ANDREW JACKSON

The Election of 1824 and 1828 

Traditionally, presidential candidates were selected at caucuses, and that would be the party's candidate caucus- private meeting of party members The Republican Caucus selected William

Crawford of Georgia as their candidate However, due to sectionalism, other

sections of the countries selected their own candidates

Election of 1824 However, due to sectionalism, other

sections of the countries selected their own candidates John Quincy Adams in the NE, Andrew

Jackson in the West

Election of 1824 When the election was over, no one was

the clear winner Jackson had won the most votes, but not a

majority When no candidate wins a majority of the

electoral college vote, the decision belongs to the House of Representatives that selected John Q. Adams

Election of 1824 The House based their decision upon

advice from Henry Clay Problem: Clay was later named Adams'

Secretary of State "Corrupt bargain?"

Election of 1828 Jackson and the Democratic-Republicans

were outraged about the election of 1824 and immediately began to prepare for 1828

Thanks to Martin Van Buren, the party reformed itself into the Jacksonian Democrarts

They fairly easily won the 1828 election thanks to support from the Southern and Western states

Election of 1828 Both parties mudslinging Mudslinging – making wild charges and

lies about a candidate The Jacksonian Democrats:

a. said Adams was out of touch with the common people

b. coined the phrase “Adams can write, but Jackson can fight”

c. gave Jackson the nickname “Old Hickory”

National Republicans (old D-Rs): a. called Jackson crude and uneducated b. labeled him as a gambler and a brawler c. called him a murderer (fought in duels)

Jackson Takes Charge Jackson was a “common man”

Thus he wanted to change how the national gov't functions, it favored the rich and he wanted to make it simple

Did not utilize his cabinet, rather he took advice from his friends

this group of friends became known as the “Kitchen Cabinet”

Spoils System spoils system- process of new

president rewarding supporters with jobs in the gov't

Pres. Jackson was accused of abusing this system

Jackson's argument was that “to the victor, goes the spoils”

Tariff of Abomination South Carolina grew very angry about

the Tariff of 1828 it raised the prices of manufactured

goods the tariff was created to help North

Eastern manufacturing raised the prices of imported goods,

making them more expensive than American Goods

Tariff of Abomination They threatened to secede from the US if

this tariff was not reduced secede-break away The VP, John C. Calhoun (of S.Carolina)

did not want this to happen, so he suggested nullification

nullification- rejection of federal law

The Nullification Crisis Two of the most gifted speakers in

Congress squared off in a debate over the ability for a state to nullify

Hayne argued that the states had created a constitution and therefore had the right to nullify

Webster said the national gov't gets it power from the people, and not from the states

The Nullification Crisis Jackson was able to get Congress to lower

the tariff, but S. Carolina was still not happy In fact, South Carolina readied for war to

disunion Jackson responded by calling disunion

“treason” Jackson got Congress to pass the Force Bill,

which gave him the power to use the navy and army to collect the tariff

The Nullification Crisis The combination of the Force Bill, and

the signing of a new lower tariff ended the nullification crisis, thus holding the Union together, for now