Democracy in the "Age of Jackson"

Major Themes 

Development of the second American party system 

Whigs and Democrats

Rising secontailsim- Identifying by region (South, North, West)

“Jaclsonian Democracy,” Populism 

Pros? Cons? 

What is Jackson’s Legacy? 

Jackson Story Deals with

Market Revolution, Western Expansion, Expansion

Voting in the 1830s and 40s

Still, only white men

Only campaigning, like the Hard Cider Campaign

Elimination of property requirements

By 1860, only one state still had property requirement

Populism

“a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups”

For “the people,” the common man the ignored

From an elite perspective for the riff raff

Cast of Characters

John Quincy Adams- Massachusestts

Henry Clay- Kentucky

John Calhoun-

Martin Van Buren

Henry Clays’s “American System” 

Proposed by the President. Madison, 1815

Major Points 

• New National Bank 

• Tariffs on imports 

• Federal financing for internal improvements 

• Critics- “strict constitutionalists” 

• Madison backs off on internal improvement 

• Other 2 parts do go through 

Land Fever

After the War of 1812

• Land prices shot up

Scramble for land

• These are “regular” people who don’t have banks/credit

States Charter More Banks

• Inflation

Banks 

No Bank of US 1811-1816

Banks printare ing more paper than they have specie in the vault 

Panic of 1819

The government attempts to help 

Sectional Reactions to Panic of 1819

West- wants funding for internal improvements

North- wants substitutes for manufacuring

south- wants expansion of slavery to contunie financial prosperity

Election of 1824: the corrupt bargain

John Quincy Adams,

Henry Clay,

Andrew Jackson,

William Crawford

New Party 

Jackson supports a rally for the election of 1828 

Van Buren- Parties are good! 

Establishes Democrats 

1828- Jackson V Adams 

Party Time

Politics Basically entertainment at this point

Politicians=Heroes

Party “Machines”

Spoils system

Democrats 

Reaction to Market Revoluton

• Concern about “non producures” 

• Dont want gov. favorstism 

• Farmers, Working people, Asiring Entrepunures 

Public Vs. Private Freedoms

• Liberty protected national Dislike centralized national power 

• “Fanatics in Freedom” 

• No gov. “meddling” in moral issues 

Whigs

Reaction to Market Revolution

Nullification Crisis 

Tariff of 1828 

• Tariff of Abomination

Sc is like “Fine, we’ll just nullify this law.” 

Another tax in 1832. SC- “This one is null too.” 

• Jackson- Force Axt 

• Calhoun Deescalates 

Indian removal

Expanding cotton kingdom = need for more land

No more assimilation

Indian Removal Act of 1830

• Indians Use the Courts

• Forcible Removal- “Trails of Tears”

• Uprooted “Five Civilized Tribes”

The Bank of War

1820’s Leader of BofUS “My national banks can crush state banks if nessary”

Democrats- “Yeah…that’s not good”

1832- Propsal in Congress to expand Bank’s charter by 20 yrs

Jaclson sees