PRESIDENT ANDREW “OLD HICKORY” JACKSON (1829-1837)
1824 Election (Corrupt Bargain)
- First time since election of 1800 there was competition for presidency
- Four candidates from different factions of Democratic-Republican Party
- Henry Clay throws support to John Quincy Adams; Adams wins
- Adams appoints Clay Secretary of State
- Jackson supporters call it the “Corrupt Bargain”
Presidency of JQ Adams (1825-1829)
- Attempted to develop The American System
- Protective Tariff: prevent importation of cheap foreign goods to protect
American industry from foreign competition
- Second National Bank: promote a single currency and allow Americans to invest
in the federal government rather than in private or state institutions
- Infrastructure Improvements: use federal funds to improve roads and canals to
make trade more efficient and profitable
- Relatively unsuccessful
- Sectional Confilcts
- Political divisions within Congress hampered his effectiveness
- Adams developed scorn for increasingly democratic politics of the day
- Declines to attend a Maryland Cattle show – not connected with the people
Election of 1828
- Jackson (Democrats) vs. Adams (National Republicans)
- Jackson appeals directly to the people – which was a significant change in approach to
candidacy
- Runs a smear campaign, anti-intellectual, BBQ’s, buttons, vague promises
- Jackson wins easily and throws a crazy party at the White House for his inauguration
Election of 1832
- National-Republicans become Whigs and nominate Henry Clay to run against Jackson
- Jackson wins
- 2nd National Bank is the major campaign issue
Jackson’s Policies
- Majority rule, limited government, people vs. aristocracy, veto power, “King Andrew”
- Rotation in Office
- Promised to “cleanse” federal government of corrupt officeholders
- Only removed 919 of 10,093, replacements no better
- Introduced the “spoils system” to American politics
- Tariff of “Abominations”
- Passed in 1828 to benefit Northern manufacturing states
- South hated it - liked cheap imported goods, wrongfully blamed it for economic
downturn
- Nullification Crisis (1832)
- South Carolina protested
- Declared their right to nullify the tariff
- Called on militia to enforce nullification
- Threatened to secede
- Calhoun (VP) supported South Carolina, Jackson did not
- Jackson approves the Force Act of 1832
- Sent troops to South Carolina
- Looks to reduce tariffs
- Calhoun quits and becomes a U.S. Senator for South Carolina
- Compromise Tariff of 1833
- South Carolina backs down
- Tariff to be reduced gradually until 1842
- Leaves unanswered questions
- Indian Policy
- Not a friend to Native Americans
- Supports forced relocation
- Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
- Can Georgia regulate Indian Territory within her borders?
- No
- Indian Territory is sovereign (independent) territory, states have no
control
- Jackson ignored Supreme Court and gave his blessing to the “Trail of Tears”
- Forced migration of 16,000 Cherokee out of Georgia homelands into Arkansas
and Oklahoma under the Indian Removal Act of 1830
- ¼ (4,000) of the Cherokee die in the process
- Internal Improvements
- Vetoes Maysville Road Bill (1830)
- Said it was because the road was only going through one state and was therefore
not a federal issue
- Does support some other internal improvements, but most are vetoed
- End of the American System
- 2nd National Bank
- Bank held federal funds, stabilized local banks by somewhat limiting loans which
were not backed by gold or silver specie
- Jackson thought the bank was a monster that threatened state and local liberty
- An example of People vs. American Aristocracy
- 1832 vetoed re-chartering (which would kill bank in 4 years)
- Removed $10 million and deposited it in “pet banks”
- Specie Circular (or Currency Act) of 1836
- One of Jackson’s last actions as president
- Executive order which said only specie could be used to pay for government land (the
biggest market at the time was for the newly acquired Cherokee Lands), not soft
(unbacked) money or bank scrip which had been issued in increasing quantity following
the veto of the National Bank Charter
- Executive order was actually carried out by President Van Buren
- Along with unchecked speculation in public land market, Jackson’s decisions to kill the
bank and issue the Specie Circular had a disastrous effect on the economy
- Panic of 1837
- Specie Circular panicked investors who had assets tied up in soft currency because their
values would be significantly devalued
- Investors rushed to convert assets to hard currency further devaluing the soft currency
- Credit contracted (decreased) - Led to a 5 year depression, bank failures, and massive
unemployment
- Martin “Van Ruin” Van Buren inherited and blamed for crisis as president in 1837