federalist parties). Jackson's Second Term  (After winning the second election Jackson moved to destroy the Bank of the United States.) Pet Banks o Jackson withdrew all federal funds and placed them in various state banks. Species Circular The prices for land and various goods became heavily inflated, to fix the inflation Jackson passed the Species Circular which required all future purchases of land to be paid in gold and silver instead of banknotes. o Banknotes lost their values and land sales went down severely leading to the Panic of 1837. o The Election of 1836  The Whigs decided to nominate candidates from three regions to throw the election into the house, their strategy failed leading Jackson loyal vice president Martin Van Buren to become president. President Van Buren and the Panic of 1837  The country suffered a economic depression and panic called the Panic of 1837 due to Jackson's failure to recharter the national bank. The "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" Campaign of 1840   The Whigs were a stronger national force then Democrats after the Panic of 1837, and campaigned for another hero of the War of 1812, William Henry Harrison. (They placed a log cabin on wheels to symbolize Harrison's humble origins and passed out hard cider.) William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia and John Tyler became president. Tyler was not much of a Whig as he vetoed the national bank, sided with state rights' laws, and favored southern expansion.