Instructional Focus Document Notes Grade 8/Social Studies

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Instructional Focus Document NotesGrade 8/Social
Studies

• UNIT 07 TITLE Age of Jackson
• Part 1 Jackson Democracy

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A New Era in Politics

• The spirit of Democracy which was changing the
  political system affected Americans ideas about
  social classes.
• Most Americans believed that the rich did not
  deserve special treatment, or respect.
• Alexis de Tocqueville was sent to the United
  States from France to study and write about
  American democracy.

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Alexis de Tocqueville

• He observed that American society continued to
  become more democratic.
• After returning to France his book Democracy in
  America influenced many minds across Europe.

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Alexis de Tocqueville

• In his book he noted and admired the American
  democratic spirit and its goals of equality and
  freedom.
• He noted the results of the revolution was still
  taking place in America and were far from coming
  to an end

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More Voters

• The United States was growing rapidly with many
  more states joining the Union, which meant more
  voters
• Suffrage (the right to vote) was extended to more
  Americans.

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Suffrage Expands

• Reformers in the East worked to expand suffrage,
  and by 1830 most Eastern states dropped the
  requirement that voters had to own land to vote.
• There were still many Americans who did not have
  the right to vote including Women, Native
  Americans, Slaves, and Free African Americans.

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Disputed Election of 1824

• There were four candidates in the Presidential
  election of 1824.
• All four were members of the Democratic-Republican
  party.
• John Quincy Adams (son of former President John
  Adams) was strong in New England
• Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson were supported in
  the West.
• William Crawford was supported in the South.

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Candidates in 1824
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The Corrupt Bargain

• The candidates narrowed to John Quincy Adams and
  Andrew Jackson
• No clear winner emerged in the election
• Andrew Jackson won the popular vote, but did not
  have the majority of electoral votes needed to
  win the election.
• As a result, the House of Representatives had to
  choose the next President. (as stipulated in the
  Constitution.)

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Corrupt Bargain

• Henry Clay was Speaker of the House and could
  therefore influence votes.
• Clay urged the House to vote for Adams and Adams
  won the election.
• Clay was then appointed Secretary of State by
  Adams

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Corrupt Bargain

• Andrew Jackson and his supporters were furious.
• They accused Clay and Adams of making a corrupt
  bargain and stealing the election from Andrew
  Jackson

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Corrupt Bargain

• These charges were not true, but the anger of
  Jackson and his supporters hampered any attempt
  by President Adams to unify the nation.

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Election of 1828

• Adams faced an uphill battle for his re-election.
• Andrew Jackson won this election in a landslide.
• For the first time, the interests of the common
  man were important.

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Jacksons Inauguration

• Andrew Jacksons inauguration in 1829 reflected
  the growing spirit of democracy.
• The spread of political power to all the people
  became known as Jacksonian Democracy.

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Jackson was the Common Mans President
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The Democrat Party Begins

• The disappearance of the Federalist party
  temporarily ended party differences.
• New political parties formed because of the
  conflict between Adams and Jackson.
• Whigs were the new political party that wanted
  the federal government to spur (push forward) the
  American economy
• Whigs were supported by eastern business,
  southern planters, and former federalists. Whigs
  did not like nor support Andrew Jackson.

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The Democrat Party Begins

• Democrats were people who supported Andrew
  Jackson.
• Democrats included frontier farmers, factory
  workers, commoners, etc.

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New ways to choose Candidates

• There were new ways to choose candidates to run
  for the Presidency.
• Before was the Caucus system. This was considered
  undemocratic because only a few powerful men
  selected the candidates.
• Nominating Conventions replaced Caucuses.
  Delegates from each state voted for the
  candidates who would run for the Presidency.

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Andrew Jackson

• Jackson was a self made man
• Fought in the American Revolution at age 13
• Studied law in North Carolina and opened
  successful law practice in Tennessee
• Elected to Congress while in his twenties.

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Andrew Jackson

• Became wealthy by buying and selling land in
  Georgia and Alabama
• Won national fame for his achievements in the War
  of 1812 (especially the Battle of New Orleans)

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Andrew Jackson

• Jackson had a violent temper and dealt harshly
  with his enemies
• He wanted to expand the power of the President.
• The Creeks thought of Jackson as an enemy without
  mercy. They called him the Sharp Knife

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Spoils System

• After winning the election, Jackson fired many
  government employees and replaced them with his
  supporters
• Andrew Jackson had many unique policies , and
  strategies (plans)
• Critics claimed that Jackson was rewarding
  Democrats for getting him elected

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Spoils System

• Jackson countered by saying he was supporting
  democracy by allowing ordinary people to run the
  government.
• The Spoils System can be defined as profits or
  benefits.

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Spoils System

• From then on rewarding supporters with government
  jobs became known as the Spoils System

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The Kitchen Cabinet

• Because many of the supporters Jackson gave
  government jobs to were not qualified, Jackson
  rarely met with them
• Instead he met with his unofficial cabinet of
  leading Democrats and educated newspaper editors

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The Kitchen Cabinet

• Because they would meet after hours in the White
  House Kitchen, they earned the nickname, Kitchen
  Cabinet

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The Bank Wars

• The National Bank held great power, because it
  controlled all the loans made by state banks. If
  state banks made too many loans, the National
  Bank would step in and limit the amount of loans
  they could make.
• This angered farmers and merchants who needed
  these loans for land and businesses.
• Though the National Bank was created by Congress,
  Jackson claimed that the bank was
  unconstitutional.

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The Bank Wars

• The Whig Party (Daniel Webster and Henry Clay)
  were worried that Jackson would destroy the
  National Bank.
• They wanted Jackson to lose his re-election, so
  they moved up the date of the Bank charter
  renewal knowing that Jackson would veto the
  renewal.
• They thought that if the renewal was vetoed, then
  the closing of the Bank would lead to an economic
  crisis and Jackson would be blamed.
• He would then lose the election.

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The Bank Wars

• Jackson DID veto the National Banks renewal
  charter giving two reasons
• 1. He said the bank helped the aristocrats at the
  expense of the common man. It had too much power
  over the economy and favored the wealthy.
• 2. The National bank was unconstitutional and
  that only state banks could charter banks and
  loans, not the Federal government.

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The Bank Wars

• The National Bank closed when its charter ran out
  in 1836.
• Its closing contributed to an economic crisis.

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The Bank Wars

• Andrew Jackson was beginning to gather more and
  more political enemies who were becoming alarmed
  at the power he was wielding as President.

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States Rights

• This is the right of individual states to limit
  the power of the Federal government within their
  borders.
• During Andrew Jacksons presidency, the debate
  over States Rights affected two issues
• 1. The tariff issue
• 2. The rights of Native Americans to lands they
  had been guaranteed in Federal treaties

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Tariff of 1828

• In 1828, Congress passed the highest tariff in
  the history of the United States.
• Tariffs were intended to protect the northern
  industries from competing industries in Europe.
• Tariffs usually impacted the South negatively.

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Tariff of 1828

• The South called the Tariff of 1828 the Tariff
  of Abominations.
• The South sold their cotton to European nations
  at discounted prices. In return, European nations
  provided the South with manufactured goods at low
  cost.
• The tariffs only helped (protected) the North.
• Tariffs were designed to create a demand for
  American manufactured goods.

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Calhoun vs. Webster

• John C. Calhoun (Andrew Jacksons Vice President)
  claimed that a state should have the right to
  nullify a law it considered unconstitutional.
• Calhoun supported States Rights

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Calhoun vs. Webster

• Daniel Webster disagreed with Calhoun.
• Webster said the Constitution united the
  peoplenot the states
• Webster and Calhoun became bitter opponents in
  Congress

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Nullification Crisis

• Calhoun resigned from the office of the Vice
  President after getting little support from
  President Andrew Jackson. (Jackson replaced him
  with Martin Van Buren)
• Calhoun then was elected to the Senate for South
  Carolina.
• Congress passed a lower tariff, but South
  Carolina was still not satisfied.

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Nullification Crisis

• South Carolina passed the Nullification Act which
  stated that it had the right to reject any law
  passed by Congress.
• South Carolina saw Nullification as a States
  Rights issue.
• South Carolina declared the Tariff of 1828
  illegal and even threatened to secede if
  challenged
• Andrew Jackson was furious and asked Congress to
  pass the force bill which would allow him to use
  the military to enforce the tariff in South
  Carolina.

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Nullification Crisis

• Faced with Jacksons firm stand, South Carolina
  backed down and repealed the Nullification Act.

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Nullification Crisis

• Henry Clay was now able to work with John C.
  Calhoun to lower the tariff on Southern States
  with the Compromise Tariff of 1833.
• Though the crisis passed, tension between the
  North and South would continue to grow through
  the years

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Impact of Slavery on different Section of the
United States

• In the North, Slavery had been illegal since the
  Revolution
• In 1807, Congress banned the importation of
  slaves into the United States from Africa.
  Though, the practice of slavery was still legal
  in the South.

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Impact of Slavery on different Section of the
United States

• There were some abolitionist societies that
  wanted to get rid of slavery everywhere in the
  U.S. but many were ambivalent to the plight of
  slaves
• In the South, slaves were seen as property, not
  people and vital for the labor required to
  maintain the cash crops

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Impact of Slavery on different Section of the
United States

• The South saw the issue of slavery as a States
  Rights issue.
• The South was becoming more and more economically
  dependent on slavery and acted to silence
  criticism .
• The West was becoming involved due to the
  extension of slavery into the new western
  territories.

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Supreme Court and States Rights

• Two landmark Supreme Court decisions also dealt
  with the issue of States v. the Federal Government

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Supreme Court and States Rights

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) came to the U.S.
  Supreme Court because Maryland wanted to tax the
  National Banks branch within its borders. The
  Supreme courts decision was that a state can not
  have authority over a federal institution. The
  Federal Governments authority over State
  Governments was upheld

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Supreme Court and States Rights

• Gibbons v. Ogden came to the U.S. Supreme Court
  because steamship operators fought over shipping
  rights on the Hudson River in both New York and
  New Jersey. The Supreme Courts ruling was that
  ONLY the Federal Government had the power to
  regulate interstate commerce. The Federal
  Governments power was reinforced

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Cherokee Resettlement

• The Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and
  Seminole lived in peace with the white Americans
  in the southeast.
• Their land, however , was ideal for growing
  cotton, and settlers wanted this land.
• Jackson sided with the settlers and urged
  Congress to set aside new land for the Native
  American tribes west of the Mississippi River,
  and force them into that land.

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Cherokee Resettlement
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Cherokee Resettlement

• Few Native Americans wanted to move
• The Cherokee had adopted many American customs
• They decided to take their battle to the courts

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Worcester v. Georgia

• Georgia claimed the right to force out the
  Cherokee.
• The Cherokee pointed to the many federal treaties
  they had which superseded any state law.
• The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

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Worcester v. Georgia

• Chief Justice John Marshall declared Georgias
  actions to be unconstitutional and stated that
  the Native Americans were protected by the
  federal treaties

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Worcester v. Georgia

• Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the Supreme
  Courts decision and sided with Georgia claiming
  that the federal government could not prevent
  Georgia from taking Cherokee lands.
• The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced many Native
  American tribes west of the Mississippi River.
  (Oklahoma)
• In the Indian Removal Act, Congress was trying to
  avoid conflict between cotton farmers and
  Indians, but it also confiscated Indian land for
  the purpose of cotton farming.
• The Indian Removal Act was also intended to
  protect Indian government and culture.

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Trail of Tears

• In 1838, the U.S. army forced more than 15,000
  Cherokees westward into Oklahoma.
• Many perished on the march because of a lack of
  supplies. Most were the elderly and children
• The Cherokees migration was a long and sorrowful
  journey which became known as The Trail of Tears

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Seminole Wars

• In Florida, the Seminole tribe refused to go west
  and fought back. These became the Seminole Wars,
  one of the costliest wars waged by the federal
  government to obtain Indian land.

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Seminole Wars

• In the end, the Seminoles were defeated and they
  too were forced west.

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Martin Van Buren

• Andrew Jackson stepped down after his second term
• Martin Van Buren became the next President of the
  United States

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Panic of 1837

• Martin Van Buren faced a terrible economic
  crisis, because the National Bank had been
  closed.
• The Panic of 1837 started because western land
  was being sold to speculators who bought up cheap
  land in the hope of selling it at a huge profit.
• They were buying this land with borrowed money
  from state banks.

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Panic of 1837

• The National Bank was no longer there to regulate
  the amount of money being loaned out.
• State banks began to just print up more money to
  meet the demand.
• Before leaving office, Jackson tried to slow down
  this splurge in loans by issuing an order that
  land could only be bought with gold or silver.

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Panic of 1837

• Speculators and everyone else then began to try
  cashing in their paper currency for gold or
  silver.
• The banks did not have the gold or silver to back
  up the paper money.
• Many banks were forced to close
• The Panic worsened as cotton prices in the south
  plummeted. Cotton farmers now couldnt repay
  loans and more banks closed.

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Economic Depression

• The nation plunged into an economic depression.
• A depression is a period where business declines,
  unemployment rises, and the economy struggles.
• This depression lasted 3 years

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Campaign of 1840

• Martin Van Buren faced a battle when he ran for
  re-election.
• The Whig Party had chosen William Henry Harrison
  to run against the Democrat.
• Harrison was popular from the War of 1812.

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Campaign of 1840

• The Whigs spread word and propaganda all over in
  their attempt to unseat the Democrats.
• This became a mudslinging campaign.

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William Henry Harrison

• The Whigs were excited when Harrison won the
  Presidency. They planned to reinstate the
  National Bank, bring back higher tariffs, improve
  roads, etc.
• They were devastated when Harrison died of
  pneumonia two weeks later

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John Tyler

• John Tyler succeeded Harrison as President
• Tyler (an ex-Democrat) vetoed the National Bank
  bill.
• In response, the Whigs threw Tyler out of the
  party, so he could not run for re-election.