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Essential Question:
Champion of the
“Common Man”?
“King”Andrew?OR
Jackson’s Opponents in 1824
Henry Clay[KY]
John Quincy Adams[MA]
John C. Calhoun
[SC]
William H. Crawford[GA]
Results of the 1824 Election
A
“Corrupt Bargain?
”
Voting Requirements in the Early 19c
Voting Requirements Eased
• -This enlarged the voting population• Fewer states had property
qualifications• In 4 years the number of voters
tripled.• **Appealed to the ordinary citizen
and took the nickname “Old Hickory”
Voter Turnout: 1820 - 1860
A Little about Jackson3 White male suffrage increased
3 Fiery temper3 War hero, wealthy planter, and worked in
law3 Popular campaigning (parades, rallies,
floats, etc.)
Jacksonian Democracy• As part of his political
philosophy, Jackson sought to grant political power to the common people
• Called The Spoils System or Jacksonian Democracy, Jackson hired his own supporters to replace the previous administration’s staff
• Jackson gave away many jobs to his friends and political allies
The “Common Man’s”
Presidential Candidate
First Known Painting
of Jackson, 1815
General Jackson
Rachel Jackson
Final Divorce Decree
"Ought a convicted adulteress and her
paramour husband to be placed in the highest offices
of this free and Christian land?"
Jackson in Mourning for His
Wife
1828 Election Results
Jackson’s Faith in the “Common
Man”3 Intense distrust of Eastern“establishment,” monopolies, & special privilege.
3 His heart & soul was with the“plain folk.”
3 Belief that the common man was capable of uncommon achievements.
Indian Removal-Congress, with Jackson’s support, passed the
Indian Removal Act in 1830
-Under this law, the federal government funded treaties that forced tribes west
-The Cherokee Tribe in Georgia refused and were supported by the Supreme Court
-Jackson refused to abide by the Court decisionJackson said, “John Marshall (Supreme Court
Chief Justice) has made his decision, now let him enforce it.”
-Trail of Tears followed the Court ruling as U.S. troops rounded up the Cherokee and drove them west, mostly on foot. . .thousands died
The Cherokee Nation After 1820
Indian Removal
Trail of Tears (1838-1839)
Trail of Tears• Beginning in October/November of
1838 Cherokees were put into groups of 1000.
• 800 mile trip west to new land.• Money and livestock were stolen
along the way• Cherokee buried more than ¼ of
their people• Land was inferior to past land
TARIFF OF “ABOMINATION”
• In 1824 and again in 1828, Congress increased the Import Tariff of 1816
• Southerners called the 1828 Tariff, “a Tariff of Abominations,” and blamed it for economic problems in the South
The Tariff of 1828 was a protective tariff passed by the Congress of the United States on May 19, 1828, designed to protect industry in the northern United States. It was labeled the Tariff of Abominations by its southern detractors because of the effects it had on the antebellum Southern economy.The major goal of the tariff was to protect industries in the northern United States which were being driven out of business by low-priced imported goods by putting a tax on them. The South, however, was harmed directly by having to pay higher prices on goods the region did not produce, and indirectly because reducing the exportation of British goods to the US made it difficult for the British to pay for the cotton they imported from the South
Nullification threat
• In an attempt to free South Carolina from the tariff, John Calhoun (Jackson’s VP from S.C.), developed the Theory of Nullification
• He believed if a state found an act of Congress to be unconstitutional, it could declare the law void within its borders
Jackson’s Bank War
• Jackson opposed National Bank so he created Pet Banks – so called because they were favored by Jackson’s Democrats
• Many felt Jackson was acting more like a King than a president
• In 1832, his opponents formed a new party – the Whigs
Panic of 1837• In 1836, Democrat Martin Van
Buren won the Presidency• He inherited problems from the
“Bank Wars”• Jackson’s Pet Banks printed money
without Gold (specie) backing• In 1837 a panic set in and many
banks closed, accounts went bankrupted, and unemployment soared
Andrew Jackson in Retirement
Photo of Andrew Jackson in 1844
(one year before his death)
1767 - 1845
