Margaret Bayard Smith was one of the thousands of Americans who attended the presidential inauguration of Andrew Jackson in 1829.  She later wrote to a friend about how much the atmosphere in Washington, D.C., impressed her.  “Thousands and thousands of people, without distinction of rank, collected in an immense mass around the Capitol, silent, orderly and tranquil,” she explained.

On that day, President Jackson broke a long tradition by inviting the public to his reception.  When Smith later attended the White House gala, however, she quickly formed a different opinion about the crowd she had so admired just hours before.  “The majesty of the people had disappeared, and a rabble, a mob, of boys, ... women, children—[were] scrambling, fighting romping,” she wrote.  “The President, after having been literally nearly pressed to death and almost suffocated and torn to pieces by the people in their eagerness to shake hands with Old Hickory, had retreated through the back way. ...  Cut glass and china to the amount of several thousand dollars had been broken in the struggle to get refreshments. ...  Ladies and gentlemen only had been expected at this levee, not the people en masse.  But it was the people’s day, and the people’s President, and the people would rule.”

The citizens who had turned the normally dignified inauguration reception into a boisterous affair represented a new class of American voters and a new era in American politics.  Beginning in the early 1800s and continuing through the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the nation’s political system became more democratic.  During this time, government became more inclusive and ordinary citizens became a greater political force.

States Expand Voting Rights

In the early 1800s, hundreds of thousands of Americans, mostly white men, gained the right to vote.  This was largely because many states lowered or eliminated property ownership as a voting qualification.  In addition, as cities and towns grew, the percentage of working people who did not own property increased.  These people paid taxes and had an interest in the political affairs of their communities—and they too wanted a greater voice in electing those who represented them.

The expansion of suffrage—the right to vote—was very much in evidence in the presidential election of 1828.  In 1824 about 355,000 Americans had voted for president.  Four years later, more than 1.1 million citizens cast a ballot in the presidential election.  The expansion of suffrage continued, and by 1840, more than 2.4 million Americans voted in the presidential election.

The People’s President

In 1828, it was Andrew Jackson who won the support of these new voters, many of whom resided on the frontiers of the West and South.  Many of the citizens who voted for the first time in 1828 saw in Jackson a man they truly could admire.  Orphaned at the age of 14, Jackson received little formal education.  His achievements were due to his diligence, hard work, and innate intelligence.  Jackson was elected Tennessee’s first representative to Congress before the age of 30.  In the War of 1812, he won fame leading his troops to victory at the Battle of New Orleans.  In 1818, forces under his command invaded and captured Spanish Florida.  Jackson’s most obvious trait was his force of will, a characteristic that became evident when someone tried to defy him.

Jackson’s early life was notable for violent personal quarrels.  He took part in five duels, once killing his opponent.  As Jackson grew older, his temper and actions became milder.  By the time he entered the White House, he had become a person of dignity and courtesy.

The Spoils System

As president, Andrew Jackson returned the common people’s admiration of him.  He had a great belief in the capability and intelligence of average Americans.  More than earlier presidents, Jackson felt that the majority should rule in a democracy and that ordinary citizens should play a more prominent role in government.

Toward that end, Jackson strongly supported the spoils system—the practice of appointing people to government jobs on the basis of party loyalty and support.  Rewarding supporters with government jobs had long been part of American politics, but Jackson was the first president to force out large numbers of government employees in order to appoint his own followers.  A shocked John Quincy Adams charged that the president’s actions made government “a perpetual ... scramble for office.”

Jackson considered the spoils system to be democratic.  By getting rid of a permanent office-holding class, he opened up government to more ordinary citizens.  He felt that since government jobs were “so plain and simple,” they should be rotated at will and given to supporters.

A More Open Electoral System

In addition to these measures aimed at strengthening democracy, Jackson’s supporters moved to make the political system—specifically, the way in which presidential candidates were chosen—more democratic.  At that time, political parties used the caucus system to select presidential candidates.  The members of the party who served in Congress, known as the party caucus, would meet to choose the nominee for president.  Jackson’s supporters believed that such a method restricted access to office mainly to the elite and well connected.

The Jacksonians replaced the caucus with the national nominating convention.  At nominating conventions, delegates from the states gathered to decide on the party’s presidential nominee.  Through the convention, proponents believed, political power would come from the people rather than from elite political institutions.  In 1832 the Democrats held a nominating convention to renominate Andrew Jackson for president.

Examine:
In what ways did the United States become more democratic in the early 1800s?
 

The Nullification Crisis

Jackson had not been in office long before he had to focus on a national crisis.  It centered on South Carolina, but it also highlighted the growing rift between the nation’s Northern and Southern regions.

The Debate Over Nullification

Throughout the early 1800s, South Carolina’s economy had been weakening.  Many of the state’s residents blamed this situation on the nation’s tariffs.  Because it had few industries, South Carolina purchased many of its manufactured goods, such as cooking utensils and tools, from England, but tariffs made them extremely expensive.  When Congress levied yet another new tariff in 1828—which critics called the Tariff of Abominations—many South Carolinians threatened to secede, or withdraw, from the Union.

The growing turmoil troubled one politician in particular:  John C.  Calhoun, the nation’s vice president and a resident of South Carolina.  Calhoun felt torn between upholding the country’s policies and helping his fellow South Carolinians.  Rather than support secession, Calhoun put forth the idea of nullification to defuse the situation.  He explained this idea in an anonymously published work, The South Carolina Exposition and Protest, which argued that states had the right to declare a federal law null, or not valid.  Calhoun theorized that the states had this right since they had created the federal Union.

The issue continued to simmer beneath the surface until January 1830, when Robert Hayne of South Carolina and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts confronted each other on the floor of the Senate.  Webster, perhaps the greatest orator of his day, was a ferocious defender of the Union.  Hayne was an eloquent champion of the right of states to chart their own course.

Hayne asserted that the Union was no more than a voluntary association of states and advocated the motto, “Liberty first and Union afterward.” Webster countered that neither liberty nor the Union could survive without binding federal laws:
 

“I have not allowed myself, sir, to look beyond the Union, to see what might lie hidden in the dark recess behind.  I have not coolly weighed the chances of preserving liberty when the bonds that unite us together shall be broken asunder.  I have not accustomed myself to hang over the precipice of disunion, to see whether, with my short sight, I can fathom the depth of the abyss below. ...  Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!”

Several months after the Webster-Hayne debate, President Jackson let everyone know where he stood on the issue.  During a political dinner, Jackson stood to make a toast.  Looking directly at John Calhoun, he said, “Our federal Union—it must be preserved.” Calhoun’s hand shook, and he spilled wine as he rose to counter Jackson with, “The Union—next to our liberty, most dear.”

The war of words erupted into a full confrontation in 1832, when Congress passed yet another tariff law.  At President Jackson’s request, the new law cut tariffs significantly, but South Carolinians were not satisfied.  The state legislature asked South Carolina voters to elect a special state convention.  In November 1832, the convention adopted an ordinance of nullification declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 to be unconstitutional.

Jackson considered the nullification an act of treason, and he sent a warship to Charleston.  In 1833 Congress passed the Force Bill, authorizing the president to use the military to enforce acts of Congress.  As tensions rose, Senator Henry Clay pushed through Congress a bill that would lower the nation’s tariffs gradually until 1842.  In response, South Carolina repealed its nullification of the tariff law.  Both sides claimed victory, and the issue was laid to rest—at least temporarily.

Summarize:
What caused the nullification crisis?
 

Policies Toward Native Americans

Andrew Jackson’s commitment to extending democracy did not benefit everyone.  His attitude toward Native Americans reflected the views of many westerners at that time.  Jackson had fought the Creek and Seminole people in Georgia and Florida, and in his inaugural address he declared his intention to move all Native Americans to the Great Plains.

This idea had been gaining support in the United States since the Louisiana Purchase.  John C.  Calhoun had formally proposed it in 1823 when he was secretary of war.  Many Americans believed that the Great Plains was a wasteland that would never be settled.  They thought that if they moved Native Americans to that region, the nation’s conflict with them would be over.  In 1830, Jackson pushed through Congress the Indian Removal Act, which provided money for relocating Native Americans.

Most Native Americans eventually gave in and resettled in the West, but not the Cherokee of Georgia.  Over the years, this Native American group had adopted aspects of white culture, and they hired lawyers to sue the state of Georgia.  Their case, Worcester v.  Georgia, eventually reached the Supreme Court.  In 1832 Chief Justice John Marshall ordered state officials to honor Cherokee property rights.  Jackson refused to support the decision.  “Marshall has made his opinion,” the president reportedly said, “now let him enforce it.”

Until 1838 most of the Cherokee resisted the government’s offers of western land.  Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren, eventually sent in the army to resolve the conflict.  The army forced the remaining people out of their homes and marched them to what is now Oklahoma.  About 2,000 Cherokee died in camps while waiting for the migration to begin.  Approximately 2,000 more died of starvation, disease, and exposure on the journey, which became known as the Trail of Tears.

By 1838, the government had moved most Native Americans still living east of the Mississippi, except for the Seminole of Florida, to reservations.  Most people supported these removal policies.  Only a few denounced the harsh treatment of Native Americans.  Non-supporters included some of the National Republicans and a few religious denominations, especially the Quakers and Methodists.

Interpret:
What was the Trail of Tears?
 

ECONOMICS
Jackson Battles the National Bank

One of the most contentious developments of Jackson’s presidency was his campaign against the Second Bank of the United States.  Like most Westerners and many working people, President Jackson was suspicious of the Bank.  He regarded it as a monopoly that benefited the wealthy elite.

Despite its reputation, the Bank played an important role in keeping the money supply of the United States stable.  At the time, most American paper money consisted of bank notes issued by private state banks.  State banks issued bank notes with the promise that the notes could always be turned in for “hard” money—gold or silver coins.

The state banks, however, would often issue more paper money than they could redeem in gold or silver.  This let them make more loans at lower interest rates, but it created the danger of inflation.  To prevent the state banks from loaning too much money, the Bank of the United States regularly collected bank notes and asked state banks to redeem them for gold and silver.  This action forced state banks to be careful about how much money they loaned, and it also limited inflation.

The Bank had done a good job stabilizing the money supply and interest rates, but many western settlers, who needed easy credit to run their farms, were unhappy with the Bank’s lending policies.  President Jackson also believed the Bank was unconstitutional, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in McCulloch v.  Maryland.  He did not believe that as president he had to accept this Supreme Court ruling.

To make the Bank an issue in the 1832 presidential campaign, Jackson’s congressional opponents introduced a bill extending the Bank’s charter for another 20 years.  Congress passed the bill, but Jackson vetoed it.  When the election was over, it was clear that most Americans supported Jackson.  He easily won a second term.

Jackson took his re-election as a directive from the people to destroy the Bank at once, even though its charter did not run out until 1836.  He removed the government’s deposits from the Bank and placed them in state banks.  The removal of the deposits forced the Bank to call in its loans and stop lending.

By putting an end to the Bank of the United States, Jackson had won a considerable political victory.  Later, however, critics would charge that the end of the Bank contributed significantly to the financial woes that plagued the country in the years ahead.

Examine:
Why was President Jackson against the Second Bank of the United States?
 

A New Party Emerges

Andrew Jackson’s forceful style had earned him plenty of detractors, and by the mid-1830s a new party emerged to oppose him.  The group named itself the Whigs after the party in England that had worked to limit the king’s power.  The Whigs advocated a larger federal government, industrial and commercial development, and a centralized economy.  Jackson’s Democrats, on the other hand, favored a limited federal government, and they distrusted eastern merchants and business leaders.

The Presidency of Martin Van Buren

The Whigs were united in opposing Jackson, but they were unable to settle on a leader.  During the 1836 presidential election, Jackson’s popularity and the nation’s continuing prosperity helped Democrat Martin Van Buren defeat the Whigs, who had three candidates for president.

The new president had little time to savor his victory.  Shortly after Van Buren took office, a crippling economic crisis hit the nation.  During this Panic of 1837, as the crisis was called, many banks and businesses failed.  Thousands of farmers lost their land, and unemployment soared among eastern factory workers.  Van Buren, a firm believer in his party’s philosophy of a limited federal government, did little to ease the crisis.

“Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”

With the nation experiencing hard times, the Whigs looked forward to ousting the Democrats in the presidential election of 1840.  They nominated General William Henry Harrison, who was regarded as a hero for his role in the Battle of Tippecanoe and in the War of 1812.  John Tyler, a Southerner and former Democrat who had left his party in protest over the nullification issue, joined the ticket as the vice presidential candidate.

Adopting the campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too,” the Whigs blamed Van Buren for the economic depression.  To attract western voters, they presented Harrison, a man born to wealth and privilege, as a simple frontiersman.

The strategy worked.  Harrison won a decisive victory—234 electoral votes to 60, although the popular vote was much closer.  On March 4, 1841, Harrison delivered his inauguration speech.  The weather that day was bitterly cold, but Harrison insisted on delivering his nearly two-hour address without a hat or coat.  He came down with pneumonia and died 32 days later, thereby serving the shortest term of any American president.  Vice President John Tyler then succeeded to the presidency.

The Tyler Years

Tyler’s rise to the presidency shocked Whig leaders.  Tyler actually opposed many Whig policies, and party leaders had placed him on the ticket mainly to attract Southern voters.  Congress and the press mockingly called Tyler, “His Accidency.” The Whigs in Congress tried to push through their agenda anyway, including a Third Bank of the United States and a higher tariff, but Tyler sided with the Democrats on these key issues.

Foreign relations occupied the country’s attention during much of Tyler’s administration, especially relations with Great Britain.  Disputes over the Maine-Canadian border and other issues resulted in the 1842 Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which established a firm boundary between the United States and Canada from Maine to Minnesota.

By the middle of the 1800s, a wave of social change was sweeping across the nation.  Americans began examining numerous aspects of their culture, from religion to literature.  A social transformation soon began, which eventually led to the shaping of a uniquely American society.

Identify:
What new political party won the presidential election of 1840?
 

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