US1H Unit 9: Jackson Era

Corrupt Bargain

• Election of 1824

• Henry Clay supported Adams and swayed house vote

• Adams won and appoined Clay as Secretary of State

• Appeared as if Adams bribed Clay with position of Sec. of State -> angers Jackson

Plurality

No candidate gets over 50% of the electoral college votes so the HOUSE decides between top 2 candidates

- Jackson lost 1824 election b/c of this (won electoral college but not House)

Who was JQA's VP?

John C. Calhoun

JQA as President

- Not popular, visions for gov DIVIDE country (Jackson-Calhoun action vs Adams-Clay)

- JQA was so gifted as Sec. of State that his skill set is no longer needed once he becomes pres.

- Pushes for INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS & TARIFFS (obv disliked by South)

Cumberland Road Project

aka National road, promoted commerce and travel b/w East & West

*Not sure that we need to know this for Quiz, just additional info!

Tariff of 1824

- Successful tariff that protected American manufacturers

- Benefited NE at expense of South and West

- Created more opposition

Tariff of Abominations (1828)

- Tariff with such high rates that it set off tension between northerners and southerners over tariff issues (aka Nullification Crisis)

- Hurt more than helping

- MASSIVE tariff, so big because of how many people got exceptions from it (?)

SC Exposition and Protest

- Written by Calhoun ("anonymously")

- Brings up NULLIFICATION (!!!!)

- Said that South would be impovershed by Tariff of Abominations and that it is the right of people of a state to reject a federal act, arguing that states had entered a CONTRACT with fed gov

*Please note that Calhoun is the literal VP while saying this....

Election of 1828

- Jackson wins easily, but very sectionally

- NASTY election that emphasized the person's character instead of the issues at hand

- Slander/Misinformation circulated -> Rachel (Jackson's wife) got targeted, called an adultress, has nervous breakdown, dies (Jackson is pissed, understandably)

Jacksonian Democracy

- Idea that the common people should control the government

- Did NOT support wealthy and was very AGAINST aristocrats

- Jackson believed that federal gov's power should be REDUCED yet was SUPREME over states

- Unlike JQA, put a bunch of supporters in office when replacing a bunch of federal officeholders (criticized for this too)

Era of Common Man

- Rugged and frontier in spirit (after all, Jackson's from TN)

- Idea of SELF-GOV (we'll leave u alone if you run things properly)

- Increase in education (due to new nominating system)

King Caucus -> Nominating System

Up until 1820, presidential candidates were nominated by caucuses of the two parties in Congress, but in 1824, this idea was overthrown by nominating system by popular vote instead

(Jackson considered caucus elections to be elitist and promoted average citizen)

Universal White Male Suffrage

Extension of the right to vote to all males regardless of social standing or race

Please note that this does NOT mean that Jackson supported women, natives, etc

Popular Vote Nominating System Effects

Candidates actually had to run for office and NEEDED RECOGNITION

- Politicians are no longer chosen by legislation and instead need popular support

American Tract Society

First steam-powered press in the US

- Enabled politics to play out w/ much more influence in newspapers

Jackson's Argument for Replacing Officials in Gov

- "Privilege" to hold public office not a right

- Rotation is healthy and brings in new ideas

- Prevents corruption (argued in favor of term limits)

- More, younger people can participate in gov

Why People Disagreed w/ Jackson Replacing Officials

- Spoils system

- Government instability (constant change, harder to get longer term things done with precision)

- Sets risky precedent

Kitchen Cabinet

- Small group of Jackson's close confidants that were especially influential in the first years of his presidency

- Jackson conferred with them instead of his regular cabinet -> caused dislike b/c Jackson ignored official cabinet procedures

aka the unofficial cabinet

Spoils System

Practice of a successful political party giving public office to its supporters

- aka giving out jobs as political rewards (favoritism and all that)

Why didn't Jackson have to worry about the slavery Q too much?

- Clay (his political opponent) had taken care of that issue in 1820 w/ Missouri Compromise, although Turner's rebellion does occur during Jackson's presidency

Webster-Hayne Debate

1830

- Debate started in Senate on sectionalism and nullification

- Came after the "Tariff of Abominations" incident

- At issue was the source of constitutional authority: Was the Union derived from an agreement between states or from the people who had sought a guarantee of freedom?

- Webster stated, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable"

Key issue for Westerners in Webster-Hayne Debate

Land speculation and reform (#greedy and wanted more public land sales)

Thomas Hart Benton

- From MO

- Proposed a bill for squatters to get FIRST DIBS on land they squatted when gov. put their land on sale

Samuel Foote

- From CT

- Proposed bill against Benton's, LIMITING land sales to only SURVEYED land

Robert Hayne

- From SC

- Sided w/ Benton

- Argued that not selling land was an abuse of gov power

- Accused NE of checking West's growth and trying to selfishly protect their own businesses

- Wanted land sales to be CHEAPER, pointing out fed gov's surplus

- SUPPORTED NULLIFICATION (states should have power over their "own lands", FEDERALISM)

- Brought South into argument by saying that East is destroying West just like it did to South w/ tariff

Daniel Webster

- From MA

- Master orator, debates nullification more specifically and defended the union's unity (EMPHASIZED IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING UNION)

- If one were to take nullification to its extreme, it would destroy the union and supporters of it are commiting TREASON (oof to Calhoun who's sitting in office having released that SC Exp. & Protest)

Jefferson Dinner

- April 13th (his bday)

- Recently died, supposedly honoring him but instead beefing at the party

- Note that TJ had been one of the og creators of nullification idea (KY & VA resolutions)

"The Federal Union must be preserved"

Jackson

"The union, next to our liberties, most clear"

Calhoun (#state rights)

Maysville Road Veto

1830

- Proposed building a road in KY (Clay's state) at federal expense

- Jackson vetoed it b/c he didn't like Clay

- Van Buren pointed out that NY & PA paid for their transportation improvements with state money

- Applied STRICT CONSTRUCTION interpretation of the Const. by saying that the federal government could not pay for internal improvements b/c the road was INTRA-state, not inter-state

Indian Removal Act

(1830) a congressional act that authorized the removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River

*Among those affected were the Cherokee, who had actually ASSIMILATED, yet GA ne les aime pas & failed to recognzied them as civilized nation (also wanted land & had a mini gold rush)

Seminoles and Indian Removal Act

- Fought back the hardest against removal act (some managed to successfully stay in FL)

Cherokee v GA

- Lacked jurisdiction b/c the Cherokee comprised a "domestic dependent nation" and were NOT a foreign nation as described in the Constitution

- Got thrown out, not brought to Supreme Court

Worcester v GA

- Brought to Supreme Court under individual v gov

- Marshall ruled in protection of Cherokee (against Indian Removal Act)

- When trying to enforce, Jackson said "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it"

Corn Tassel

Cherokee accused of murdering a Cherokee man in Cherokee territory

- No GA jurisdiction; yet GA arrested, tried, and hanged

- Jackson ignores his duty to enforce Marshall's decision - supported by Congress, avoiding impeachment (!!)

How did Jackson see the removal of the natives?

- Thought he was PROTECTING them from more violence (...)

- IMPORTANT: Seemed as though Jackson was supporting states rights (especially in Worcester v GA), and SC mistakenly uses this later on during nullif.

Trail of Tears (1838)

The route taken by Native Americans as they were relocated to Oklahoma; 20-25% perished before reaching Oklahoma

- Marched in dead of winter, any insubordinates were to be shot by their own people (damn bro)

Context for Nullification Crisis

During War of 1812, Calhoun had sent a letter to Monroe requesting that Jackson got court martialed...long story short Monroe never opened, Jackson got his hands on it, furious -> wedge between VP and Pres

Tariff of 1832

- Lowered Tariff of 1828 slightly, but not enough to satisfy SC