Chapter 12 Social Studies Test Prep!e Jacksonian Era 1. A New Era in Politics 2. Jackson in the White House 3. A New Crisis
Section 1, A New Era in Politics Growing Spirit of Equality Many U.S. citizens gained suffrage, or voting rights in the 1820 s. Early on, U.S. voting rights were only available to white male land owners over the age of 21. Due to urbanization however, more and more landowners were moving to cities where they did not own property. This caused the percentage of voters to drop. By 1830, reformers, especially from the east worked to extend suffrage to people such as craftsworkers and shopkeepers. The Election of 1824 Candidates: All candidates running in the election of 1824 were form the Republican party. However, each candidate supported different parts of the country. John Quincy Adams was the son of the second U.S. president, John Quincy Adams. A graduate of Harvard Un. Adams was strong in New England and and had served as Secretary of State to help end the War of 1812. Adams was admired for his highmorals, but was uncomfortable campaigning for the common people, and most people saw him as cold. The other candidate, Jackson from the West, was well known for his military victories in the War of 1812. He was nicknamed Old Hickory after a soldier said he was tough as hickory, as well as the Hero of New Orleans for leading the battle of New Orleans. Clay of the west also ran. The Corrupt Bargain : No clear winner emerged form the election of 1824. Jackson won the popular vote, but neither Jackson nor Adams won by majority (more than half) of the electoral votes. The House of Representatives had to choose the President form among the top 3 candidates. Clay was voted out first, but gained position as Speaker of the House, and influenced the House to vote for Adams. After Adams was elected, Clay became his Secretary of State. Clay and Adams were later accused of making a corrupt bargain and stealing the election form Jackson. An Unpopular President Promoting Economic Growth: Knowing that American s were upset by the corrupt bargain, Adams tried to bring the country together by pushing a plan for economic growth and improvements. The plan backfired and citizens dislike for Adams grew. Like Hamilton and Clay, Adams thought the Fed. Government should promote economic growth. He pushed for internal improvements (canals, roads, transportation, bridges, etc.) to support farmers needing to ship goods, and projects to promote the sciences and and arts like a University and observatories. Fearing that these improvements would give the Fed. government too much power, citizens disliked the idea, and congress did not pass the plan (besides approving the national road and some canals). Campaign of 1828 Adams and Jackson faced a bitter campaign in 1828. Jackson, accused Adams of being an aristocrat (bossy rich man) who only worked well for the upper-class, and had allowed the corrupt bargain. Jackson won the election easily because he was a man of the people who was strong-willed and could get things done. New Political Parties In the 1830 s new political parties took shape. People who supported Adams and his programs for national growth called themselves National Republicans, also known as Whigs. Those who supported the Whigs included eastern business-people, some southern planter,s and many former Federalists. Jackson and his supporters called themselves Democrats (pretty much like todays Democrats). The Democratic party included frontier farmers, as well as workers in eastern cities.
Section 2 - Jackson in " White H#se A self made man of many qualities: Jackson was often admired because, like many citizens, he was born in a log cabin on the frontier. Born form immigrant parents who died when he was 15, Andrew Jackson had to grow up quickly. He was a lena and strong fighter who fought and was captured at age 13 in the Revolutionary War. After the war, he studied law in North Carolina, then moved to Tennessee to set up a successful law practice. By his 20 s Jackson had become wealthy from buying and selling land in Georgia, and was elected to Congress. Andrew was notorious for his defeats against the British in the War of 1812 in battles such as New Orleans, and the annihilation of the Creek Indians. Quick to lose his temper, and hard nosed, Jackson s hard and adventurous life helped him grow accustomed to dealing with enemies harshly. For example, his show-no-mercy attitude towards the Creek Indians, when he threatened to kill Creek leaders who did not give up their land. However, he was also admired for his abilities to lead others and being a man of his word. Often reffered to as a champion of the common people. The Spoils System: After taking office, Jackson fired many qualified government employees, as a way of responding to people s expectations of reform. This had happened before in other terms, but not on such a large scale. Andrew fired over 200 capable appointed employees. Jackson was criticized for rewarding his supporters with government jobs. The only truly qualified person of Jackson s cabinet was Martin Van Buren. This process of rewarding supporters with gov t jobs was called the spoils system. The Kitchen Cabinet: The kitchen cabinet was Jackson s unofficial panel of advisors who met in the White House kitchen. This showed that Jackson did not instill much faith in the people he had selected for his official cabinet. The Bank War: Jackson had long despised the Second National Bank, which had great power in controlling loans. The loan cutbacks not only angered JAckson, but farmers and merchants as well who relied on borrowing money to support themselves. Although the National Bank was a Federal institution, it was controlled by wealthy private bankers who used the bank to benefit from public funds, such as Nicholas Biddle, the head of the Nat l Bank. Jackson felt that the bank was run by only a handful of close-knit bankers who used the bank to their advantage and tried to influence certain members of congress. Worrying that jackson would shut down the bank, Biddle, and two Whig senators, Clay and Webster attempted to renew the Banks charter. The Whigs new how citizens loved the bank, and that if Jackson wanted to be reelected, he would pass the charter. The Whigs were shocked however when Jackson
Section 3 - A New C$s% A Crisis of Tariffs: The 1828 Tariff of Abominations was one of the most important tariffs ever passed in United States history. The tariff, passed just before Andrew Jackson s first term and protected northern industry from foreign competitors, was the highest tariff ever passed. Because Southern farmers exchanged goods with Europe, the tariff made importing European goods very expensive for the South, therefore the Tariff of Abominations created an uproar in the South, who challenged the law as unconstitutional. This uprising against the tax sparked a battle royale between John C. Calhoun, who claimed that states should have the right to nullify, or cancel a law that is considered unconstitutional and Daniel Webster who believed nullification would break apart the United States of America. As anger against the tariff increased in the south, the tariff was lowered. However, southerners were still mad, and passed the Nullification Act, saying a state should have the right to nullify a law if they believe it is unconstitutional. Jackson then proposed a lower tariff compromise, as well as the Force Bill, which allowed him to use millitary force to enforce laws. The Nullification Acts was ended, as well as the Nullification Crisis. Indian Removal: Legal Battles: While the Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole Indians of the southeast tried to live peacefully with their white neighbors, the white settlement of indian territory left the indian s lands stripped of resources. Jackson encouraged and forced indians to migrate to land set aside of the Mississippi river, where white settlers were not interested in colonizing. Indians did not think this was right, after they had been guaranteed their land for siding with Americans during the war of 1812. In 1828, Georgia claimed the right to make laws for the Cherokee tribe. The Cherokee s brought the case before the court (eventually made it s way to Surpeme court as the case of Worcester vs. Georgia) and pointed out the treaties that had been signed guaranteeing Cherokee land. John Marshall deemed Georgia s actions unconstitutional, and that the indians were protected by the U.S. Constitution. Jackson ignored the Courts decision encouraged Georgia to take authority of Cherokee lands. Forced to Leave: The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced thousands of indians, including 15,000 Cherokees, to move out to the unwanted lands beyond the Mississippi River. Seminole Resistance: to removal in Florida led to fighting with the U.S. Army in 1817. The war lasting form 1835-1842 was the costliest war waged with the government to gain Indian land. Indian Removal in the northwest: Further north, Indians tribes such as the Sauk and Fox tribes were being forced off their lands in Illinois by white settlers. Shortly after leaving, the tribes returned with Indian Leader Black Hawk to regain power of their land. The indians were however fought back by the U.S. Army, and retreated into Wisconsin.
Section 3 - A New C$s% (Cont d) Van Buren s Election: After Jackson left office, American elected Van Buren because he was intelligent, and clever. However, Van Buren lacked political instincts. The Panic of 1837: Because Van Buren was a firm believer in Laissez Faire, or the Federal Government taking as little role as possible in business affairs, he did not control the economy very well. As a result, only 2 months after taking office, the U.S. faced the worst economic crisis then known. This was called when the banks gave out loans without limit. The banks would give out loans without having enough gold and or silver to back the loans with. To gain more gold.silver to back the loans, the government ordered that property may only be paid with gold or silver, not cash. Speculators and business men rushed to banks to cash in their dollars for gold/silver. Many banks did not have enough gold/silver and went out of business. This formed an economic depression that lasted for 3 years. 90% of the nations factories were closed, and Van Buren became increasingly unpopular. The Election 0f 1840: The election of 1840 between Harrison and Van Buren was different in 2 purposes. First, mudslinging, or the use of insults to damage a opponents reputation came into play. Both parties used name-calling, half-truths, and lies to win votes. The second is that the Election of 1840 was the first election with real political strategy. Both parties really thought hard on how they could get voters. Candidate encouraged voters by using tours (log cabin tour), and slogans (Tippecanoe and Tyler too) as a form of campaigning.