Democratic Policies, Religious Revival and Reform

Chapter 10

1824-1840

Introduction Questions

• How were Americans democratized between 1800 and 1840?

• Why was Andrew Jackson so popular with voters?

• How and why did Democratic and Whig parties emerge?

• What new assumptions about human nature did religious and reform leaders in the 1830’s make?

The Rise of Democratic Politics 1824-1840

• Introduction– Republican Party is fragmenting because of

pressures produced by industrialization in the North, the spread of cotton growing in the South and westward expansion

– Those who retained Jefferson’s distrust of a strong federal government and preferred state’s rights became Democrats

– Those who favored an active federal government became Whigs

– Both Democrats and Whigs appealed to the common man to support them

Democratic Ferment

• Property qualifications for voting were eliminated

• Written Ballots replaced voting aloud

• The minority party sought to increase the number of voters to attempt to turn itself into the majority party

The Election of 1824

• Four Republicans Run– Andrew Jackson received the most electoral

votes but not a majority calls Adams election the “Corrupt Bargain”

– John Quincy Adams is elected for the Presidency by the House of Representatives

– William Crawford dies during the election– Henry Clay is named Secretary of State by

John Quincy Adams after Clay supports his Presidency in the House of Representatives

John Quincy Adams as President

• Tried to encourage economic growth

• Did not communicate with other members of his political party and had a hard time as President

The Rise of Andrew Jackson

• Battle of New Orleans made Jackson a National hero

• Jackson was a political outsider• Jackson and Martin Van Buren referred to

themselves as Democrats• Democrats nominated Jackson for

President in 1828• Those who supported Adams called

themselves National Republicans

The Election of 1828

• Jackson is portrayed as a man of the people

• Adams is labeled as an aristocrat

• South and Southwest voted for Jackson

• North voted for Adams

• Mudslinging

Jackson in Office

• Spoils System

• Opposed Federal monies for internal improvements, vetoed Marysville Road project

• Southerners supported the Indian Removal Act of 1830 but did not like that Jackson did nothing against the Tariff of 1828

Nullification

• Led to a break between Jackson and his VP John C. Calhoun

• Calhoun argued that tariffs were unconstitutional and therefore the Southern states did not have to follow (nullify) them

The Bank Veto and the Election of 1832

• Jackson did not like the National Bank, he thought it was a monopoly

• Nation’s Bank controlled the nation’s credit and was a depository for federal monies

• National Bank was run by private stockholders• Nicholas Biddle was the head of the bank and asked that

the bank be re-chartered in 1832• Jackson vetoed the bill• Jackson and Van Buren run for re election• National Republicans run Henry Clay- American System• Jackson wins easily

The Bank Controversy and the Second Party System 1833-1840

• The War on the Bank– Jackson tries to bankrupt the National Bank

by removing federal monies and depositing them in state banks of his choice

– Jackson’s state banks are called pet banks because their leaders supported Jackson

– The State Banks issued credit and paper money which led to rapid inflation and speculation

The Rise of Whig Opposition

• National Republicans changed their name to Whigs during Jackson's second term

• Southerners that were angry over the tariff issue, temperance and public school reformers, anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic Protestants, commercial merchants and bankers and manufacturers supported the Whigs

The Election of 1836

• Martin Van Buren runs as a Democrat- wins a clear majority

• Whigs run 4 candidates– William Henry Harrison– Hugh L. White– Daniel Webster– Willie Person Mangum

The Panic of 1837

• Economy goes into a severe depression

• Jackson’s bank policies create inflation and speculation

• Specie Circular- Government owned land may only be purchased with gold

The Search for Solutions

• Independent Treasury Bill 1840- Federal government will stay out of banking and federal monies will be kept in National treasury

The Election of 1840

• Democrats choose Van Buren again

• Whigs choose William Henry Harrison and John Tyler (Tippecanoe and Tyler too)

• Harrison runs as the Jackson look alike man of the people and wins

The Second Party System Matures

• Number of people voting increase by 60%

• Popular campaigning techniques

• Strong contrast between parties– Tariffs– Banking

The Rise of Popular Religion

• Introduction– American Preachers reject the Calvinist

doctrine of Predestination– Message of salvation becomes more

individualistic– Second Great Awakening begins

The Second Great Awakening

• Religious camp meetings

• Methodists are most successful

• Helped promote law and order in the West

Eastern Revivals

• New York

• Burned Over District

• Charles G. Finney

• Slave Owners were sinners

Critics of the Revivals: The Unitarians

• New England educated and economic elite were turned off my the emotionalism and turned to Unitarianism

• Goodness is cultivated by a gradual process of character building and living by the teachings of Jesus

The Rise of Mormonism

• Joseph Smith- 1820’s

• Founded Nauvoo Illinois

• Polygamy

• Mob attacks the group and kills Smith

• Mormons must separate themselves from the rest of America

• Brigham Young- Utah

The Shakers

• Mother Ann Lee

• Rejected economic individuality

• No marriages or reproduction

• Shaking with the Spirit during services

The Age of Reform

• Reform Movement was strongest in New England and areas affected by the Second Great Awakening

The War on Liquor

• Temperance began by preaching moderation in the use of liquor

• American Temperance Society began to demand total abstinence and prohibition

• Most members were middle class• Alcohol consumption was cut in

half from 1820-1840

Public Schools Reform

• Horace Mann advocated education reform– State supported public schools– Grouping students by age– Longer school terms– Standardized textbooks– Compulsory attendance

• Businesses wanted educated workers• Workingmen saw education as a road to mobility• Women wanted education to open careers for

women• 1900-70% of teachers were women

Abolition

• William Lloyd Garrison- The Liberator 1831

• American Anti-slavery Society- 1833

• Main argument between anti-slavery groups was women’s rights

• Constitutional issues of right to freedom of expression and petition

• South on the defensive

Women’s Rights

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott- Seneca Falls convention 1841

• Declaration of Sentiments launched the feminist movement

Penitentiaries and Asylums

• Proper discipline could solve the problems of crime, poverty and deviancy

• Dorothea Dix

• Punishment vs. Rehabilitation

Utopian Communities

• New Harmony

• Hopedale

• Brook Farm

• Based upon ideal or utopian ideals

Conclusion

• 1820-1840 politics and religion respond to the common man

• Jackson is elected by the common man, but his stance on internal improvements, protective tariffs, nullification and the national bank divided citizens and led to a 2 party system

• The Panic of 1837 furthered the divide in American Politics

• Reformers try to improve America idealistically to advance their aims