Andrew Jackson

Topic 1: John Quincy Adams

1.1: Election of 1824

• Jackson wins electoral + popular vote, but not by a majority

• Corrupt Bargain: J.Q. Adams wins bc Jackson doesn’t have votes

  • Alleged deal between J.W. Adams and Henry Clay to throw the election to being decided by the House of Representatives in Adam’s favor

    • Never proven, but became a cry for supporters of Jackson

• John Quincy Adams as president

  • Nationalistic views (very active federal government through science and math breakthroughs)

    • Jacksonians saw this as unconstitutional

Topic 2: Andrew Jackson

2.1: Era of the Common Man (Jackson as president starting in 1828)

• Referred to as the revolution of 1828 because the “common man” (Jackson) defeated the elite (J.Q. Adams)

  • “Old Hickory” tactic to make Jackson look like a self-made man

• Universal white male suffrage (ability to vote)

• Spoils System (1829)

  • Policy where political supporters are awarded with public office

  • Eventually widely abused by office seekers, but sometimes helpful

• Did not like the antislavery movement, just like southerners

• King Caucus

  • Informal system where members of Congress belonging to a political party met to select nominees for president

  • Anti-Masonic party was the first to do this

• Two Party System

  • Large political parties (democrat and national republican)

• Workingmen’s Party

  • Reached out to ppl who previously showed little interest in politics

• Rotation in Office

  • Supported by Jackson, the idea of limiting a person to one term in office

• The American Frontier

  • The constantly shifting boundary line that separated American from Native American land

2.2: Tariff of Abominations (1828)

• Promoted by Jacksonians, protected competition against European goods by raising their price, made southerners angry when they had to buy stuff for farming

• Peggy Eaton Affair (1829-1831)

  • Contributed to the rise of the “Kitchen Cabinet”

    • Jackson broke presidential norms by firing his cabinet and hiring a circle of loyal advisors

    • New VP, Martin Van Buren

• Nullification Crisis (1832-1833)

  • Conflict between Jackson and the South Carolina legislature

  • SC declared the tariff of abominations unconstitutional

  • SC threatened to secede from the union if the tariff was enforces

• Compromise Tariff of 1833

  • Passed by Henry Clay to resolve the Nullification Crisis

  • Agreed that tariffs be lowered gradually, over a period of ten years

• Force Bill (1833)

  • Passed by Congress along with the compromise Tariff of 1833

  • Allowed the Jackson to send military troops to SC to collect taxes

2.3: Indian Removal Act (1830)

• Ordered the removal of Indian tribes still living east of Mississipp to new Indian territory near Arkansas and Missouri

  • Tribes were removed through violence

• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)

  • Supreme Court ruled that Cherokees were not a foreign nation with the right to sue a federal court

• Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

  • Worcester acts as a representative for the Cherokees

  • High court ruled that laws of Georgia has no force within Cherokee territory

  • Jackson, on the other hand, sided with the states

• Black Hawk War (1832)

  • Conflict in Illinois between Americans and Indian tribes who were trying to gain back territory lost through Indian Removal Act

• Trail of Tears (1838-1839)

  • Forced march of fifteen thousand Cherokee Indians from Georgia + Alabama to Indian territory (caused many Indians to die)

2.4: The Bank War (1832)

• Battle between Jackson and supporters of the bank of the U.S. (national republicans like J.Q. Adams and Henry Clay) over the bank’s renewal

  • Jackson vetoed the bill, arguing an expense toward western farmers

• Pet Banks are formed

  • Jackson’s state banks that received fed deposits when Jackson dismantled the National bank in 1833

2.5: Specie Circular (1836)

• Requirement that all public lands be purchased with “hard” currency

  • Issued after “pet banks” so paper money became unreliable, making ppl want to travel west

2.6: Panic of 1837

• Economic crisis triggered by bank failures, grain price inflation, travel west, and imports

Topic 3: Martin Van Buren

3.1: Election of 1836

• Whigs nominated 3 candidates, making it difficult for one to win

• Martin Van Buren becomes president

• “Log Cabin and Hard Cider” Campaign (1840)

  • Whigs wanted to defeat Van Buren, so the campaigned Harrison as humble and Van Buren as wealthy, even though it was the other way around

• Women white settlers

  • Preferred daily activities with assistance, hard work, but this included isolation

  • Settlers on frontier damaged environment and caused some animals to get close to extinction