Chapter 13 Notes: The Rise of Mass Democracy

The Corrupt Bargain of 1824

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As the Era of Good Feelings ended politics shifted to the common man
o Was actually the just white men but now you could vote without land
In the election of 1824
o Four candidates
Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, William Crawford and John Q.
Adams
Henry Clay saw himself as a national figure even if he
wasnt the favorite
o Author of American System
All four considered themselves Republicans
o Jackson got the most popular and electoral votes but not majority in
Electoral College
Adams came in second, Crawford fourth in popular and Clay 4 th
in electoral vote
o 12th Amendment says the top three electoral vote winners would be
voted for at House of Reps
Clay eliminated but he was Speaker of the House
Had lots of influence
Threw support behind John Q. Adams to become president
Clay was put on as Secretary of State
Jacksonians were not happy and thought it was corrupt
o Said Jackson was the peoples choice
Flawed their reputations

A Yankee Misfit in the White House

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Adams commanded respect but not great popularity

o Didnt have much of a peoples touch
Only removed 12 public servants from the government
o He refused to kick people out just to replace them with people who
were his own supporters
Urged Congress to build a transportation system, national university and
astronomical observatory
o Southerners didnt agree because they didnt want to pay tariffs
Tried to stop the over-speculation of land which angered the Westerners
Tried to deal fairly with the Cherokee Indians
o State of Georgia resisted federal attempts to help the Indians

Going Whole Hog for Jackson in 1828

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People behind Jackson long before the 1828 elections

o Said that the Adams-Clay situation was completely corrupt
o Turned the public against Adams
Adam refused to insult Jackson but his supporters caught on fast
o Called Jackson an adulterer and his mother a prostitute

Old Hickory as President

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Andrew Jackson was a personification of the west

o Had battled diseases, bullets, was tough and a folk hero
o Born of the Carolinas, orphaned and was in cockfighting as a kid
Wasnt good at reading and writing
o A judge and congressman in Tennessee
Was able to make a connection with people
His temper tended to be a bit hot though
Ended up as a Western aristocrat with slaves and land
o Was an anti-federalist
o Believed that federal gov was for the privileged and educated
o Still believed in Western democracy though
Used fear and respect to rule
o Sometimes ignored the Supreme Court, used veto 12 times
o Allowed commoners to come into the White House for inaugurations
Caused chaos and wrecked things
Conservatives shamed Jackson as the King Mob

The Spoils System

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The system rewarded supporters with good positions in public offices

o Jackson thought loyalty, young blood and sharp eyes were very
important
Went to work taking out the old and bringing in the new
Only 1/5 of men were actually went home
These people didnt have an easy time with it
o Denied many people to contribute to the country
Samuel Swartwout put in high position of collector of customs of
poet of New York
Years later fled to England taking nearly a million dollars
with him
o Had been built up by gifts from expectant party members
System took a hold that took more than 50 years to break

The Tricky Tariff of Abominations

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1824 Congress increases general tariffs from 23% to 37%

The Tariff of 1828 schemed to make duties as high as 45% (Jacksonians came
up with plan)
o Also impose high tariffs on raw materials
Wanted New England to veto it to give Adams another political
stab
o New Englanders ended up passing the law
Southerners were furious and named it the Tariff of
Abominations
Denmark Vesey, a free Black, led a slave rebellion in Charleston
o Raised fears of the Southerners and tightened their control over slaves
Southerners start to complain

The least expanding section of U.S. with land growing scarce and
cotton prices falling
Sold their cotton without tariffs while buying goods with tariffs
U.S. starts to buy less British products and helped the Northeast and
South
John C. Calhoun upset by tariffs and writes The South Carolina
Expostition
Called for nullification of the tariffs
South Carolina only one who threated nullification
o Jackson just elected and sympathized with the
South

Nullies in South Carolina

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South Carolina attempted to get the 2/3 vote to nullify Tariff of 1828
o Unionists blocked them from doing so
Congress passed the Tariff of 1832
o Lowered the tariff down to 35%
o Many Southerners still abhorred it
Elections of 1832 the Nullies came out with 2/3 over the Unionists
o Decared the Tariff of 1832 to be void in S.C. borders
o Threatened secession from the Union
o Jackson made a proclamation against S.C. which was rebutted by
governor Hayne
Made it look like a civil war was looming over their heads
o Clay proposes a comprmise to keep S.C. from getting crushed and
Jackson getting more support
Over a period of 8 years the tariff would slowly reduce by 10%
Tariff of 1833 barley made it through Congress
o Congress passed the Force bill
Authorized president to use force if necessary to collect tariffs
No other state had supported South Carolina so they repealed
the nullification

The Trail of Tears

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As states emerged as the population grew, Indians were stranded

o Many times the Indians were tricked into giving over land
o Many tried to Christianize them
Society for Propagating the Gospel Among Indians
Some Indians violently resisted but Cherokees tried to work with America
o Adopted agriculture, an alphabet, legal code and constitution
o Called the Five Civilized Tribes
Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws and Seminoles
In 1828 Congress said the Cherokee tribal council was illegal
o Asserted its own jurisdiction over all Indians lands
o Jackson refused to acknowledge when Indians won in Supreme Court
Jackson proposed that they be transferred west of the Mississippi

o
o
-

o
From
o

1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act to move them to

Oklahoma
Thousands of Indians died on this trip after being ripped from their land
and culture
Bureau of Indian Affairs established in 1836
1835 to 1842 the Seminoles waged guerrilla warfare against the U.S.
The leader Osceola was captured and it stopped the rebellion

The Bank War

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Andrew Jackson distrusted Bank of the United States

o Thought of it as a tool to make rich people get richer
o Gave out coin money but not paper money
Farmers wanted paper that caused inflation and the ability to
easily pay their debts
o Saw it as something to economically keep the common man down
Through money and a lot of debt
The Bank was led by Nicholas Biddle
o Harsh on the banks out west which made unstable money
Seemed autocratic and out of touch with America
o He used the money to bribe people (the press) and give to friends
o The bank was financially sound though and promoted economic
expansions
It was also a safe place for the gov. money
In 1832 Henry Clay rammed a bill of the re-chartering of the Bank
o Wanted to bring Jacksons popularity down
If signed, Jackson would alienate followers in West and South
If vetoed he would lose support of rich people in the East
But the west now had more power than the East
o Passed through Congress easy but Jackson condemned it as
unconstitutional
Amplified power of the president
Aligned the West against the East

Old Hickory Wallops Clay in 1832

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A new third party made its entrance into the scene

o Anti-Masonic order
Energized by a mysterious murder of someone who threatened
to expose secrets
Churches supported them because they were into religious
reform
Shared Jackson ideals but were against him since he was a
Mason
National Conventions were held for the first time to nominate candidates
o Clay had the money and so called support of the press
o But the poor people voted and wanted Jackson resulting in a win

Burying Biddles Bank

Jackson wanted to kill the Bank of the U.S.

o Withdrew federal funds to drain it of its wealth
o In reaction, Biddle began to call for unnecessary loans
In 1836 Jackson won and the Bank took its last breath
o Hard times fell on the West after that
o The Bank had been the only source of reliable credit since wildcat
banks unreliable

The Birth of the Whigs

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Modern two-party system of politics came to be

o Opponents of Jackson hated his iron fist
This collected into the Whig Party
United by the dislike of Jackson
o Whigs supported Henry Clay and the American System and internal
improvements

The Election of 1836

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Jackson was too old to run again but wanted Martin van Buren to follow him
Whigs became disorganized
o Tried to get a candidate from each section of the country so the
election would go to House of Reps
Then they could win there
Plan failed and van Buren won

Big Woes for the Little Magician

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Van Buren the first president to have been born in America

o Lacked support of the Democrats and Jacksons popularity
He inherited the depression caused by Jackson killing the Bank
o 1837 a rebellion in Canada sprang up
o Threatened to plunge America into war

Depression Doldrums and the Independent Treasury

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Panic of 1837
o Caused by wildcat bank loans, over-speculation and that debts had to
be paid in gold or silver
o Failure of crops due to the Hessian fly
Caused two large British Banks to fail in 1836
o Hundreds of banks fell
Whigs wanted expansion of bank credit, higher tariffs and
internal improvements
Van Buren refused all of them
Van Buren proposed the Divorce Bill
o Independent treasury
Separate the bank from the gov and store money in larger cities
Passed in 1840

Gone to Texas
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Americans continued to want Texas

o In 1823 Mexico had gained independence from Spain
Stephen Austin made an agreement to bring 300 families into a
huge part of granted land
Had to become Mexican citizens, be Catholic and no slavery
These mostly ignored

The Lone Star Rebellion

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The Texans resented the foreign government and were led by Sam Houston
o 1830 Mexico freed its slaves and prohibited more
o 1833 Austin goes to Mexico City to clear things up and is jailed
1835 dictator Santa Anna raised an army to suppress the Texans
o Next year they declared their independence
o Slaughters at Alamo and Goliad
Made Texans rise up and wipe out Mexicans, Sam Houston and
take Santa Anna
o Treaty signed was later negated by Santa Anna
U.S. supported the Texans in their war
o Jackson hesitant to formally recognize Texas as an independent nation
Did it only when Van Buren was sure to be his successor
Many Texans wanted to become a part of the Union but there was a slavery
problem
o Ended with an uneasiness as the Texans were afraid of Santa Anna
coming back

Log Cabins and Hard Cider of 1840

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1840
o
o
o

William Harrison nominates

Issueless and enemyless
Only popular from Tippecanoe and the Battle of the Thames
A Democratic editor made him look like a lot of poor Westerners
Called him a poor old farmer with hard cider
Whigs advanced him because of this
Popular election was close but Van Buren blown away in Electoral College
o Protest of the hard times of the era

Politics for the People

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By the 1820s democracy was widely appealing

o Politicians bent to please the masses
o Those who were aristocratic were scorned
o People who came off as Western tough guys and Indian fighters were
popular
This time was called the New Democracy and was governed directly by the
people
o Based on universal whited manhood suffrage
o In 1791 Vermont 1st state to allow all white makes to vote

The Two-Party System

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Democrats absorbed the Federalist ideas so a two party system hadnt

emerged
The Democrats
o Glorified liberty of individual
o Mostly people that were poorer
o States rights and federal restraint
o Generally from the South and West
The Whigs
o Liked the value of community
o Berated leaders whose appeals fostered conflict among individuals
o Favored renewed national bank, tariffs, internal improvements, schools
and moral reform
o More aristocratic and wealthier
o Generally from the East
Both based on the people with catchall phrases for popularity