The Presidency of Andrew Jackson

AKA Old Hickory, King Andrew, The Hero of New Orleans

Election of 1828• Jackson lost the election of 1824 in

a “Corrupt Bargain”– Henry Clay threw his support behind

John Quincy Adams and became Adams’s Secretary of State

• Scandals rock the campaign of 1828

Election of 1828• Jackson is supported by a new

coalition of voters:– The Planter Elite in the South– People on the Frontier– State Politicians– Immigrants in the cities

• Jackson displayed faith in the common man– Intense distrust of Eastern

“establishment,” monopolies, & special privilege.

– His heart & soul was with the “plain folk.”

– Belief that the common man was capable of uncommon achievements.

Election of 1828

Election of 1828• Jackson wins both

the popular vote and the Electoral College vote

• Political center of gravity shifting west

• Adams went on to serve in the House of Representatives

Jackson and the Democrats• Crystallization of formal parties

– Whigs and Democrats• New style of politicking

– Included the use of political machines• Citizens in the age of Jackson

– Look to the gov’t to solve their problems

• Democrats– Opposed tariffs and the banks

To the Victor Go the Spoils!• Replaced Adams’s appointees with

his own supporters• A House divided

– Jackson’s cabinet pitted Sec. of State Martin Van Buren against Vice-President John C. Calhoun

– Each man jockeyed for the position of “heir apparent”

• Relied on a “kitchen cabinet” for advice

• Did not approve of federal aid to local projects

The Eaton Affair• Peggy Eaton was the daughter of a

tavern keeper and the wife of Jackson's secretary of war.

• Both Andrew and Rachel Jackson had liked Peggy Eaton, and when her private love affairs became public knowledge, enveloping her in scandal, the President lent her his visible support.

• It was not enough to save her social standing.

Don’t Mess with Jackson’s Friends• Although she was a cabinet member's

wife and entitled to the civility such a position conveyed, the wives of other cabinet officials and much of Washington society -- including Jackson's own hostess -- refused to accept her. – Jackson was furious.

• He demanded that his cabinet members make their wives accept Peggy Eaton. – When this proved unsuccessful, he

asked for the resignations of all his cabinet members except one.

An Economic Downturn

• By the beginning of 1820’s the American economy was faced with downward spiral as a result of several events such as the Panic of 1819 and the failure of the Second Bank of the United States

• The Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were passed in order to promote stimulation of northern states’ economy

1828 Tariff Conflict

• However the southern states could buy manufactured goods cheaper from foreign countries than northern states.– Had trading partners in Europe

who sold them finished products

– Europe also bought cotton from the southern states

• The South called the tariffs the “Abomination Tariffs” and plotted revenge

An Economic Downturn

• By the beginning of 1820’s the American economy was faced with downward spiral as a result of several events such as the Panic of 1819 and the failure of the Second Bank of the United States

• The Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were passed in order to promote stimulation of northern states’ economy

1828 Tariff Conflict

• However the southern states could buy manufactured goods cheaper from foreign countries than northern states.– Had trading partners in Europe who

sold them finished products– Europe also bought cotton from the

southern states• The South called the tariffs the

“Abomination Tariffs” and plotted revenge

• Led by former Vice President John C. Calhoun, the south nullified the Tariffs

• The Southern states claimed that sovereign states made up the federal government, and those states have the last word to declare tariffs null and void.

• The Nullification Proclamation declared that the Tariff Acts…

• "are unauthorized by the constitution of the United States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof and are null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State."

The Nullification Proclamation

• Jackson, although an advocate for the common man, knew that such blatant disregard of authority would tear the Union apart if allowed to continue. – He would not back down before S.

Carolina. • On December 10, 1832, President Andrew

Jackson issued a proclamation that disputed a states' right to nullify a federal law.

• The confrontation never took place because Henry Clay intervened with a compromise tariff, which promised to reduce the rates for the next few years

Jackson Responds

The National Bank Debate

NicholasBiddle

PresidentJackson

The National Bank Debate• Alexander Hamilton’s BUS

operated on 20 year charters• 1832 – Henry Clay decides to

recharter the bank 4 years early as a trap for Jackson

• Bill passes easily and Jackson vetoes it saying it was unconstitutional

• After easily winning reelection in 1832, Jackson began to withdraw funds from the bank and it eventually went out of business

Jackson and the Indians• President Jackson wanted the

fertile land occupied by the Five Civilized Tribes in the Southeast

• Five Civilized Tribes – Cherokee (GA), Creek (AL), Choctaw (MS), Chickasaw (AL), and Seminole (FL)

• Indian Removal Act (1830) – authorized the President to forcefully remove the Indians of the five tribes to modern day Oklahoma

• The Cherokee Indians responded by suing in the case Worchester v. Georgia – they won!

• Trail of Tears (1838) – the US government removed 15,000 Cherokees from Georgia to Oklahoma – 1 out of every 4 died

Trail of Tears

• Jackson decided to step down after his second term, but hand picked his successor, Martin van Buren (right)

• Van Buren struggles:– lacked the full support of the Democrats – rebellion in Canada threatened to pull US

into war – economic depression caused by

Jackson’s BUS killing

Election of 1836

• Van Buren’s failure to correct the economic issues tarnished him with the voters

• Whigs run William Henry Harrison who sells himself as a Hero of the War of 1812 (battle of Tippecanoe) and as a common man (log cabins and hard cider)

• Harrison wins easily in the Electoral College

Election of 1840

• Harrison dies of pneumonia 1 month in

• John Tyler, Harrison’s VP, becomes president

• Tyler was NOT supposed to end up as president

• Most of his presidency was a difficult power struggle between his philosophy of states’ rights and the Whigs

A big giant failure