Topic of Discussion Jacksonian Democracy

Transcription

1 I Introduction 1. Jacksonian Democracy refers to the political philosophy of United States President Andrew Jackson and his supporters. Jackson's policies followed in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson. Jackson's Democratic Party was resisted by the rival Whig Party. More broadly, the term refers to the period of the Second Party System ( ) when Jacksonian philosophy was ascendant as well as the spirit of that era. It can be contrasted with the characteristics of Jeffersonian democracy, which dominated the previous political era. The Jacksonian era saw a great increase of respect and power for the common man, as the electorate expanded to include all white male adult citizens, rather than only land owners in that group. 2. In contrast to the Jeffersonian era, Jacksonian democracy promoted the strength of the executive branch and the Presidency at the expense of Congressional power, while also seeking to broaden the public's participation in government. Jacksonians believed in enfranchising all white men, rather than just the propertied class, and supported the patronage system that enabled politicians to appoint their supporters into administrative offices, arguing it would reduce the power of elites and prevent aristocracies from emerging. They demanded elected (not appointed) judges and rewrote many state constitutions to reflect the new values. In national terms the Jacksonians favored geographical expansion, justifying it in terms of Manifest Destiny. There was usually a consensus among both Jacksonians and Whigs that battles over slavery should be avoided. The

2 Jacksonian Era lasted roughly from Jackson's 1828 election until the slavery issue became dominant after 1850 and the American Civil War dramatically reshaped American politics as the Third Party System emerged. II Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 1. Andrew Jackson rose to national prominence as a General during the War of The presidential election of 1828 brought a great victory for Andrew Jackson. Not only did he get almost 70 percent of the votes cast in the electoral college, popular participation in the election soared to an unheard of 60 percent. This more than doubled the turnout in 1824; Jackson clearly headed a sweeping political movement. His central message remained largely the same from the previous election, but had grown in intensity. Jackson warned that the nation had been corrupted by "special privilege," characterized especially by the policies of the Second Bank of the United States. The proper road to reform, according to Jackson, lay in an absolute acceptance of majority rule as expressed through the democratic process. Beyond these general principles, however, Jackson's campaign was notably vague about specific policies. Instead, it stressed Jackson's life story as a man who had risen from modest origins to become a successful Tennessee planter. Jackson's claim to distinction lay in a military career that in-

3 cluded service as a young man in the Revolutionary War, several anti-indian campaigns, and, of course, his crowning moment in the Battle of New Orleans at the end of the War of Jackson's election marked a new direction in American politics. He was the first westerner elected president, indeed, the first president from a state other than Virginia or Massachusetts. He boldly proclaimed himself to be the "champion of the common man" and believed that their interests were ignored by the aggressive national economic plans of Clay and Adams. More than this, however, when Martin Van Buren followed Jackson as president, it indicated that the Jacksonian movement had long-term significance that would outlast his own charismatic leadership. 4. Van Buren, perhaps even more than Jackson, helped to create the new Democratic party that centered upon three chief qualities closely linked to Jacksonian Democracy. First, it declared itself to be the party of ordinary farmers and workers. Second, it opposed the special privileges of economic elites. Third, to offer affordable western land to ordinary white Americans, Indians needed to be forced further westward. The Whig party soon arose to challenge the Democrats with a different policy platform and vision for the nation. Whigs' favored active government support for economic improvement as the best route to sustained prosperity. Thus, the Whig-Democrat political contest was in large part a disagreement about the early Industrial Revolution. Whigs defended economic development's broad benefits, while Democrats

4 stressed the new forms of dependence that it created. The fiercely partisan campaigns waged between these parties lasted into the 1850s and are known as the Second Party System, an assuredly modern framework of political competition that reached ordinary voters as never before with both sides organizing tirelessly to carry their message directly to the American people. A new era of American politics began with Jackson's election in 1828, but it also completed a grand social experiment begun by the American Revolution. 5. Although the Founding Fathers would have been astounded by the new shape of the nation during Jackson's presidency, just as Jackson himself had served in the American Revolution, its values helped form his sense of the world. The ideals of the Revolution had, of course, been altered by the new conditions of the early nineteenth century and would continue to be reworked over time. Economic, religious, and geographic changes had all reshaped the nation in fundamental ways and pointed toward still greater opportunities and pitfalls in the future. Nevertheless, Jacksonian Democracy represented a provocative blending of the best and worst qualities of American society. On the one hand it was an authentic democratic movement that contained a principled egalitarian thrust, but this powerful social critique was always cast for the benefit of white men. This tragic mix of egalitarianism, masculine privilege, and racial prejudice remains a central quality of American life and to explore their relationship in the past may help suggest ways of overcoming their haunting limitations in the future.

5 III Highlights of Jacksons Presidency Jackson personified the desirable and undesirable qualities of Westerners. He stood for the right of the common people to have a greater voice in government. Distinct changes in laws, practices, and popular attitudes gave rise to Jacksonian Democracy and were in turn accelerated by the new equalitarian spirit. 1. Jacksonian Revolution of 1828: Jackson won more than twice the electoral vote of John Quincy Adams. However the popular vote was much closer. Adams had strong support in New England while Jackson swept the South and Southwest. In the middle states and the Northwest, the popular vote was close. 2. Age of the Common Man: All white males had access to the polls. Jackson was portrayed by the opposition as a common man, an illiterate backwoodsman, during the election of He was depicted as being uncorrupt, natural, and plain. His supporters described his simple and true morals and fierce and resolute will. 3. Spoils System: Jackson defended the principle of "rotation in office," the removal of officeholders of the rival party on democratic grounds. He wanted to give as many individuals as possible a chance to

6 work for the government and to prevent the development of an elite bureaucracy. 4. National Republicans: They became the Whig party during Jackson s second term. John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay guided this party in the 1830s. They were the Jeffersonian Republicans, along with numerous former Federalists who believed that the national government should advocate economic development. 5. Trail of Tears: A pro-removal chief signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1835 which ceded all Cherokee land to the United States for $5.6 million. Most Cherokees condemned the treaty. Between 1835 and 1838, 16,000 Cherokees migrated west to the Mississippi along the Trail of Tears. 2,000 to 4,000 Cherokees died. 6. Kitchen Cabinets: During his first term, Jackson repeatedly relied on an informal group of partisan supporters for advice while ignoring his appointed cabinet officers. Supposedly, they met in the White House kitchen. Martin Van Buren and John H. Eaton belonged to this group, but were also members of the official cabinet. 7. Worcester v. Georgia, 1832: Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokees were not a state nor a foreign nation and therefore lacked standing to bring suit. Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 1831: Marshall ruled that the Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation" entitled to federal protection from mistreatment by Georgia. 8. Whigs: The National Republican party altered its name to the Whig party during Jackson s second

7 term. They were united by their opposition of Jackson s policies, committed to Clay s American System and believed in active intervention by the government to change society. They became a national party with appeal by Maysville Road veto: President Jackson vetoed a bill to grant federal aid for a road in Kentucky between Maysville and Lexington in He believed that internal improvements violated the principle that Congress could appropriate money for objectives only shared by all Americans. It increased Jackson s popularity in the South. 10. Election of 1832: Jackson, a strong defender of states rights and Unionism won the presidency. The National Republicans ran Henry Clay whose platform consisted of his American System. The Anti- Masonic Party ran William Wirt who received 7 electoral votes. 11. Bank War: Nicholas Biddle operated the Bank of the United States since Many opposed the Bank because it was big and powerful. Some disputed its constitutionality. Jackson tried to destroy the Bank by vetoing a bill to recharter the Bank. He removed the federal government s deposits from the Bank and put them into various state and local banks or "pet banks." Biddle tightened up on credit and called in loans, hoping for a retraction by Jackson, which never occurred. A financial recession resulted. 12. Roger B. Taney: Jackson s policy was to remove federal deposits form the Bank of US and put them in state banks. Secretary of treasury Roger B. Taney implemented the policy. Critics called the state-

8 bank depositories pet banks because they were chosen for their loyalty to the Democratic party. 13. Webster-Hayne Debate: Senator Robert Hayne of South Carolina made a speech in favor of cheap land in He used Calhoun s anti-tariff arguments to support his position and referred to the plausibility of nullification. Webster contended that the Union was indissoluble and sovereign over the individual states. 14. Calhoun resigns: When Jackson favored the higher rates for the Tariff of 1832, Calhoun resigned in the same year. He went back to South Carolina and composed an Ordinance of Nullification which was approved by a special convention, and the customs officials were ordered to stop collecting the duties at Charleston. 15. Nullification Crisis: Calhoun introduced the idea in his SC Exposition and Protest. States that suffered from the tariff of 1828 had the right to nullify or override the law within their borders. Jackson proclaimed that nullification was unconstitutional and that the Constitution established "a single nation," not a league of states. A final resolution of the question of nullification was postponed until 1861, when South Carolina, accompanied by other southern states, seceded from the Union and started the Civil War. 16. Clay Compromise: He devised the Compromise Tariff which provided for a gradual lowering of duties between The Force Bill authorized the president to use arms to collect customs duties in South Carolina. Without the compromise, he believed that the Force Bill would produce a civil war.

9 17. Martin Van Buren: The accepted name for a group of Democratic party politicians, their activities were centered in Albany, NY. They took a leading role in national and NY State politics between 1820 and One of the earliest, competent political machines in the US, prominent members included Van Buren. 18. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney: The Charles River Bridge Company sued to prevent Mass. from permitting the construction of a new bridge across the Charles River. Taney ruled that no charter given to a private corporation forever vested rights that might hurt the public interest. 19. Panic of 1837: Prices began to fall in May 1837 and bank after bank refused specie payments. The Bank of the United States also failed. The origins of the depression included Jackson s Specie Circular. Also, Britain controlled the flow of specie from its shores to the US in an attempt to hinder the outflow of British investments in Dorr s Rebellion: As a popular movement emerged in Rhode Island to abolish the limitations set forth by the charter granted by Charles II in 1663, so did much violence and serious disturbances. The protesters sought to do away with the state constitution which restricted suffrage to freeholders led the reform to grant suffrage to non-property owners. 21. Independent Treasury Plan: Instead of depositing its revenue in state banks, Van Buren persuaded Congress to establish an Independent Treasury in which the federal government would keep the revenue itself and thereby withhold public money from the grasp of business cooperation.

10 22. Election of 1840: Van Buren was nominated but no vice president was put up. His opponent, William Henry Harrison was ridiculed as "Old Granny" by the Democrats, and was given the most successful campaign slogans in history. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" Harrison won 80% of the electoral vote but died a moth later. 23. Rise of the second party system: Because of the gradual hardening of the line between the two parties, interests in politic erupted among the people. New things such as rousing campaign techniques, strong contrasts, and simple choices began to appeal to the ordinary people. 24. Tariff of 1842: In August of 1842, due to the need of revenue to run the government, Tyler signed a bill which maintained some tariffs above 20%, but abandoned distribution to the states. This satisfied northern manufacturers, but by abandoning distribution, it infuriated many southerners and westerners