Study Guide Unit 5 Jacksonian Democracy

Economic Boom
General Info - In the years preceding the Age of Jackson, there was a large
economic boom domestically, resulting from a revolution in transportation,
that included large-scale investments in Railroads, Canals, and Roads, that
helped transport good. Additionally, the government began subsidizing these
projects, and gave land grants that helped to establish these improvements.
Monopolies In cases such as Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Supreme Court
bashed Monopolies, and opened up business opportunities to many who
previously lacked these chances. To meet this need for a larger labor force to
work on these large projects, there be came a marked increase in
immigration during this period.
Immigration Many immigrants came to the United States during this
period of time, especially the German and Irish, who came to escape hard
times in their home countries. Additionally, there was a breakthrough in that
it was not just the men who were undertaking this labor, but also the women
and children of the families, seeing as there were no child labor laws.

The South During This Period

Cotton During the time preceding the Age of Jackson, the South was
revolutionized by the invention of the Cotton Gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. This
enabled the speedy removal of seed from short-staple cotton, a variety of
the plant that, although hardier and able to be grown in more places,
required much more work to remove the seeds of it.
The Deep South - This invention changed that, and sparked the foundation
of a system of plantations throughout the Deep South, churning out shortstaple cotton to be refined into textiles in the North in states such as
Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
The Upper South - However, the Upper South, consisting of states such as
Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, began to focus more on other crops,
such as corn, that could be sold to the plantations in the Lower South in
order to feed the labor force. These states, although they used slavery, were
not as heavy players in the plantation system that began to evolve during
this time.
Southern Economics The South found slavery to be a very profitable
enterprise during this period, and saw no incentive to change from this

system. However, while one may be led to believe that the plantation
owners, the elite of this system, would have possessed massive amounts of
excess cash, they did not. Instead, any extra money they had was
immediately poured back in to the purchase of more slaves, or the purchase
of more lands, as such, most of their wealth was tied in these two
possessions.
White Society In the White society of the South during this time, there
existed four strictly defined classes. At the top, existed the plantation
owners, who, although only being a small percentage of the population,
possessed the most power. Beneath them were the small slave owners, who,
when working to become large plantation owners, put themselves at
significantly more risk, by owning fewer slaves. Below them were the
Yeoman Farmers, who owned small tracts of land, and worked it to farm food.
These people didnt own slaves, however. Lastly, the poor whites who didnt
own land were the lowest on the white social ladder. They didnt have much,
and were barely separated from the slaves in possessions, which made them
very racist in their beliefs as the looked for separation.

Slavery
Demographics - The percentage of people that owned slaves, contrary to
popular belief, was in fact a slim minority, with 64% of the white population
of the South not owning a single slave.
Advantages - Also, while there were many reasons why the masters would
be seen as superior to their slaves, such as skin color, wealth, citizenship,
and legal status, the masters also had some disadvantages to the slaves, as
well. The slaves were greater in numbers, and they themselves were the
objects that held most of their masters wealth. So, if a slave were to revolt,
it would put the master in a very uncomfortable position.
Slave Revolts As such, there were, in fact, many occasions in which the
slaves did revolt, to great effects. Most famous amongst these were Gabriel
Prossers rebellion in 1800 in Richmond, VA, Denmark Veseys rebellion in
1824 in Charleston, SC, and Nat Turners rebellion in Virginia.
Justifications of Slavery During this time, Slavery wasnt thought of as a
bad, thing as was in fact justified under many different lenses, such as the
fact that both the North and the South were economically tied to slavery, the
fact that slavery has been practiced for time immemorial, and the idea of
paternalism, that the whites were actually helping out the blacks by
civilizing them.

Prelude to Jackson

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams, the President preceding Jackson, was seen as flawed,
due to the fact that Adams had become President through the extremely
strange election of 1824, where the Electoral College was tied, and the
House of Representatives had to decide the vote. John Quincy Adams, as
speaker of the house, won, and Jackson was not pleased. He called this a
corrupt bargain, and left very unpleased. In 1828, during his Presidency,
the then-called tariff of abominations was passed, further cementing his
negative legacy

Andrew Jackson
Who Was He?
Andrew Jackson, born in North Carolina but raised in Tennessee, was a War
Hero from the Mexican-American war. Both of his parents died during the
revolution, and he was seen as more of a self-made man. He became a
lawyer, and subsequently a Senator, and then eventually a General in a
Militia. However, despite being portrayed as a common man to many, he was
in fact quite wealthy, and did possess a lot of power.
Beliefs
One of Jacksons chief ideals, worth mentioning here, is his absolute hatred
of banks. Because of the hurt that he felt from the Panic of 1819, where bank
recalled many loans, hurting large landowners such as himself, he felt that
centralized economics were not a good thing at all, and he fought tirelessly
to eradicate their influence in politics.
Election of 1828
Because they were so divided, the Republican party, ran two candidates for
this election. Adams, who ran as a National Republican, and Jackson, who
was a Democratic Republican. Eventually, the National Republican would
merge with the Whig Party, serving to essentially counter all of Jacksons
principles. Jacksons party, on the other hand, would become known as the
Democrats.

Jackson In Office 1st Term

General Information
It was very unclear exactly what Jacksons stances on certain issues were
when he was moving into office. It was clear that he would advocate against
centralized banks, and for Indian removal, but not much else was known.
Inaugural Address

In Jacksons inaugural address, he made many promises that he would later

go back on, such treating Native Americans nice. He also makes many bold
claims about his presidency, such as that he plans to extinguish the National
Debt (which he would actually do), make friends with foreign nations, and
create a balance between Agriculture and Industry.
Indian Removal
Because of the fact that much of his pre-Presidential reputation was based
off of battles with Native Americans, Jackson was VERY pro-removal. He
realized that Native Americans occupied good land, and attempted to move
them west. In the Indian Removal Act of 1830, he pushed through a bill that
would provide federal funding to the forced removal of southern Native
tribes. The Cherokee objected to this bill, and in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia,
actually won the right to their land in the Supreme Court. However, Jackson
decided to not enforce this ruling, showing that although the Supreme Court
made these decisions, they were unable to act upon them. Jackson then laid
into place the foundation of what would eventually be known as the Trail of
Tears, the forced removal of the Cherokee to Oklahoma during the winter of
1838-1839, in which as many as of the Cherokee that began the journey
passed away before its end.
Nullification
In both 1824 and 1828, congress enacted certain tariffs on goods imported
and exported to the country. While the industrial north didnt mind these, the
South, which relied heavily on exporting to Europe, feared that these taxes
would result in potential buyers looking elsewhere, and protested
vehemently. The tariff in 1828, known as the Tariff of Abomination in the
South, was especially hated, and the South considered nullifying, or not
adhering to, it. So, in 1832, when Congress enacted what was supposedly a
compromise with the South, South Carolina said that it wasnt enough, and
decided to not listen to the new law. In response to this, Jackson pushed
through the Force Bill, which gave Jackson the authority to use military
force to enforce taxes, and make sure that South Carolina stayed a part of
the USA, as they had threatened to secede. While this did cause South
Carolina to back down, this left the issue of whether or not a state can
secede, as well as nullify bills, unanswered, which would lead to problems
down the road.
Bank War
At this point in U.S. History, there existed a national bank, which served to
control the currency, as well as the international finances of the fledgling
country. Jackson, however, hated banks, as a result of the panic of 1819, and
did not like the idea of centralized money at all. In 1832, the 20 year Charter
of the Bank was almost up, and Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House,
decided to propose a new charter shortly before the elections, as this would
force Jackson to pick a side, or risk losing votes. Jackson vetoed the bill, and

proceeded to win the 1832 election, proving that his following wasnt that
deeply effected by this decision.

Jackson In Office 2nd Term

Result of Bank War
After terminating the renewal of the National Banks charter, Jackson felt
soundly that his re-elections spoke volumes for the peoples discontent with
the bank, and decided to not even let the current charter run out. He then
went about dismantling the national bank, removing all government money
from the bank, and placing it in smaller, regional pet banks, where he
favored one that were owned or operated by Jacksons supporters. The
resulted in the need of the national bank to recall all of its loans early, which
directly led to an economic recession a few years later, known as the Panic of
1837.

After Jackson
The Election of 1836
Jacksons successor, Martin van Buren, ran as a Democratic Republican,
soon to simply be known as Democrats. They did not have very unified
opposition, however, and van Buren easily won.
Van Buren as President
During the first year of van Burens tenure, the Panic of 1837 hit, with
Jacksons poor economic decisions hurting the countrys economy
significantly. However, as Jackson was no longer in office, most of the blame
fell to van Buren, who became known as Marin van Ruin, and falling out of
public favor. However, one of the few notable decisions made during his time
was the implementation of the gag rule in Congress, banning the mere
discussion of slavery in Congress, as it had become too polarizing of a topic.
The Election of 1840
At this point, Martin van Buren simply ran for office as a Democrat, as
those who opposed his (and Jacksons) ideals has gravitated away from the
party. This new Democratic Party, with the majority of their base in the South
and West of the country, was seen as the party of the common man, and
nominated van Buren for a second term in this election. The new party that,
formed by those who had split from the Jeffersonian Republicans, became
known as the Whig Party. These men nominated another War Hero from the
Mexican-American War, William Henry Harrison, for President. Harrison
narrowly won, and actually died only months into his presidency.
The Whig Party

This party had much of their support in the Northeast and Northern Midwest
of the country, and believed in a lot of what Jackson opposed. They were proFederal Government, pro-National Bank, pro-Industrialization, and proCompromise, compared to Jacksons refusal to budge on any issue. They also
believed deeply in Henry Clays idea of the American System, promoting
three things: A National Bank, Tariffs, and Internal Improvements. This group,
countered by the democrats, became known as the second party system.
Harrisons Legacy
With this being the first time that a President died in office, a new protocol
was being used for the first time. When his Vice-President, John Tyler,
became President, he showed that he was not as pro-Whig as he had
seemed, vetoing bills that encouraged the American System, as well as a
National Bank, something a Whig would find inconceivable. This actually
resulted in the resignation of his entire cabinet (except Daniel Webster), a
very radical action, cementing Tylers legacy as a very bad President.

Results Of The Age of Jackson

Economic
The Panic of 1837 only further alienated those who were previously united as
Jeffersonian Republicans. Those with business-minded interests joined the
Whig party, and all others gained closer ties with Agrarian Interests as
Jacksonian Democrats.
Political
The Age of Jackson can be seen as the birth of modern American politics,
with the first campaigns taking place during this time, accompanied with a
large increase in political interest. Jackson also was the 1st President to so
drastically expand executive power in the way that he did, using the veto
more than all other Presidents before him combined.

Western Expansion
Texas
Independence
In the early 1820s, Texas became a part of the new nation of Mexico,
resulting from Mexican Independence from Spain in 1821. Mexico, as a new
nation, desired rapid economic growth, as well as a buffer from potentially
hostile Native Americans, so they granted large tracts of lands to Americans
in Texas. These men, given this land, began to grow cotton, however there
were other terms to the agreement made with Mexico that were not
necessarily being followed. Under this agreement, these men were allowed
use of New Orleans to export their cotton, but in return for the land, they had

to: convert to Roman Catholicism, become Mexican citizens, and (depending

on how the terms of the deal are read), slowly phase out slavery. None of
these things occur, which quickly angers the Mexicans, who restrict the
terms of both slavery and immigration. The Americans get upset as well, and
spark the Texas Revolution from 1835-1836. These men win, and Texas
becomes independent as the Lone Star Republic.
Statehood
This newly independent country, with many American citizens living in it,
sparks heated debate in Congress over whether or not Texas should be
admitted as a state. Congress decides that it should not be done without the
admission of a Free State as well, as it was clear that Texas was to be a Slave
State. Congress was also wary of this idea for fear of upsetting Mexico. In
1837, Texas asked for statehood, and was actually declined for the reasons
listed above. Texas replied by starting to sell massive amounts of cotton to
Europe, as, without tariffs in their nation, prices could be cheap. This put
pressure on Congress, and, in 1845, as a final great action as President, John
Tyler pushed through the Annexation of Texas as a state, with the inclusion of
Maine as the Free State that kept the balance.

Other States
California
At this point in time, California was mainly occupied by Native Americans,
with Mexican Missions, Mexican Rancheros, and Merchants from New
England, interested in trade, making up the majority of the rest of the
population. This, however, was merely the calm before the storm, as the
Gold Rush was to come in 1849, growing this territory exponentially.
New Mexico
A more barren state that California, this territory was occupied by many of
the same people as California. However, it was more connected to the
eastern economy of the United States through the Santa Fe Trail, which
connected Santa Fe, NM, with Independence, MO, tying these two places
economically.
Utah Mormons
Utah was primarily settled by a group known as Mormons, who originated in
up-state New York, and, led by their Leader Joseph Smith, were supposedly
given a lost book of the bible to worship. This group migrated first to Ohio,
then to Missouri, and Finally to Utah, where they found an area where they
could practice their beliefs freely. Utah is not admitted as a state for a
relatively long time however, because one of the Mormons main tenets is
the practice of polygamy, something which congress simply can not get
behind.

Oregon
As opposed to California, where most travelers were single men, Oregon was
largely settled by families following the famous Oregon Trail. There was lost
of fertile soil in the Pacific Northwest, and these families quickly began to
establish small farms in the area. During the beginning of this time, Oregon
was actually occupied dually by both the United States and Great Britain.
However, in 1846, borders were drawn, establishing the 49th Parallel as the
border between the two country, and giving all of Vancouver Island to Britain.