Topic 4.

7 – Jackson and Federal Power

1. Inauguration
a. Jackson was inaugurated on March 9th, 1829. On this day, 15,000 people showed up. Many of these crowds poured into the White
House to celebrate, which was open to the public. They stood on the furniture, broke the china, and had to be lured outside with
bowls of spiked punch. Supreme Court Justice called it “the reign of King Mob,” while others called it, “a proud day for the people.”
b. In his first message to Congress 8 months later, he revealed the building blocks of Jacksonian democracy: a government run by and
for the common (white) man:
i. Expanded suffrage
ii. The relocation of all natives west of Mississippi River
iii. Patronage
iv. The extinguishing of the national debt
v. The elimination of the bank of US, a private institution he believed to be corrupt
2. Political Parties
a. Context
i. The one-party system that had characterized the Era of Good Feelings (Monroe’s presidency) had given way to a two-party
system under Jackson.
ii. Supporters of Jackson were known as Democrats, while supporters of his leading rival, Henry Clay, were called Whigs.
iii. The Democratic Party resembled the Republican Party of Jefferson, while the Whig Party resembled the defunct Federalist
Party of Hamilton.
b. Democrats
i. Supported local role, limited government, opportunity for all white men, regardless of wealth, and free trade. They were
opposed to monopolies, high tariffs, and high land prices.
ii. Supporters largely came from the South and West, urban workers, and immigrants.
c. Whigs
i. Supported a national bank, federal funding of internal improvements, and a protective tariff. Support primarily came from
New England and the mid-Atlantic states, and Protestants of English heritage.
3. Andrew Jackson & the Federal Government
a. The National Bank (1832)
i. In 1816, well before Jackson’s presidency, the Second National Bank was chartered for 20 years, to expire in 1836. Over
time, the involvement of the Second National Bank in the national economy increased. Especially after the ruling in
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the bank played in increasing role in states, thus stabilizing the national economy.
ii. Jackson, however, made clear from the start of his first term that he objected to the bank, believing that it concentrated
too much economic power in the hands of a small monied elite, not to mention foreign investors.
iii. In 1832, as a way to thrust the Bank Issue into the election spotlight, Henry Clay, who was running for president as the
Whig candidate against Jackson, convinced Nicholas Biddle, the president of the national bank, to ask Congress to renew
the charter early.
iv. The recharter bill passed Congress early in July 1832. Jackson, however, promptly vetoed it. His argument: the Bank was
making “the rich richer and the potent more powerful,” claiming, “the bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it.”
v. He then ordered his new Treasury Secretary Roger B. Taney to move money from the National Bank into 80 state “pet
banks” as a way to diminish the National Bank’s power (his earlier secretaries were dismissed for refusal to do his bidding).
vi. Within three months, Taney had moved more than half of the $10 million in the National Bank to these pet banks, some of
which he himself was corruptly personally invested in.
vii. This move, along with others, came to symbolize the way Jackson operated within the office of the presidency: for the
people, but with aggressive tactics.
b. The Nullification Crisis
i. In 1828, a tariff was passed that placed a 38% tax on some imported goods. This impacted the Southern economy, as
Southerners now had to pay more for goods imported from Europe.
ii. In 1832, Jackson signed a tariff that slightly lowered the tariff, but much less than Southerners desired. Additionally, some
Southerners began to view these blanket national tariffs as an attack on slavery, as well.
iii. A crisis soon unfolded in the state of South Carolina. On November 24th, 1832, a South Carolina convention passed an
ordinance of nullification prohibiting the collection of tariff duties in the state after February 1 st, 1833 AND authorizing the
raising of an army and funding for weapons. This was in line with the theory of nullification, the idea that a state could
nullify federal laws it didn’t agree with.
iv. The stage was set for a showdown.
v. Jackson returned with a proclamation to South Carolina, threatening, “disunion by armed force is treason. Are you read to
incur its guilt?” He also persuaded Congress to pass a Force Bill, giving him authority to act against South Carolina.
vi. John C. Calhoun, Jackson’s VP, was from South Carolina. He resigned in December 1832 and worked to find a resolution. A
new tariff bill was introduced with a lower rate.
vii. This, combined with Jackson’s forceful message, led South Carolina to repeal the Nullification Ordinance.
c. Internal Improvements
i. On the issue of internal improvements, while Jackson was a supporter, he believed that local projects be left to the states.
ii. For example, in 1830, he vetoed a bill providing aid for the construction of the Maysville Road because the route was
entirely within the state of Kentucky.
4. Jackson & the Indian Removal Act
a. For generations, natives lived and owned large swaths of land in the region called the old southwest – Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi.
These were known as the Five Civilized Tribes:
i. the Cherokees
ii. Chickasaws
iii. Choctaws
iv. Creeks
v. Seminoles
b. The Cherokee, for example, had adopted many white ways and customs, intermarrying with white Americans, creating a unique
culture based on farming and trade, cultivating cotton, and even practicing slavery.
c. These tribes lived on thousands of acres of land, however, in regions that were increasingly seen as fertile ground for the profitable
cotton crop...
d. In December 1828, the Georgia legislature declared that beginning in June 1830, Georgia state laws would apply to the Cherokees,
including the fact that they would pay state taxes and fight in the state militia.
e. Jackson advocated for the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to “protect” the Cherokees from Georgia laws. This act mandated the
Cherokee “voluntarily” move off their land to lands west of the Mississippi or remain under Georgia law and jurisdiction.
f. In 1832, in Worcester v. Georgia, John Marshall’s Supreme Court ruled that Indian nations were “domestic dependent nations,” and
thus should be dealt with by the federal government, not state governments (i.e. Georgia).
g. Jackson, however, ignored this decision, saying, “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.”
h. Native land was seized across these states and, in the winter of 1838-1839, under Martin Van Buren’s presidency, the U.S. army
herded 18,000 Cherokee men, women, and children to the area of present-day Oklahoma.
i. At least one-quarter died during the move, leading this to be called the Trail of Tears.
5. Jackson’s Legacy
a. The election of Jackson in 1828 reflected the emergence of a new political world.
b. Jackson epitomized many American ideals in the eyes of many. He was intensely patriotic and democratic in manner. He was at
once, an average and an ideal American, one the people could identify with. At the same time, he redefined the office of the
presidency and solidified the enthusiasm for party politics.
6. Key Takeaways
a. By the 1820s and 1830s, new political parties arose—the Democrats, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whigs, led by Henry Clay—that
disagreed about the role and powers of the federal government and issues such as the national bank, tariffs, and federally funded
internal improvements.
b. Frontier settlers tended to champion expansion efforts, while American Indian resistance led to a sequence of wars and federal
efforts to control and relocate American Indian populations.