The Rise of Mass Democracy

The Rise of Mass Democracy Chapter 13

Introduction • In 1828 an energetic new party, the Democrats, captured the White House. • By the 1830s the Democrats faced an equally vigorous opposition party, the Whigs. • This two-party system institutionalized divisions that had vexed the Revolutionary generation and came to constitute an important part of the nation’s checks and balances on political power.

Introduction • New forms of politicking emerged as candidates used banners, badges, parades, barbecues, free drinks, and baby kissing to “get out the vote”. • Only ¼ of those eligible to vote in 1824 turned out, but that number doubled in 1828 (reaching 78% in 1840)

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • The last of the old style elections was marked by the controversial corrupt bargain of 1824. • Monroe, the last of the Virginia Dynasty, was completing his second term.

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • 4 Candidates emerged; • John Q. Adams of MA • Henry Clay of KY • William H. Crawford of GA • Andrew Jackson of TN

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • Jackson, the war hero, had the most personal appeal, especially in the West, where he campaigned against government corruption and privilege. • Jackson polled more popular votes that his next two rivals combined, but he did not win the majority of electoral votes.

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • Because of this deadlock, the House (as advised by the 12th Amendment) had to choose among the top 3 candidates. • Clay was eliminated, but as Speaker of the House, he had to preside over the very chamber that had to pick the winner. • This put Clay in a position to throw the election to the candidate of his choice.

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • Clay; • Thought Crawford was too old (just had a stroke and was suffering paralysis) • Hated Jackson (publicly denounced Jackson’s conquering of Florida) • Although not having much in common with Adams personally, had much in common with him politically.

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • Early in 1825 it was announced that Adams was the new President and that Henry Clay would become the Secretary of State. • This decision angered Jackson because in those days, the path to the White House often (3 out of 4 times) ran through the office of Secretary of State.

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • Jackson alleged that Adams had bribed Clay to make him president with promises of making Clay Sec. of State and making Adams, the 2nd choice, President over Jackson, the 1st choice. • The masses, mostly backing Jackson, were in an uproar as many people spoke out against Henry Clay.

The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • No evidence has ever been given that Adams and Clay entered in to a formal bargain. • Clay was the natural choice and Adams was known to be very honest. • The outcry showed that change was in the wind and no president from here on out (until maybe 2000) would be decided behind closed doors.

A Yankee Misfit in the White House • John Q. Adams ranks as one of the most successful secretaries of state, but one of the least successful president in history. • The first “minority” president, Adams won despite only earning 1/3 of the popular vote. • It was clear that Adams was uncomfortable in this dawning era of baby-kissing and backslapping.

A Yankee Misfit in the White House • Adams only removed 12 public servants from the payroll during his time in office. • Unlike most presidents, Adams refused to replace efficient officeholders in order to create jobs for his supporters. This obviously did not win him new supporters.

July 4th 1826 • John Adams dies on July 4th 1826 while his son is President. • His chief political rival, Thomas Jefferson also dies on July 4th 1826. • Jefferson said he wanted to die on July 4th.

Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in 1828 • Jackson started campaigning for the Presidential election of 1828 in 1825 after John Adams was controversially elected. • By 1828, the temporarily united Republicans were split into two camps; National Republicans (Adams) and Democratic Republicans (Jackson).

Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in 1828 • Though Jackson was seen publically as a rough and tumble farmer, he was, in fact, a wealthy planter who lived in a luxurious mansion with many slaves. • The 1828 campaign was one of the first examples of political mudslinging and it was ugly on both sides.

Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in 1828 • A story came out about Andrew and his wife Rachel. • Before she met Andrew, she was married to a man named Robards (who was paranoid about her “loose” ways). • Rachel got a divorce, that she assumed was finalized when she married Andrew.

Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in 1828 • Robards finds out and seeks the “final actualization” of the divorce. • Obviously, the National Republicans had a field day with this. • The Democrats made up a story that Adams got an Americans girl in Moscow to perform sexual favors for the Czar of Russia.

Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in 1828 • Voter turnout was doubled among eligible voters and it continued to increase during the 1800s. • Andrew Jackson sweeps to victory in 1828, defeating Adams easily. • Jackson takes over in March of 1829.

“Old Hickory” as President • Jackson was the first president from the West and the first nominated at a formal party convention (1832 election). • The was only the 2nd without a college education (Washington being first). • Essentially he was a frontier aristocrat who owned many slaves, cultivated broad acres, and lived in one of the finest mansions in America.

“Old Hickory” as President • Jackson was the first to introduce the spoils system- rewarding political supporters with public office. • At the time, Washington was due for a housecleaning since there was no party turnover since the 1800 election. • It did have its problems as illiterates, crooks, and incompetents bought positions of public trust.

The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” • Jackson inherited Adams’s headache when it came to tariffs. • Protective tariffs helped American business, but it also allowed them to increase prices as well as invite tariffs on American goods overseas. • In 1824 Jacksonites promoted a high tariff bill, expecting it to be defeated so they could blame Adams.

The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” • To their surprise, the tariff passed and in 1828, Jackson inherited the political hot potato. • Southerners were hostile to the tariffs (they consumed manufactured goods, but didn’t produce much). • They branded the Tariff of 1828 the “Black Tariff” or the “ Tariff of Abominations”

The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” • So, why were the Southerners so mad? • The northeast was bustling because of the protective tariffs. • The West was prospering from high rising property values and multiplying population. • The Southwest was expanding onto cotton lands. • The Old South was falling on hard times.

The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” • Southerners felt it wrong that they had to pay high prices of manufactured goods, but had no tariffs to protect the cotton and farm goods that they sold. • Deeper than that was the growing anxiety about possible federal interference with the institution of slavery.

The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” • John C. Calhoun (VP under Jackson) went as far as to write a pamphlet (The South Carolina Exposition) calling the Tariff unjust and unconstitutional (he had to conceal his authorship as VP). • The Exposition bluntly and explicitly proposed that the states should nullify the tariff.

“Nullies” in South Carolina • For Jackson’s first term the nullifiers- “nullies” tried to muster the necessary 2/3 vote in the S.C. legislature. • As they were blocked, Congress tipped the balance by passing the Tariff of 1832, that still fell short of Southern demands.

“Nullies” in South Carolina • In the state elections of 1832, the “nullies” wore palmetto ribbons on their hats to mark their loyalty to the “Palmetto State” and emerged with more than 2/3 majority. • Several weeks later, the delegates solemnly declared the Tariff null and void in S.C. • Further, the convention threatened to take S.C. out of the union if Washington attempted to collect customs duties by force.

“Nullies” in South Carolina • Jackson issued a ringing proclamation against nullification and quietly dispatched naval and military reinforcements to S.C. • He was not a hardened supporter of the tariff, but he was not going to stand for any defiance or disunion on his watch. • If civil war was to be avoided, one side would have to back surrender, or both would have to compromise.

“Nullies” in South Carolina • Although he was a foe of Jackson, Henry Clay stepped up (he didn’t want to see Jackson get anymore good publicity) and proposed a new plan that would reduce the Tariff of 1832 by about 10% over a period of 8 years. • The compromise Tariff of 1833 squeezed through Congress, which angered the New England and middle states.

“Nullies” in South Carolina • Also passed was the Force Bill (known in the Carolinas as the Bloody Bill) which allowed the president to use the army and navy, if necessary, to collect federal tariff duties. • S.C. did not lose face, but they were upset that no other southern states had sprung to their support (VA and GA thought about it).

“Nullies” in South Carolina • Clay was hailed in Boston and Charleston alike for saving the country. • Armed conflict had been avoided, but fundamental issues had not been resolved.

The Trail of Tears • More than 125,000 Native Americans lived in the forests and prairies east of the Mississippi in the 1820s. • Many white Americans felt respect and admiration for the Indians and believed that they could be assimilated into the white society. • Much energy was put into “civilizing” and Christianizing the Indians.

The Trail of Tears • In 1793 Congress appropriated $20,000 for the promotion of literacy and agricultural vocational instruction among the Indians. • The Cherokees of Georgia made especially remarkable efforts to learn the ways of the whites. • The gradually abandoned their seminomadic lives and adopted a system of settled agriculture as well as opening schools.

The Trail of Tears • In 1828 the Georgia legislature declared the Cherokee tribal council illegal and asserted its own jurisdiction over Indian affairs and Indian lands. • The Cherokees appealed to the Supreme Court which thrice held up the rights of the Indians. • Pres. Jackson refused to recognize the Court’s decision.

The Trail of Tears • Jackson proposed to send the remaining eastern tribes- Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles- beyond the Mississippi. • Emigration was supposed to be voluntary as Jackson consoled himself with the idea that they would just pick up and settle their native culture in the wide-open west.

The Trail of Tears • Jackson’s policy led to the forced uprooting of more than 100,000 Indians. • In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, providing for the transplanting of all Indian tribes then resident east of the Mississippi. • Countless Indians died on forced marches- most notably the Cherokees along the Trail of Tears- to the newly established Indian Territory.

The Trail of Tears • On this land they were to be free of white encroachments “permanently”. • The land-hungry “palefaces” pushed farther west faster than anticipated and the “permanent” frontier lasted about 15 years. • Natives from Illinois and Wisconsin were bloodily crushed in the Black Hawk War of 1832 by regular troops.

The Trail of Tears • Leaders of the regular army included Lieutenant Jefferson Davis and Captain Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. • In FL the Seminoles joined runaway black slaves into the Everglades where they waged bitter guerilla war over 7 years. • They were finally defeated when their leader, Osceola was captured.

The Bank War • President Jackson did not hate all banks and all businesses, but he distrusted monopolistic banking and overly big businesses. • What made the national bank a monster in Jackson’s eyes? • The national government minted gold and silver coins, but paper notes were printed by private banks and value fluctuated w/ the health of the banks.

The Bank War • Also, the amount of money printed fluctuated, which gave private bankers considerable power over the nation’s economy. • No bank in America had as much power as the Bank of the U.S.. • The Bank acted as a branch of government, as it was the principal depository for the funds of the Washington government.

The Bank War • Its notes, unlike those of many smaller banks were stable in value. • The Bank was privately owned so it was accountable to its investors, not the people. • Its president, Nicholas Biddle, held an immense- and to many unconstitutional- amount of power over the nation’s financial affairs.

The Bank War • The Bank War erupted in 1832, when Daniel Webster and Henry Clay presented Congress with a bill to renew the Bank’s charter. • Clay, as chief rival to Jackson in the election of 1832 and he thought pushing for charter renewal would give him an edge in the election.

The Bank War • He wanted to leave the decision to sign or not sign to Jackson; not to sign would give Clay an edge in the election and signing it would alienate Jackson’s followers in the West. • After sliding through Congress, Jackson vehemently vetoed the charter, declaring the monopolistic bank unconstitutional. • McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) declared it constitutional, but Jackson considered the executive branch superior to the judicial branch.

“Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832 • For the 1st time, a 3rd party entered the field- the Anti-Masonic party- which opposed the influence and fearsome secrecy of the Masonic order. • They were influenced by the disappearance and probably murder in 1826 of a New Yorker who was threatening to expose the secrets of the Masons.

“Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832 • Their political force spread quickly through NY and into the middle Atlantic and New England states. • Since Jackson was a Mason, the Anti-Masonic party was partly an anti-Jackson party, but also attracted evangelical Protestant groups seeking to use political power to effect moral and religious reforms.

“Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832 • 2 new things from election of 1832; • National nominating conventions • Adoption of formal platforms, publicizing their positions on the issues • Even though Clay had more money backing him, Jackson easily defeated Clay taking 219 electoral votes to Clay’s 49

Burying Biddle’s Bank • Jackson was not content with allowing the Bank’s charter to simply expire in 1836. • He was concerned that Biddle would manipulate the bank so as to force it recharter. • In 1833 Jackson set in motion a plan to stop making government deposits to Biddle and then slowly siphon the reserves to bleed the bank dry.

Burying Biddle’s Bank • Biddle tried to show the importance of the ban by producing a minor financial crisis. • The death of the Bank left a financial vacuum in the American economy and kicked off a cycle of booms and busts. • Surplus funds were placed in so-called pet banks, chosen for their pro-Jackson sympathies.

Burying Biddle’s Bank • These pet banks flooded the country with paper money and Jackson authorized the Treasury to issue a Specie Circular- all public lands to be purchased with “hard”, or metallic, money. • This slammed the brakes on the speculative boom, which contributed to a financial panic and crash in 1837. • By that time, Jackson was long since retired.

The Rise of Mass Democracy