Title: RISE OF MASS DEMOCRACY
1RISE OF MASS DEMOCRACY
2Politics Of The People
- When the Federalists had dominated, democracy was
suspect, but by the 1820s, it was widely
appealing. - Politicians now had to bend to appease and appeal
to the masses. - Aristocrats were scorned.
- Western Indian fighters and/or militia
commanders, like Andrew Jackson, Davy Crocket,
and William Henry Harrison, were quite popular.
3Jacksonian Democracy
- Jacksonian Democracy said that whatever governing
that was to be done should be done directly by
the people. - Called the New Democracy, it was based on
universal manhood suffrage. - In 1791, Vermont became the first state admitted
to the union to allow all white males to vote in
the elections. - Bigwigs who used to have power sneered at the
coonskin congressmen and the bipeds of the
forest,
4Voting Requirements in the Early 1800s
5Election of 1824
- In the election of 1824, there were four towering
candidates Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, Henry
Clay of Kentucky, William H. Crawford of Georgia,
and John Q. Adams of Mass. - All four called themselves Republicans.
- In the results, Jackson got the most popular
votes and the most electoral votes, but he failed
to get the majority in the Electoral College. - Adams came in second in both, while Crawford was
fourth in the popular vote but third in the
electoral votes. Clay was 4th in the electoral
vote. - By the 12th Amendment, the top three Electoral
vote getters would be voted upon in the House of
Reps. and the majority (over 50) would be
elected president.
6Corrupt Bargain?
- Clay was eliminated, but he was the Speaker of
the House, and since Crawford has recently
suffered a paralytic stroke and Clay hated
Jackson, - When Clay was appointed Secretary of the State,
traditional stepping-stone to the presidency,
Jacksonians cried foul play. - John Randolph publicly assailed the alliance
between Adams and Clay. - Evidence against any possible deal has never been
found
7A Corrupt Bargain?
8A Yankee Misfit in the White House
- Austere.
- Short, bald, stiff and frosty. Loner.
- Very successful Sec. of State, but was not well
suited to the presidency. - How he won made things worse
- He refused to play the spoils game made
supporters grumpy - History Channel V John Q. Adams
p259
9Adams Unpopular Policies
- John Quincy Adams was a man of puritanical honor
- He rejects the spoils system.
- In his first annual message, Adams urged Congress
on the construction of roads and canals, proposed
for a national university, and advocated support
for an astronomical observatory. - Public reaction was mixed roads were good, but
observatories werent important, and Southerners
knew that if the government did anything, it
would have to continue collecting tariffs.
10In 1839, slaves held captive aboard the ship La Amistad revolted, took control of the vessel, and tried to sail it back to Africa. The ship was seized by an American frigate and taken to the U.S., setting off a controversy that pitted the courts against the President and raised the consciousness of the North about the evils of slavery. The La Amistad incident was a milestone in the development of the abolitionist movement. In 1839, slaves held captive aboard the ship La Amistad revolted, took control of the vessel, and tried to sail it back to Africa. The ship was seized by an American frigate and taken to the U.S., setting off a controversy that pitted the courts against the President and raised the consciousness of the North about the evils of slavery. The La Amistad incident was a milestone in the development of the abolitionist movement.
In 1839, slaves held captive aboard the ship La
Amistad revolted, took control of the vessel, and
tried to sail it back to Africa. The ship was
seized by an American frigate and taken to the
U.S., setting off a controversy that pitted the
courts against the President and raised the
consciousness of the North about the evils of
slavery. The La Amistad incident was a milestone
in the development of the abolitionist movement.
11Going Whole Hog For Jackson In 1828
- Jacksonians argued, Should the people rule?
- They successfully turned public opinion against
an honest and honorable Chief Executive. - However, Adams supporters also hit below the
belt, even though Adams himself wouldnt stoop to
that level. - Jacksons mother a prostitute, called he an
adulterer - John Q. Adams had a billiard table and a set of
chessmen, - The Jacksonians criticizing Adams incessant
spending.
12(No Transcript)
13The Jacksonian Revolution of 1828
- Jackson got 647,286 popular votes to Adams
508,064 and he also beat John in the Electoral
College, 178 to 83. - Jackson had support from the West and South,
while New England liked Adams. - The political center of gravity was shifting west
- Jackson sped up the process of transferring
national power from the countinghouse to the
farmhouse, and became the Peoples President,
not the aristocrat. - Adams still had a distinguished political career
after presidency, getting elected to the House of
Reps. of Massachusetts, - When he died in 1848, his funeral was the
greatest pageant Washington D.C. had ever seen,
and his popularity was greater near then end of
his political career than during its zenith.
14Jackson InaugurationFirst Kegger in the White
House?
15The Center of Population in theCountry Moves WEST
16Jacksons Philosophy
- Jacksons Firsts
- First president from the west
- First to be nominated at a formal convention
- First President without a college education
(except Washington) - First President who not part of the educated
elite that was at the heart of the revolution and
the Constitution. - He was called Old Hickory by his troops because
of his toughness. - Suspicious of the federal government because it
was remote from the people - Believed in limited Fed. government (See
Jefferson) - Hostile to the active federal econ. role of
American System National Bank - Strong believer in the Union
- opposed nullification and those who did not
believe that federal power was supreme. (See
Hamilton)
Technology
17Jackson Nationalizes the Spoils System
- The spoils system rewarding supporters with good
positions in office. - Jackson believed that experience counted, but
that and erasing the old. - Since the election of 1800, many positions had
not changed. - Increases with each new president
18The Tricky Tariff of Abominations
- New England and East like Tariffs. Reduces
competition. - South and West hate tariffs.
- Economic concerns
- Political/Sectional concern
- Jacksons supporters try to put JQ Adams in
political trap by pushing for a very high tariff. - Plan backfires, and tariff is passed.
- South is outraged at Adams, and calls it Tariff
of Abomination
19Nullies In South Carolina
- In an attempt to meet the Souths demands,
Congress passed the Tariff of 1832, a slightly
lower tariff - The state legislature of South Carolina called
for the Columbia Convention. The delegates of
the convention called for the tariff to be void
within South Carolina. - Henry Clay introduced the Tariff of 1833. It
called for the gradual reduction of the Tariff of
1832 by about 10 over 8 years. By 1842, the
rates would be back at the level of 1816. - The compromise Tariff of 1833 ended the dispute
over the Tariff of 1832 between the South and the
White House. The compromise was supported by
South Carolina but not much by the other states
of the South.
20Transplanting the Tribes
- Jacksons Democrats were committed to western
expansion, but such expansion meant confrontation
with the Indians who inhabited the land east of
the Mississippi. - The Society for Propagating the Gospel Among
Indians was founded in 1787 in order to
Christianize Indians. - The five civilized tribes were the Cherokees,
Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles.
President Jackson wanted to move the Indians so
the white men could expand.
21Indian Removal Act
- Indian Removal Act (1830).
- voluntary removal of Indians from southeast to
reservations in Eastern Kansas and Oklahoma. - Forced removal of over 100,000 Indians.
- Heaviest blow falls on the Five Civilized Tribes
- Theory behind the policy
- Trail of Tears
- Bureau of Indian Affairs -1836
- Black Hawk Rebellion
22Indian Removal
23The Bank War
- President Andrew Jackson despised the Bank of
the. - The Bank of the United States was a private
institution, accountable not to the people - The bank minted gold and silver coins. Nicholas
Biddle, the president of the Bank of the United
States, held an immense power over the nations
financial affairs. - The Bank War erupted in 1832 when Daniel Webster
and Henry Clay presented Congress with a bill to
renew the Banks charter. - Clay pushed to renew the charter in 1832 to make
it an issue for the election of that year. He
felt that if Jackson signed off on it, then
Jackson would alienate the people of the West who
hated the Bank. If Jackson vetoed it, then he
would alienate the wealthy class of the East who
supported the Bank. - The veto showed that Jackson felt that the
Executive Branch had more power than the Judicial
Branch in determining the Constitutionality of
the Bank of the United States.
24The Election of 1832
- The United States presidential election of 1832
saw incumbent President Andrew Jackson, candidate
of the Democratic Party, easily win reelection
against Henry Clay of Kentucky. - Jackson won 219 of the 286 electoral votes cast,
easily defeating Clay, the candidate of the
National Republican party and Anti-Masonic Party
candidate William Wirt. John Floyd, who was not a
candidate, received the electoral vote of South
Carolina.
25Burying Biddles Bank
- The Bank of the United Statess charter expired
in 1836. Jackson wanted to make sure that the
Bank would be exterminated. - In 1833, 3 years before the Banks charter ran
out, Jackson decided to remove federal deposits
from its vaults. Jackson proposed depositing no
more funds in the bank and he gradually shrunk
existing deposits by using the funds to pay for
day-to-day expenditures of the government. - The death of the Bank of the United States left a
financial vacuum in the American economy.
Surplus federal funds were placed in several
dozen state banks that were political supportive
of Jackson. - In 1836, wildcat currency had become so
unreliable that Jackson told the Treasury to
issue a Specie Circular- a decree that required
all public lands to be purchased with metallic
money. This drastic step contributed greatly to
the financial panic of 1837.
Nicholas Biddle
p271
26The Birth Of The Whigs
- Established in 1834, the Whig Party was a
reaction to the authoritarian policies of Andrew
Jackson. King Andrew, - The term Whig was taken from English politics,
the name of a faction that opposed royal tyranny - Whig supporters of the American System. In some
respects the Whigs were the descendants of the
old Federalist Party, supporting the Hamiltonian
preference for strong federal action in dealing
with national problems. - The Whigs supported government programs, reforms,
and public schools. They called for internal
improvements like canals, railroads, and
telegraph lines. - Congress has ALL legislative power
- Henry Clay and Daniel Webster were the
unquestioned luminaries of the Whig Party.
Neither was able to overcome sectional jealousies
and gain the coveted presidency.
27The Election of 1836
- Martin Van Buren was Andrew Jacksons choice as
his successor in the election of 1836. General
William Henry Harrison was one of the Whigs many
presidential nominees. The Whigs did not win
because they did not united behind just one
candidate.
28Election of 1836
- Whig candidates
- William Henry Harrison, former U.S. senator from
Ohio - Daniel Webster, U.S. senator from Massachusetts
- Hugh L. White, U.S. senator from Tennessee
- Jackson hand-picks Van Buren as his successor and
engineers his nomination. - Van Buren won only a narrow majority of the
popular vote, but won electoral vote, 170-124.
29Woes for Van Buren
- Skilled politician and very bright.
- Inherited lots of political problems.
- Party peeved at Jackson rammed through his
nomination - Inherits all Jacksons enemies, but not Jacksons
support from common man. - Jacksons economic policies (specie circular)
caused economic downturn.
30Depression And Independent Treasury
- The basic cause of the panic of 1837 was the
rampant speculation prompted by a get-rich
scheme. Gamblers in western lands were doing a
land-office business on borrowed capital. The
speculative craze spread to canals, roads,
railroads, and slaves. - The panic of 1837 caused many banks to collapse,
commodity prices to drop, sales of public to
fall, and the loss of jobs. - Van Buren proposed the Divorce Bill. Not passed
by Congress, it called for the dividing of the
government and banking altogether. - The Independent Treasury Bill was passed in
1840. An independent treasury would be
established and government funds would be locked
in vaults.
31Gone to Texas
- 1823 Mexico grants a huge tract of land to
Stephan Austin. - Mexicos conditions on settlers
- Why does Mexico open land to Americans?
- Americans come, but largely ignore the two
conditions.
Moses Austin
32American Settlement in Texas
- 1835, 30,000 Americans in Texas.
- Davy Crockett, Sam Bowie and Sam Houston.
- Tension between Mexico and Texans
- Slavery issue
- Mexicos policies to regain control
- Santa Anna
Sam Houston. First Governor of Texas Big Drunk
33The Lone Star Rebellion
- Early 1836, Texas declares its independence with
Sam Houston as commander in chief. - Santa Anna attacks the Alamo
- Goliad
- Santa Anna defeated at San Jacinto
- Santa Anna captured and forced to sign treaty
under duress. Rio Grande - Santa Anna quickly repudiated the treaty, but
doesnt have power to attack again.
34Log Cabins and Hard Cider of 1840
- Van Buren nominated by the Dems in 1840 no
strong alternative. - Whigs passed over Clay and Webster and nom.
William Henry Harrison. - John Tyler of Va. is his VP
- Harrison platform vague.
- Texas wanted diplomatic recognition from US.
- Jackson was reluctant to recognize Texas as an
independent republic. - Why?
- On last day of office he does recognize Texas.
- Texans want to be part of the US and request
annexation. - Why was annexation by US politically complicated?
35The Two Party System Emerges
- Two party system began to reemerge under Jackson
and fully reemerged in the election of 1840 with
the Whigs. - Both parties were big-tent parties containing
diverse elements - Were also diverse geographically, and their
presence helped retard the development of purely
sectional parties
36Whigs v. Democrats
- Democrats
- States rights
- federal restraint in social and economic affairs
- Champion of individual and working class.
- Distrusted privileged class attempts to usurp
government - Strong in South and West
- Opposed high tariffs as benefiting eastern
business at expense of farmer.
- Whigs (Majority)
- willing to use government to realize their
objectives - argued against using class differences to appeal
to self interest of one class over another. - Believed in strong govt initiative such as the
Bank US, tariffs, internal improvements, public
schools and moral reform, such as slavery.
37The Advent Of Old Hickory Jackson
- When he became president, Andrew Jackson had
already battled dysentery, malaria, tuberculosis,
and lead poisoning from two bullets lodged
somewhere in his body. - He personified the new West rough,
jack-of-all-trades, a genuine folk hero. - Jackson had been early orphaned, was interested
in cockfighting as a kid, and wasnt really good
with reading and writing, sometimes misspelling
the same word twice in one letter. - He went to Tennessee, where he became a judge and
a Congressman - A man with a violent temper, he got into many
duels, fights, stabbings, etc - He was a Western aristocrat, having owned many
slaves, and lived in a fine mansion, the
Hermitage, and he shared many of the prejudices
of the masses.