Democracy in America

For Test #2

Democracy Viewed by the Elites

Remember Federalists!
Initial Views of Founding Fathers
Fear of Ochlocracy
Remembering Hamilton’s Fixation on an Executive Authority

“Democracy” in Political Campaigns

Political Tactics of Mobilizing the Masses
The View of the Presidency as Most Resembling Democratic Ideals
The Bill of Rights & Its Consequences - Active political dialogue & protests
-Republic & Democratic Republic
Individual vs. Collective - It is in the name

Sectional & National Divisions

North & South - Slavery vs. Abolition
East & West (to lesser extent) - Struggle for capital
Creation of Voting blocs around these policies
Electoral College & Population - “Disproportionate” influence? → Yes & No

Slave States & Free States

Missouri’s Statehood & the Slavery Question (1819)
-Missouri territory applied as a slave state
-James Tallmadge (R-NY) gives impassioned speech against ??????

Andrew Jackson’s Early Life (1767-1845)

Born in Carolinas, lived in TN
Irish Immigrant Parents - Became an orphan early on
Self-made Man Became Lawyer
Child Soldier of Revolutionary War
Both Brave & Fiery Attitude - Known for duels (2)
→ Avery Waightstill (1788); Avery County
→ Charles Dickinson (1806); Shot in heart

The Rise of Old Hickory/King Jackson

Battle of New Orleans in 1815
Conquest of Florida
-Illegal Invasion
-Spanish Florida a national irritant
→ The Negro Fort → Housing creek & Seminoles skirmishing the border
-The Seminole War of 1818 -Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819
Why Did Spain Surrender so Easily?
-Diplomacy -War Weariness

1824 Election

John Quincy Adams vs. Jackson (4-way Fight)
-Hotly contested -Jackson wins popular war
-Candidates do not have the required electoral count
-JQA uses his influence to win
→Where does leave Jackson? Without the position

Election of 1828

Same match-up
-Nasty campaign (what else is new?)
EZ claps for Jackson
Post-inaugral Party - Not a sophisticated soiree
-A party for the people -Had to flee back to the hotel
-Took week to clean house → Was looking to decorated anyway
Politicians Pushed out of Windows; free Booze Outside!
Birth of Democratic Party!

Andrew Jackson’s Leadership as President (1829-1837)

Commanded authority as if military (because he was a general)
Appointed FRIENDS into his cabinet -Spoils system (replaced in 1883); Policy of giving government jobs to his friends after winning the 1829 election. He wanted to clear out the wealthy ruling class and replace them with ordinary citizens loyal to his ideas.
Excluded the Washington Elite
Blunt & Action-oriented - Lacked subtlety & tactfulness

Nullification Crisis (1832-1833)

Jackson, a southerner, was expected to remove the “Tariff of Abominations” - Instead, he maintained it
-Slight tariff modifications were made in 1832
South feels neglected & vulnerable to Northern policies - Jackson’s own VP drafts “South Carolina’s Exposition & Protest” (argued that a state had the right to reject (nullify) any federal law it found unconstitutional)
→ Calhoun & the fragility of the union
South Carolina’s government nullifies tariff - Stick & carrot approach

Petticoat Affair

Washington Women Society - Elitist, snobbish, regulated, exclusive
John Eaton, Secretary of War, & Margaret O’ Neale - Humble background
-9 month widow
Washington Women Influence the Cabinet
Jackson Removes His Cabinet for Personal Politics - Sympathies for Eaton & Margaret

The Bank of US & Politics

Second Bank of US (BUS) in 1816
-Irresponsible & worsened Panic of 1819
-Loaned out without having metal reserves
-Refused to pay out or exchange precious metals
-Got it together in 1819
Why People are Skeptical About Central Bank
-Largely owned by private shareholders
-Foreign investment (Britain) - Personal animosity
-Private interest with federal powers

The Bank War

-President Jackson Vetoes a Renewal of the Bank of US Charter in 1832
-Strangling the Bank of US in 1833
-“Rich are too Powerful, too Often Bend the Acts of Government to Their Selfish Purposes”
-Jackson Attacks the Financial Elite
-Favored Local Banks

Assassination & the Censure of a President

-The English Immigrant Richard Lawrence - Delusions of Grandeur
-Henry Clay & the Senate Against the President
-Censure - A formal, public expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism

Andrew Jackson’s Regrets on his Deathbed

“I regret I was unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun"

Panic of 1837

• Lack of oversight only worsens the Panic of 1837

• Rapid foreign investment in local banks and ventures

  • Low interest rates in Britain

  • High interest rates in America

• Treasury Department requires purchase of land in metals

  • People pulled out metals instead

• Federal funding of banks remains the same as before, just expanding the number of banks

• Banks unable to redeem bank notes

• Depression lasts from 1839 to 1843

Putting on a Whig (1834-1856)

• Economic collapse encourages shift in government leadership

  • The Whigs come into the picture

• Political policy?

  • Momentary and brief movement that unites North and South 

• President William Henry Harrison and VP John Tyler

• The future of the Whigs and John Tyler’s policies

  • Party of nativists and fringe conspiracists.