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Social Studies 8
Jackson Notes
I. Election of 1824
A. Sectionalism split the Democratic-Republican party based on
regional differences
1. John Quincy Adams (from Mass.)
2. William Crawford (from Georgia)
3. John C. Calhoun (from South Carolina)
4. Henry Clay (from Kentucky)
5. Andrew Jackson (from Tennessee)
B. Results
1. Jackson received the popular vote but no candidate
received a majority of the electoral votes.
a. A majority means to have one more than half
of the total electoral votes.
2. As a result, it went to the House of Reps to decide.
3. Henry Clay (speaker of the house) dropped out of the
race.
4. John Qunicy Adams was elected with Clay’s help.
C. Effects of the Election
1. Adams appointed Henry Clay as his Sect. of State
2. Jackson’s supporters said a “corrupt bargain” had
been made since Andrew Jackson had won the
popular vote.
II. The Democratic-Republican Party Splits into Two Parties
A. The Jacksonian Democrats
1. Formed by Jackson’s supporters (also known as
Jacksonians)
2. Their Platform (or a political party’s beliefs and goals)
a. Portrayed Jackson as the “common man”
b. Made Adams look like an “over educated snob”
c. Wanted to expand voting rights to more
citizens and thus expand democracy
d. Felt that the gov’t was in control of the
wealthy elite and needed to reflect the needs of the common people
B. The National Republicans
1. Led by Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams
2. Favored a strong central gov’t, more internal
improvements and a national bank
D. Election of 1828
1. Bitter campaign between Jackson and John Quincy
Adams
2. Jackson won
3. Known as the “People’s President”
a. 20,000 people showed up at inauguration
b. Invited them over to the White House
afterwards to celebrate [somewhat wild]; his enemies began calling him
“King Mob.”
III. How Democracy Expanded During Jackson’s Presidency
A. While Jackson was president, more people were given
suffrage, or the right to vote.
1. Many state legislatures dropped the requirement that
you had to own land in order to vote.
2. However, women, slaves and Native Americans were
still denied suffrage.
B. Jackson practiced the Spoils System
1. Jackson fired many gov’t workers and replaced them
with his friends (known as the “Spoils System”)
a. “To the victor goes the spoils.”
2. Claimed it opened the gov’t to more of the people
(thus making it more democratic)
3. Brought in extra advisors besides the cabinet
a. They met at night in the kitchen of the White
House so these advisors were called the “Kitchen Cabinet.”
IV. The Nullification Crisis
A. Tariff of 1828
1. The highest tariff in US history
2. Favored northern manufacturers b/c it protected
them from foreign competitors
3. Southerners called it the Tariff Abominations
B. Reaction
1. John C. Calhoun, vice-president, on behalf of SC wrote
a letter to Congress protesting the tariff
2. Calhoun and the South felt it wasn’t fair to pass a tariff
that favored one part of the country over another
3. Reminded them that when Congress oversteps its
power, any state could nullify a law (Theory of states’ rights)
4. Sparked a nullification crisis and a deeper issue—
which is more powerful, the national gov’t or state gov’ts?
C. Webster-Hayne Debates (1830)
1. A series of debates over states rights
2. Participants:
a. Robert Hayne: from South Carolina
i. Spoke for Calhoun in favor of states’
rights
ii. Argued the South had the power to do
2 things: nullify laws and secede from Union
iii. Supported by the 10th Amendment
(Powers Reserved to the States)
b. Daniel Webster: believed that without a
strong federal gov’t the nation would fall apart
i. Argued that the Supremacy Clause of the
Constitution gave the national gov’t more power
ii. Quote: “Liberty and Union, Now and forever,
one and inseparable!”
3. Jackson’s Response to Calhoun
a. At a dinner party, Jackson gave a toast: “Our
federal union—it must be preserved.”
b. Calhoun replied: “The Union, next to our
liberty, most dear.”
D. Resolution to the Crisis
1. 1832 Congress lowered the tariff but South Carolina
passed the Nullification Act anyway
a. SC nullified the 1828 and 1832 tariffs.
b. SC threatened to secede if the federal gov’t
tried to collect the tariff.
c. Secede means to withdraw from the Union.
2. Calhoun resigned the vice-presidency and became a
Senator from SC
3. Jackson’s response to South Carolina’s threat: “I will
hang the first one of them I can get my hands on to the first tree I can
find.”
4. Thought secession would jeopardize national unity.
5. 1833—Jackson asked Congress to pass the Force Bill
that would allow him to use troops to collect the tariff
6. Henry Clay (known as “the Great Compromiser”)
worked out a compromise tariff that would lower the tariff over a ten
year period
7. SC repealed the Nullification Act but nullified the
Force Bill.
8. Jackson felt the Union had been preserved and the
crisis was resolved.
V. Jackson’s Indian Removal Policy
A. The Five Civilized Tribes
1. Five Native American tribes still lived east of the Mississippi
River (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole) in the Southern part
of the US
2. All had assimilated, or adopted white culture.
3. Sequoyah invented a writing system for the Cherokee and
allowed them to create their own newspaper
4. The Cherokee even had a constitution based on the U.S.
Constitution
B. The Indian Removal Act (1830)
1. Gold was discovered on Cherokee lands in Georgia
2. Georgia passed laws allowing white settlers to move in on
Cherokee lands (The Cherokee protested!)
3. Jackson saw Native Americans as conquered subjects within
the US that could be regulated by the US gov’t
4. Jackson asked Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act
5. It would relocate Native tribes west of the Mississippi River
to “Indian Territory” (modern day Oklahoma)
C. Worchester v. Georgia (1831)
1. The Cherokee resisted removal by appealing to the Supreme
Court.
2. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee had the
right to keep their land.
3. President Jackson refused to enforce the ruling: “John
Marshall has made his decision…now let him enforce it.”
4. Instead, he ordered them removed by force if necessary.
D. The Trail of Tears
1. Federal troops forced 16,000 Cherokees to move west
2. Some traveled by steamboat but most were forced to walk
an 800 mile journey to the Indian Territory (some in chains).
3. 1/4 of them died from diseases and starvation
4. Their journey became known as the Trail of Tears
E. The Seminoles Wars
-The Seminole (in Florida) resisted by force.
-Osceola led them in a war against the US.
-He was tricked into capture when he came to discuss a truce
VI. The Bank War
A. Jackson’s view of the Bank
1. Jackson thought the bank was corrupt and favored the
wealthy at the expense of the poor.
2. Bank President Nicholas Biddle decided to ask Congress to
renew the bank charter in 1832 (even though it didn’t expire until 1836)
3. Jackson vetoed the Charter Bill claiming that the bank was
unconstitutional.
4. He then proceeded to kill the bank before its charter
expired.
B. How Jackson killed the Bank
1. He had gov’t money taken out of the US bank and sent to
several state banks.
2. This drove the bank out of business and would cause a panic
in the economy.
VII. The Panic of 1837
A. Widespread fear about the state of the economy after Martin Van
Buren took office in 1837
B. Causes:
1. People began taking out more loans from state banks
(Jackson had made it easier to do so) and the economy prospered.
2. The banks printed too much paper money to meet the
demand and the result was inflation (or an increase in prices)
3. To fight inflation, Jackson required people to pay back their
loans in gold or sliver.
4. After Van Buren took office, a panic gripped the country and
a depression followed.
5. While it was Jackson’s fault, Van Buren was blamed for the
panic and depression.
VIII. Birth of the Whig Party
A. The Whig Party
1. Political party formed by Jackson opponents like Henry Clay
and Daniel Webster
2. Named after a British party that opposed the king of
England
3. Whigs referred to Jackson as “King Andrew” because his
presidency was so powerful
B. The Election of 1840
1. Van Buren ran against the new Whig candidate, William
Henry Harrison.
2. Because of the Panic of 1837, Van Buren lost to Harrison
(his vice-president was John Tyler).
3. Shortly after taking office, Harrison died in office and John
Tyler became president (1st time a president died in office).