Chapter 10 - Democracy in America [1815-1840] (good)

OVERVIEW

This chapter covers the "Age of Jackson"—a period when political democracy expanded dramatically for white men while simultaneously excluding women, African Americans, and Native Americans. The era was defined by tensions between nationalism and sectionalism, debates over federal versus state power, and the market revolution's impact on politics.

THE TRIUMPH OF DEMOCRACY

Property and Democracy

  • By the 1820s-1830s, property qualifications for voting collapsed across America

  • New states entering the Union required no property ownership to vote

  • Older states held constitutional conventions to eliminate these requirements

  • Significance: Voting rights shifted from property ownership to simply being a white male citizen—reflecting the era's individualism where "ownership of one's self" replaced property ownership as the basis of citizenship

The Dorr War (1841-1842)

  • Rhode Island was the exception—maintained property requirements ($134 real estate value or $7/year rent)

  • Thomas Dorr led reformers who drafted a new constitution extending suffrage to all white men (while removing it from blacks)

  • President Tyler sent federal troops; movement collapsed

  • Importance: Demonstrated the intense passion surrounding white male suffrage and how exclusion from voting was seen as fundamentally un-American

Alexis de Tocqueville

  • French aristocrat who visited America in the 1830s, wrote Democracy in America (1833)

  • Key insight: Democracy was more than voting—it was a "habit of the heart," a culture of equality, individual initiative, and active civic participation

  • Significance: Recognized that democracy had become central to American identity and freedom itself

Information Revolution

  • Steam-powered printing led to explosion of newspapers (weekly circulation in U.S. exceeded Europe's despite smaller population)

  • "Penny press" made newspapers affordable at one cent vs. six cents

  • Low postal rates helped newspapers circulate nationally

  • Political parties sponsored newspapers in every region

  • Alternative papers emerged: Freedom's Journal (first black newspaper), The Liberator (abolitionist), Cherokee Phoenix

  • Importance: Created an informed, engaged electorate and made politics a form of mass entertainment

Limits of Democracy

  • Women lost voting rights (New Jersey added "male" in 1807)

  • Free blacks were systematically disenfranchised in new states and older ones (NY raised requirement to $250 for blacks; NC, PA stripped blacks of vote)

  • By 1860, only 5 New England states allowed black voting (containing 4% of free black population)

  • Key Concept: As democracy expanded for white men, exclusions became based on "natural incapacity" rather than economic dependency—nature, not economics, justified keeping women and non-whites from voting

A Racial Democracy

  • Democracy became increasingly identified with whiteness

  • Minstrel shows popularized racist stereotypes (Jim Crow character)

  • "Scientific" theories of racial superiority/inferiority emerged

  • Race replaced class as the boundary of political participation

  • Significance: White male immigrants could vote immediately upon arrival; free blacks whose ancestors lived in America for centuries could not

NATIONALISM AND ITS DISCONTENTS

The American System

  • Proposed by Henry Clay, supported by President Madison's 1815 message

  • Three pillars: (1) New national bank, (2) Protective tariff, (3) Federal funding for roads and canals ("internal improvements")

  • Goal: Economic development and national unity through infrastructure

  • Problem: Madison vetoed the internal improvements bill, believing it required constitutional amendment

  • Tariff of 1816 and Second Bank of the United States (1816) did pass

Second Bank of the United States

  • Private corporation serving as government's financial agent

  • Issued paper money, collected taxes, paid debts

  • Supposed to regulate state banks and ensure stable currency

  • By 1820s, over 200 state banks existed, printing their own paper money

  • Importance: Bank's power and the instability of paper money would become central political issues

Panic of 1819

  • First major economic crisis of the market revolution

  • Caused by: speculation in western lands, overissuance of paper money, falling European demand for American products

  • Banks demanded loan repayment; farmers and businesses went bankrupt; urban unemployment rose

  • Impact: Deepened American distrust of banks and paper money, undermined the Second Bank's reputation

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

  • Maryland tried to tax the Bank of the United States

  • Chief Justice John Marshall ruled: (1) Bank was constitutional under "necessary and proper" clause, (2) States cannot tax federal institutions ("power to tax is power to destroy")

  • Significance: Affirmed broad interpretation of federal power and national supremacy over states

Missouri Compromise (1820)

  • Missouri applied for statehood with slavery; Rep. Tallmadge proposed restricting slavery there

  • Debate shattered Republican unity along sectional lines

  • Compromise: (1) Missouri admitted as slave state, (2) Maine admitted as free state, (3) Slavery prohibited north of 36°30' line in Louisiana Purchase

  • Importance: First major crisis over westward expansion of slavery; Jefferson called it "a fire bell in the night" warning of future conflict

NATION, SECTION, AND PARTY

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

  • Written by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams

  • Three principles: (1) No new European colonization in Americas, (2) U.S. won't intervene in European wars, (3) Europe must not interfere with Latin American republics

  • Significance: America's "diplomatic declaration of independence," claimed U.S. dominance in Western Hemisphere

Election of 1824

  • Four candidates: Jackson, Adams, Crawford, Clay

  • Jackson won popular vote but no electoral majority

  • House chose Adams (with Clay's support); Adams made Clay Secretary of State

  • "Corrupt bargain" charge haunted Clay's career

  • Importance: Laid groundwork for new two-party system (Jacksonians vs. Adams-Clay supporters)

John Quincy Adams's Presidency

  • Vision of activist federal government promoting economic development

  • Called for national university, observatory, naval academy, federal internal improvements

  • Famous statement: "Liberty is power"

  • Failure: Congress rejected most proposals; strict constructionists opposed expanding federal authority

THE AGE OF JACKSON

Andrew Jackson

  • Embodied contradictions: self-made man but wealthy slave owner; democrat but supported Indian removal; nationalist but champion of states' rights

  • Inaugurated 1829 after defeating Adams in 1828

  • Significance: Symbolized democratic opportunities and the "common man" in politics

The Party System

  • Politics became mass spectacle—parades, rallies, conventions engaged millions

  • Professional politicians organized party machines in every neighborhood

  • "Spoils system": government jobs given to party loyalists (Jackson called it "rotation in office")

  • Newspapers became partisan organs

  • Importance: Political parties became essential to governing; national parties helped unite a sectionally divided country

Democrats vs. Whigs

  • Democrats: Favored limited government, feared concentrated power and "nonproducers" (bankers, speculators), supported state over federal power, opposed moral legislation, attracted farmers, workers, southern planters, immigrants

  • Whigs: Supported American System, believed government should promote economic development and moral improvement, attracted businessmen, commercial farmers near transportation routes, evangelical Protestants

  • Core Debate: "Public" vs. "private" freedom—whether government power threatened or enhanced liberty

Nullification Crisis (1828-1833)

  • South Carolina opposed "tariff of abominations" (1828)

  • John C. Calhoun developed nullification theory: states could nullify federal laws exceeding constitutional powers

  • Based on "compact theory"—Constitution was agreement among sovereign states

  • SC threatened to nullify tariff; Jackson prepared to use force

  • Resolution: Compromise tariff (1833) reduced rates; SC rescinded nullification

  • Significance: Established Jackson's commitment to Union over states' rights; gave South a political philosophy for defending slavery

Indian Removal Act (1830)

  • Provided funds to remove Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole) from Southeast

  • Cherokee had adopted white ways (schools, written laws, constitution, farming, slavery)

  • Supreme Court cases: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)—Indians were "wards" of federal government; Worcester v. Georgia (1832)—Georgia's actions violated Cherokee treaties

  • Jackson allegedly said: "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it"

  • Trail of Tears (1838-1839): 18,000 Cherokee forcibly removed; at least 1/4 died

  • Seminoles resisted in Second Seminole War (1835-1842)

  • Impact: Completed removal of Indians east of Mississippi; reinforced racial definition of American nationhood

THE BANK WAR AND AFTER

Bank War

  • Nicholas Biddle headed Second Bank; had power to regulate state banks and create stable currency

  • Jackson saw Bank as "Monster Bank"—corrupt union of political authority and economic privilege

  • 1832: Congress rechartered Bank early; Jackson vetoed

  • Jackson's Veto Message: Bank gave special privileges to "rich and powerful" at expense of "humble members of society"; declared himself defender of common people

  • Significance: Jackson enhanced presidential power through aggressive use of veto and direct appeals to public

Pet Banks

  • Jackson removed federal deposits from Bank of the United States, placed them in state "pet banks"

  • These banks issued massive amounts of paper money (from $10 million in 1833 to $149 million in 1837)

  • Speculation in land and internal improvements soared

  • Result: Economic instability that would lead to panic

Panic of 1837

  • Triggered by: Jackson's Specie Circular (1836—only gold/silver for land), British demand for hard currency, declining cotton demand

  • Depression lasted until 1843: prices fell 25%, businesses failed, unemployment soared, labor movement collapsed

  • Nine states defaulted on debts

  • Impact: Led to Independent Treasury (1840)—completely separated federal government from banking system

Election of 1840

  • Whigs nominated William Henry Harrison (military hero) without platform

  • "Log cabin" campaign—promoted Harrison as common man despite his wealth

  • Turnout hit 80% of eligible voters

  • Harrison won decisively but died one month into term

  • John Tyler: States' rights Democrat turned Whig; vetoed Whig programs; accomplished little

  • Significance: Demonstrated triumph of mass democratic politics and party organization; showed presidents needed party support to govern

KEY THEMES

  1. Expansion and Exclusion: Democracy expanded dramatically for white men while systematically excluding women, blacks, and Indians

  2. Market Revolution's Political Impact: Economic change drove political conflict over banks, tariffs, internal improvements, and government's role

  3. Nationalism vs. Sectionalism: Constant tension between national authority and state sovereignty, especially over slavery

  4. Rise of Modern Politics: Development of two-party system, mass political participation, professional party organizations

  5. Presidential Power: Jackson dramatically expanded executive authority through veto power and direct popular appeals

  6. Race and American Identity: Freedom and democracy became increasingly defined in racial terms—as privileges for whites only