Chapter 10: The Jacksonian Era

Second Great Awakening

Series of religious revivals in the first half of the nineteenth century characterized by great emotionalism in large public meetings.
Evangelical sects of Methodists and Baptists

Democratic Party (The Jacksonian Democrats)

The political party formed in the 1820's under the leadership of Andrew Jackson; favored states' rights and a limited role of the federal government.
Officials should act according to the demands of the public
No appointments
Federal jobs required no expertise

Albany Regency

The tightly disciplined state political machine built by Martin Van Buren in New York.
New York switched to Jacksonian Democracy

Bank War

The political struggle between President Andrew Jackson and the supporters of the Second Bank of the United States.
Centerpiece of Jackson's presidency
Westerners and Jackson distrust bank and bank notes
Want to be paid in "real cash"

Nullification Crisis

Sectional crisis in the early 1830's in which a states' rights party in South Carolina attempted to nullify federal law.

Spoils System

The awarding of governmental jobs to party loyalists.

Indian Removal Act

President Andrew Jackson's measure that allowed state officials to override federal protection of Native Americans.
125,000 Natives lived east of the Mississippi
5 Indian confederations: Cherokee, Choctaws, Creeks, Chickasaws, and the Seminoles
-They controlled millions of acres of land

Trail of Tears (1838)

The forced march in 1838 of the Cherokees from their homelands in Georgia to the Western Indian Territory.
Private groups hired to round up the Indians
1/4 of them died en-rout to Oklahoma

Black Hawk's War (1832)

Short 1832 war in which federal troops and Illinois militia units defeated the Sauk and the Fox Indians led by Black Hawk.
Indians of Illinois and Wisconsin
Slaughter 500 Indians

Whig Party

The political party, formed in the mid 1830's in opposition to the Jacksonian Democrats, that favored a strong role for the national government for promoting economic growth.

Specie Circular (1836)

Proclamation issued by President Andrew Jackson in 1836 stipulating that only gold or silver could be used as payment for public land.
Large blocks of land could be bought with specie
Required specie to be sent West when the East needed it the most

Independent Treasury System

Fiscal arrangement first instituted by President Martin Van Buren in which the federal government kept its money in regional vaults and transacted its business in hard cash.
Whigs blame the Democrats for the economic breakdown.
Van Buren trying to save the Democrats
Governments would dispense with banks entirely
Treasury conducts business with only gold and silver coins
Specie stored in regional vaults and subtreasuries
The result: reduction in money supply and downward turn on prices

Gag Rule

A procedural device whereby antislavery petitions were automatically tabled in Congress with no discussion.

Second Party System

The national two-party competition between Democrats and Whigs from the 1830's through the early 1850's.

Anti-Masons (1827)

Third party formed in 1827 in opposition to the presumed power and influence of the Masonic order.
Originated in New York in the 1820's
All males
United urban and small town elites
Brotherhood of protection and contacts
Eventually join the Whigs

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)

The treaty signed by the United States and Great Britain in 1842 that settled a boundary dispute between Maine and Canada.

Voting Rights in the late 1820's

Individual states decide on their own rights
Not all new states require white males to own property
IN, MS, IL, AL, MO, and ME in 1816-1821
CT, MA, and NY in 1821
End of the 1820's everywhere except RI, VA, and LA

New Jersey's Constitution 1807
-simple tax paying qualification to vote
-denied the rights of women and free blacks

Andrew Jackson

No formal education/family connections
No inherited wealth
Witty and courageous
Frontier lawyer and Tennessee planter
Military hero in the War of 1812
Very popular in the South
Scared people
Killed a guy
Involved in many duels

The presidency:
-tolerated no interference from anybody
-no program in 1828
-2 major political struggles
-The Bank War and the Nullification Crisis

Election of 1824

Jackson loses
John Quincy Adams won after Henry Clay gave his support to Adams, securing his Presidency. When Adams appointed Clay as his secretary of state, Jackson's supporters raged that a corrupt bargain had cheated Jackson of presidency.

Cherokees

1828-Georgia moves against the Cherokees
Georgia claims the land is theirs

Force Act

Jackson's response to South Carolina's nullification of the Tariff of 1832; enabled him to make South Carolina comply through force; Henry Clay reworked the tariff so that South Carolina would accept it, but after accepting it, South Carolina also nullified the Force Act

Panic of 1837

Right after Jackson leaves
Van Buren is barely in the White House
Americans pile up in debt
British demand for cotton falls and the prices for it fall
Panicked investors rush to the banks to regain their money
Hits New Orleans in 1837, next hits New York
Bankruptcies multiply
States slash budgets
20% unemployment rate

Martin Van Buren

Walks straight into the panic of 1837
New President- Democrat
Was more cautious than Jackson
Indecisive
Biggest issue-The radical abolitionist movement in the North
Attacked in the North for supporting slave interests and the South for not owning any slaves

William Lloyd Garrison

Published the abolitionist paper, The Liberator
emancipation starts now
Inspired by the wave of religious revivals

Election of 1836

Van Buren wins

Pakenham

Pakenham letters
Richard Pakenham- British minister in Washington
Writes to Calhoun, the Secretary of State
Claims British seeking to force emancipation

John Tyler

elected Vice President and became the 10th President of the United States when Harrison died (1790-1862)

Salary Act of 1816

Congress gives itself a raise
Citizens of Saratoga, New York, are angry
70% of Congress members are out for the next election
Congress repeals the salary increase

Election of 1828

Centered on personalities not issues
Jackson wins

Clay vs. Jackson

Clay thinks he has control over Jackson and can make him recharter the bank.
If Jackson goes along with the charter, Clay gets the credit
Clay's plan backfires
July 10th, 1832, Jackson vetoes the recharter

Election of 1832

Jackson wins against Clay's Republicans party