Nora Gallant Green
Unit 5, Part 2
Crash Course #14: Age of Jackson
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1820-1850
○ State legislatures got rid of property qualification in voting→ more people could
vote→still had to be white & male though
■ Idea that property = power was very ​Jeffersonian
American System
○ The American System ​was based on:
■ Federally financed infrastructure, taxes designed to protect new industry, &
national bank to replace ​BUS​→ ​The Second Bank of the United States​→
majorly supported by ​John C. Calhoun &
​ ​Henry Clay
Monroe Doctrine
○ Post South American independence, ​President Monroe ​stated that European countries
shouldn’t try to conquer old colonies back→ in Northern Hemisphere
■ Also said US would stay out of European wars→ obviously didn’t
Controversial Issues
○ People thought federal gov shouldn’t invest in infrastructure→ ​Madison
■ Instead most financing was done by states
○ Slavery in Missouri
■ 1819 NY Congressman ​James Tallmadge ​said no more slaves in
Missouri→ eventually Missouri was made a “slave state” & ME was added
as a “free state”
● Missouri Compromise​→ no state about latitude line allowed to
have slaves→ eventually led to ​Civil War
Andrew Jackson ​& Political Parties
○ During ​Jackson’s p​ residency/campaign new political party formed: ​The Democrats​→
then ​The Whigs ​formed in response to the ​Democrats
○ Democrats ​usually = farmers suspicious of gap between rich & poor
○ Whigs​ thought ​Jackson ​had too much power→ v against monarchy
Andrew Jackson​→ what he did
○ Tariff of 1828​→raised tax on imported goods (wool & iron) angered SC
■ State legislature threatens to nullify the tariff→ makes ​Jackson ​mad
■ Force Act​→​Jackson ​could use army to force SC to pay their taxes
■ Removal Act 1830​→ ​Trail of Tears
○ Second Bank of the United States →
​ ​Jackson ​thought it too powerful→ vetoed the
request for new charter, led to ​Spoils System
○ Spoils System
■ Jackson​ distributed money to “pet” banks run by his political allies
■ Panic of 1837​→ inflation & economic bust & depression until 1843
■ Also changed political parties:
● Business oriented Democrats became ​Whigs
● Democrats ​now aligned w/ agriculture & slavery
Gallant Green
Crash Course #15: 19th Century Reforms
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Utopian Communities
○ Many different religious groups set up utopian societies in 1800s, usually based on
prayer, farming, & celibacy
■ ​The Shakers, Mormons, ​etc
○ Brook Farm​→ 1841 set up by transcendentalists → based on ideas of manual labor &
intellectual engagement → ​Nathaniel Hawthorne
○ Utopia, Ohio, ​& ​Modern Times ​→ 3 big utopian communities in New York started by
Josiah Warren ​→ based on individualism
The Second Great Awakening
○ 1820 & 1830s religious revivals→ turned US into more of nation based on religion
○ 2nd Great Awakening ​was about 3 main things:
■ having personal relationship with ​Jesus Christ
■ Practicing the ​Protestant ​way→ often more pious
● appealed to most immigrants (Irish Catholics, Germans, etc)
■ Reformers ​believed in idea that society & people can always improve
● Always strive to perfect society
■ Freedom of sin
● To 19th reformers freedom meant to having the choice to sin so
you were then free of sin
Education
○ 1800s education became mandated & funding by states
■ Required education was supposed to equalize the classes
■ 1860 all Northern states had public schools, but uncommon in South→ afraid of
poor whites & enslaved learning too much
Abolitionism
○ Huge reform movement in beginning of 1800s based on abolition of slavery
■ American Colonization Society ​decided to ship former slaves back to Africa &
establish Liberia as a homeland for former slaves
■ Many free African Americans didn’t like this idea & met in PA to say they
deserve same rights as whites
○ In the North religion & abolition were supported by same people→ Slavery = sin
○ 1843 majority Northerns supported the ​American Anti-Slavery Society
■ They were not only anti-slavery but pro rights to all citizens
○ Gag Rule ​in 1836→ prohibited Congress from discussing abolition of slavery
■ direct violation of the right of freedom of speech
○ Frederick Douglass​→ former slave, leader of black abolitionists & fought not only for
end of slavery but for equal rights as citizens → v important!
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Crash Course #16: Women in the 19th Century
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Colonial Women
○ Legally & socially second to men→ lower class women usually more equal to men
■ Husbands controlled property & decisions for their wives→ women ≠ vote
○ The Republican Mother​ → post ​Rev War ​women more educated bc they had to
educate the new generation→ their sons
○ Cult of Domesticity​→ said women's place in home
■ Little to no opportunities to work for profit, so women helped w/ reform
movements
Reform Movements
○ Women v active in making asylums for mentally ill (​Dorothy Dix), ​prohibition of
alcohol (​Carry Nation), Women’s Christian Temperance Union i​ n 1874 (​Frances
Hillard)
○ Prohibition​→ failed mostly bc violated person freedom
■ Women were advocates bc their husbands always drunk & not supporting
families
■ Once prohibition failed, women realized would be more powerful if they could
vote
○ Anti-Slavery Reform
■ Women v important to this movement
■ Maria Stuart ​= 1st African American women to lecture to male & female
audience about abolitionism, ​Harriet Beecher Stowe ​wrote ​Uncle Tom’s
Cabin, Sarah Grimke ​wrote the ​Equality of Sexes ​in 1838 & was active
anti-slavery leader
● Harriet Beecher Stowe’s​ “​Uncle Tom’s Cabin” ​→ humanized
African American people & was so powerful it was banned in the
South
■ Males who were pro-slavery argued if slavery was abolished, women would want
equal rights too→ scared the powerful men
Women’s Suffrage
○ Seneca Falls Convention ​1848 ​Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony + w
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Declaration of Sentiments (​ modeled of ​DOI)​→ stated equality of the sexes
○ 3 very important facts:
■ Women’s rights movement was international (like abolitionism)
■ Primarily a middle & upper class movement, but still recognized lower class
women & slave needs → ​Sojourner Truth (​former slave) talked about these
issues a lot
■ Faced v strong resistance→ women fought to change laws & attitudes
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Unit 5, Part 2, Pages 237-249
The Legitimization of Party (pg. 236-237)
○ For 30 yrs Americans didn’t like the idea of political parties
■ In 1820s & 1830s idea of permanent parties was desired
○ Martin Van Buren ​& his supporters argued that an institutionalized party could only ensure
democracy → in New York
■ Competing parties would constantly have to listen to the will of the people & check +
balance themselves as well
● The Second Party System
○ 1820s idea of political parties spread
■ Andrew Jackson​ elected in 1828
■ 1830s 2-party system worked at national level
■ anti-Jackson’s called themselves ​Whigs
■ Jackson’s supporters called themselves ​Democrats
● Democrats ​are nation’s oldest political party
“President of the Common Man”​ (​pg. 237-239)
○ The Democratic Party ​had no clear political stance
■ Jackson ​had clear theory of democracy
● Equal protection & equal benefits→ to white males (no matter class)
○ This meant continuing to oppress African Americans, Native
Americans & women→ oppressing these groups would maintain
the white male democracy
● The Spoils System
○ The Spoils System i​ s when a political party makes sure that public office positions are filled
by people in their own party
■ Thought was to keep the majority party (meaning majority population)
represented in gov
○ 1832 ​Jackson’s ​followers had a national party convention
■ This was to ensure that power would come from people not the elite
● Limited Nature of Democratic Reform
○ Spoils System ​& national convention did limit power of elite but didn’t give the power to
the people
■ Officeholders were almost always ​Jackson’s​ political allies→Political
opportunity expanded but not a lot
Calhoun & Nullification (pg. 239)
○ John C. Calhoun v​ ice president to ​Andrew Jackson ​→ from South Carolina
■ Tariff of 1816​→Made to support American manufacturing from foreign
competition
■ Calhoun s​ upported ​tariff
● 1820 South Carolinians thought the ​tariff ​was responsible for economic
stagnation of their state
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● Some South Carolinians were thinking about secession
● Calhoun’s ​Theory of Nullification
○ Calhoun ​said that if Congress passed an unconstitutional law then the states should be
able to declare the law null & void within the state→ known as ​Nullification Doctrine
■ Greatly supported by South Carolina
Rise of Van Buren (pg. 239-240)
● Martin Van Buren
○ Governor of New York in 1829 but resigned to become ​Jackson’s ​Secretary of State
○ Part of ​Jackson’s ​unofficial allies ​The Kitchen Cabinet
■ Van Buren ​really influenced ​Jackson ​especially after fight between ​Jackson ​&
Calhoun
■ Peggy Eaton Affair
● Scandal w/ ​John Eaton’s (​secretary of war) wife & ​Mrs. Calhoun​ who
refused to accept her into social world
● This drove ​Calhoun & Jackson a​ part & in 1832 ​Van Buren ​became
Jackson’s ​vp
○ Van Buren ​became president in 1837
The Webster-Hayne Debate (pg. 240)
○ 1830 US Senate had debate over federal policy to western lands
○ A senator suggest that land sales & surveys be temporarily stopped
■ Robert Y. Haynes ​(senator from South Carolina) said slowing growth of West
was so East could control political & economic power
● South & West = victims of tyrannical Northeast
○ Hoped this would get more support for South Carolina’s wish to
drop the ​tariff
● State’s Rights versus National Power
○ Daniel Webster ​(senator from Massachusetts) challenged ​Hayne ​on issue of state’s right
vs. national power
■ Hayne ​was helped by ​Calhoun &
​ talked bout theory of nullification
■ Webster ​responded w/ ​“Second Reply to Hayne” ​saying: “LIberty & Union,
now & forever, one & inseparable!”
○ At ​Democratic Party ​banquet ​Jackson ​said: “Our Federal Union - it must be preserved”
■ Thus definitely distancing himself from ​Calhoun
The Nullification Crisis (pg. 241-242)
○ Tariff of Abomination 1​ 828→ protected US industry
○ 1832 Congress passed tariff that didn’t get rid of ​Tariff of Abomination
■ South Carolina had state convention & voted to nullify tariffs of 1828 & 1832
■ Also elected ​Calhoun a​ s senator
○ Jackson ​said nullification was treason
■ 1833 ​Jackson ​proposed to pass force bill allowing military use in South Carolina
● Compromise
○ South Carolina had no support & couldn’t stand up to federal gov
○ Henry Clay ​proposed compromise
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■ Tariff would be slowly lowered → this bill & force bill were passed
The Removal of the Indians
○ Jackson’s ​attitude to Natives was shared by many: forced them far West so white’s could
expand
White Attitudes Toward the Tribes (pg. 242)
● Changing Attitudes Towards the Indians
○ Middle 1800s whites became more hostile to Natives
■ Mostly bc white’s wanted native land
● The ​Black Hawk ​War
○ 1831-1832 war between whites in Illinois & the ​Sauk &
​ ​Fox Indians ​under leaderships
of ​Black Hawk
■ Natives reoccupied vacant lands in Illinois
■ White settlers feared the natives & formed army to attack the natives
● Saux ​and ​Fox Indians ​Defeated
○ Black Hawk War ​is known bc of the viciousness of white militia
■ Whites attacked Native warriors even after ​Black Hawk t​ ried to surrender
■ White troops followed the tribes as they fled & killed most of them
■ Black Hawk w
​ as captured & sent on “tour of the East” to be met “by curious
whites” → THIS IS SO UPSETTING
The “Five Civilized Tribes” (pg. 243)
● Agrarian Tribes of the South
○ “5 civilized tribes”
■ Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, & Choctaw
■ All established agricultural societies & economies
○ Cherokee Nation
■ Established culture, written language, & constitution created independent nation
■ Even some whites said the ​Cherokees ​should be allowed to keep eastern lands
● The ​Removal Act
○ Federal gov made treaties with southern tribes to push them farther west
○ States were impatient at slowness of these treaties
■ Legislatures of Georgia, Alabama & Mississippi passed laws to regulate tribes
○ 1830 Congress approved ​Removal Act​→ gave money to finance negotiations w/
southern tribes to relocate them west
● Cherokee Resistance
○ 1835 federal gov made treaty w/ band of ​Cherokees ​(not part of ​Cherokee Nation)
■ Treaty gave the tribes lands to Georgia for $5 million & a reservation west of
Mississippi
■ Majority of C
​ herokees ​wouldn’t recognize treaty & refused to leave
■ General Winfield Scott ​was sent by ​Jackson ​to drive them westward
Trails of Tears​ (pg. 243-245)
● Cherokee Removal
○ Some ​Cherokees ​fled to North Carolina & where a surviving Cherokee reservation was
set up
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○ 1838 most ​Cherokees ​trekked to “Indian Territory” (now Oklahoma)
● Indian Removal
○ ≈ ⅛ of Natives died before reaching destination
○ Between 1830 & 1838 basically all 5 tribes were relocated in Indian Territory
■ Created by the ​Indian Intercourse Act ​of 1834
● The Seminole War
○ Only ​Seminoles ​remained in FL under treaty giving them 3 yrs to move
■ Many refused to leave under chief ​Osceola
■ Uprising began in 1835 & they were joined by runaway black enslaved people
○ Jackson ​sent troops but the ​Seminoles ​& ​African Americans ​fought using guerilla
warfare
○ Osceola ​was captured while under flag of truce & then died in prison but the resistance
continued
○ 1842 gov abandoned the war & many of the ​Seminoles ​were dead but they were never
completed relocated
The Meaning of Removal (pg. 245-246)
○ By late 1830s almost all Native tribes had been forced west
■ They lived on reservation w/ climate & topography they didn’t know, surrounded
by US military forts to keep them in
● Alternatives to Removal
○ In the West native tribes & whites co-existed→ creating societies w/ both cultures
○ Mid-1800s white Americans thought of western land as “virgin land”
■ They believed Natives couldn’t be part of these new societies
■ Partially bc of president ​Jackson’s ​hatred of the Natives & bc ​Jackson ​dismissed
Native American culture which justified whites harsh policies to themselves
Jackson and the Bank War (pg. 246)
● Jackson’s Opposition to Concentrated Power
○ Jackson ​was willing to use federal power against states & tribes
○ But on economic issues he was against using federal power
■ 1830 he vetoed giving money to making of Maysville Road in Kentucky
● He said it was unconstitutional bc road was entirely in KY & not
interstate commerce meaning not in gov’s power
■ Jackson’s ​opposition to federal gov was v clea in the war against the bank of the
US
Biddle’s Institution (pg. 246)
● Nicholas Biddle
○ 1830s ​BUS​ was a huge institution w/ hq in Philadelphia
○ By law federal gov could only put money in the ​BUS
○ Nicholas Biddle ​becmae president of the ​BUS ​in 1823 & worked to make it v prosperous
■ Andrew Jackson ​= ready to destroy it
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Hard and Soft Money
○ Advocates of soft money→ wanted more currency & paper money should be issued
unsupported by gold/silver
■ Disliked ​BUS ​bc restrained state banks from issuing money
■ Believed in quick economic growth
○ Advocates of hard money→ believed gold & silver were the basis of money
■ They disliked all banks that issued paper money
■ Suspicious of expansion
○ Jackson ​supported hard money position
■ He was suspicious of all banks & paper currency & said he didn’t want to renew
the charter of the ​BUS i​ n 1836
○ Nicholas Biddle ​turned to ​Daniel Webster ​& named his as legal counselor & director of
the Boston branch
■ Webster ​helped ​Biddle ​get support from other politically influential men like
Henry Clay
● Jackson’s Veto
○ 1832 ​Biddle’s a​ pplied to renew the ​BUS’ ​charter→ ​Jackson ​vetoed it & made the ​BUS
the biggest issue of national elections
○ Henry Clay ​ran for president as ​National Republican ​but lost to ​Jackson ​and ​Van
Buren ​as vp→ this was a loss for ​Clay ​& ​Biddle ​& supporters of the ​BUS
The “Monster” Destroyed (pg. 247)
● Removal of Government Deposits
○ Since ​Jackson c​ ouldn’t get rid of the ​BUS ​until 1836, he began to weaken it
■ 1st by removing gov’s deposits
● Secretary of treasury refused to allow it so ​Jackson ​appointed his close
friend ​Roger B. Taney​, who started putting gov deposits in state banks
■ Biddle ​fought back by raising interest rates which caused financial disaster &
recession
○ 1833-1834 supporters of the B
​ US b​ lamed ​Jackson f​ or the recession & sent petitions
asking for recharter of the ​BUS​→ ​Jacksonians ​refused
● Jackson Victorious
○ To appease business community ​Biddle ​finally backed down
○ Jackson ​got rid of the ​BUS ​but w/o it the banking system hurt the economy for more
than a century to come
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The Taney Court​ (pg. 247-249)
○ Next ​Jackson ​attacked the ​Supreme Court
■ 1835 ​John Marshall ​died & ​Jackson ​appointed ​Roger B. Taney ​has new chief
justice → ​Taney ​slowly modified ​Marshall’s ​nationalist policies
● Charles River Bridge vs. Warren Bridge
○ 1837 the case of ​Charles River Bridge vs. Warren Bridge showcased the difference in the
judicial branch
■ 2 Massachusetts companies arguing over the right to build a bridge on Charles
■ ​Taney ​argued that 1st co. was benefitting off a monopoly
■ He ruled 2nd co had the right to build a bridge
● His ruling showcased ​Jackson’s ​ideal: democracy = economic
opportunities but that couldn’t happen if older companies had
monopolies & stopped new companies from forming
The Changing Fance of American Politics (pg. 249)
● Battle of the ​Whig Party
○ Jackson’s ​forceful destruction of the nullification movement & the ​BUS ​sparked an
opposition movement in the 1830s
■ This new party called themselves ​Whigs ​& denounced ​Jackson
■ w/ the ​Whigs ​once again there were 2 competing parties
Democrats & Whigs (pg. 249)
● Democrats Emphasis on Opportunity
○ 1830s ​Democrats ​wanted expanding economic & political opportunities for white males
■ They attacked many that were benefiting from “corrupt privilege”
● Whigs’ Call for Economic Union
○ Whiggery​→ political philosophy followed by the ​Whigs
■ Believed in giving more power to the federal gov, increasing industry &
commercial development, & uniting the country economically
■ Whig’s ​favored institutions & ​Democrats ​opposed them
○ Whigs ​were supported manufacturers in Northeast, wealthy planters in South, & farmers
of the West → all wanted “internal improvement, expanding trade, & economic growth”
○ Democrats ​supported by small merchants of Northeast, southern planters, westerns who
wanted agrarian society
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Specific Evidence
Martin Van Buren
Andrew Jackson
Whigs
Democrats
The Democratic Party
Spoils System
John C. Calhoun
Tariff of 1816
Nullification Doctrine
The Kitchen Cabinet
Peggy Eaton Affair
John Eaton
Mrs. Calhoun
Robert Y. Hayne
Daniel Webster
Second Reply to Hayne
Federal Union
Tariff of Abomination (or
Tariff of 1828)
Henry Clay
Black Hawk
The Black Hawk War
Sauk Indians
Fox Indians
Cherokee
Creeks
Seminoles
Chickasaw
Choctaw
Cherokee Nation
The Removal Act
Cherokee Resistance
General Winfield Scott
Trail of Tears
Indian Intercourse Act
The Seminole War
Osceola
Nicholas Biddle
Bank of the United States
(aka BUS)
National Republican
Roger B. Taney
John Marshall
Supreme Court
Charles River Bridge vs.
Warren Bridge
Taney Court
Whig Party
American System
The Second Bank of the
United States
Monroe Doctrine
President Monroe
James Tallmadge
Missouri Compromise
Civil War
Force Act
Panic of 1837
Utopian Communities
Shakers
Mormons
Brook Farm
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Utopia
Ohio
Modern Times
Josiah Warren
The Second Great
Awakening
Jesus Christ
Protestant
Reformers
Abolitionism
American Colonization
Society
American Anti-Slavery
Association
Gag Rule of 1836
Frederick Douglass
The Republican Mother
Cult of Domesticity
Dorothy Dix
Carry Nation
Women’s Christian
Temperance Union
Frances Hillard
Prohibition
Maria Stuart
Sarah Grimke
Equality of Sexes
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Seneca Falls Convention
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Susan B. Anthony
Declaration of Sentiments
Sojourner Truth
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