The Rise of Mass Democracy

1. The Rise of Mass Democracy

2. The Election of 1824 • 4 popular candidates split the electoral vote so there was no majority where according to the 12th Amendment, Congress decides the President • Henry Clay was the speaker of the house who was politically opposed to Jackson who won the majority of electoral votes • Clay side with John Quincy Adams; as president JQA named Clay as Secretary of State

3. The first “Minority President” • Adams didn’t reward his own party members with government offices • (Why should they labor to keep him in office?) • Much of the nation was turning from nationalism to sectionalism yet Adams clung to nationalism • Adams also was against land speculation and wanted to deal fairly with the Cherokee Indians

4. New Parties • With the election of 1824 so disputed, the campaign of 1828 started early • Two political camps began mudslinging campaigns: • National Republicans supported Adams • Democrats supported Jackson • General Jackson trounced Adams in electoral votes 178 to 83

5. “Old Hickory” • Born in the Carolinas; early orphaned; grew up without parental restraints; brawled and dueled as a young man; moved out west where he became a judge and a member of Congress • First President from the West; had risen from a common man yet lived in Tennessee in one of the finest mansions in America with slaves cultivating large acres of land

6. The “spoils system” • Rewarding political supporters with public office • Jackson defended the spoils system by bringing in “new blood” and letting each generation have a turn at government • The “spoils system” was abused but it compelled people to participate in politics • Jackson created his official cabinet of advisors but sought advice from men more in tune with his ideas called the “Kitchen Cabinet”

7. Tariff of Abominations • Tariffs were established to protect American infant industries • The South was opposed to tariffs because it triggered retaliatory tariffs and they were heavy consumers of manufactured goods • Tariff of 1828 outraged southerners because it targeted the “Old South” • “Nullifiers” (nullies) of S.C. called a special convention to void the tariff

8. Tariff Issues • Jackson threatened to invade S.C. and have the “nullies” hanged • Govenor Robert Y. Hayne threatened secession • Henry Clay of Kentucky proposed a compromise of 1833 • The tariff would be reduced 10% over 8 years • Congress also passed the Force Bill (Bloody Bill) that gave the president the power to use the Army and Navy to collect federal tariffs (repealed) • Clay saves the nation; fundamental issues were not solved

9. Other Events of 1833 • Reverend Henry R. Spaulding introduced the potato in Idaho • John Deere makes the first steel plow for the heavy soil of the west • The first penny newspaper was published, The Sun

10. Cherokee • Many Indian tribes were either forced west or assimilated into white society • Even with “civilized” tribes, white settlers wanted Indian lands and were supported by Jackson • Georgia legislature passed laws declaring Cherokee lands and affairs would be controlled by the State • Cherokees appealed to the Supreme Court and John Marshall and company ruled for the Cherokee

11. Trail of Tears • Jackson refused to recognize the Court’s decision and proposed a removal of eastern Tribes • 1830 – Congress passed the Indian Removal Act transplanting about 100,000 Indians • A forced trek to “Indian Territory” (Oklahoma) in 1838 where 1/8 of Cherokee perished • Indians were placed on land unfit for settlement of whites

12. The Trail

13. Other Tribes • The “Five Civilized Tribes,” Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and Chickasaw were all relocated because Congress had passed the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834 • Seminoles waged war allied with escaped slaves kept warring until 1842 • Most Seminoles had moved west but many remained and relocation was never complete

14. Indian Territory

15. The Federal Bank • The U.S. Bank was run by Nicholas Biddle and was sound and prosperous • Soft and Hard money • Soft – bank notes unsupported by gold or silver; based on speculation • Hard – bank notes supported by gold and silver • Jackson made it clear he was not going to support renewing the Bank’s charter in 1836

16. Jackson’s Veto • Biddle turned tried to save the bank turning to Daniel Webster for help • Henry Clay joined in the banks defense and persuaded to re-apply in 1832 • Congress approved the re-charter bill; Jackson vetoed it • It became an election issue

17. Election of 1832 • Henry Clay ran for president for the National Republicans • Jackson and Van Buren ran on the Democratic ticket • Jackson’s re-election was almost as decisive as his earlier win

19. Killing the Monster • Jackson ordered the removal of the government’s deposits; his secretary refused and was fired; hired and fired another; Roger B. Taney began placing deposits in state banks (pet banks) • Biddle recalled loans and raised interest rates • Both men acted recklessly in effort to humiliate and defeat the other

21. Assassination Fails and other Events of 1835 • Richard Lawrence tried to assassinate Jackson but both guns misfired • Colt patents the first revolving chamber pistol • The Liberty Bell cracks when ringing in honor of the death of Chief Justice John Marshall

22. The Bank Dies • Recession hit America • New York and Boston merchants convinced Biddle to loan credit at reasonable interest rates • Biddle’s unpopular tactics ended any chance of winning a recharter of the bank • When the US Bank died in 1836, the US was left with an unstable banking system that would hurt the economy

23. Democrats and Whigs • By the mid-1830’s, Jackson’s actions created opposition denouncing “King Jackson” • They referred to themselves as the Whigs, a party in England who worked to limit the power of the king • Whigs gained their support through big business and large farming • Democrats from the smaller businesses and farmers

24. Election of 1836 • Whigs are hoping to win the next election but are split with the “Great Triumvirate” • Henry Clay/ Daniel Webster/ John Calhoun • Democrats were behind Jackson’s personal choice: Martin Van Buren • Whigs hoped to split all votes throwing the election to the House of Rep; but Buren won by a landslide

26. Panic of 1837 • At the end of Jackson’s presidency, the US was experiencing an economic boom and a federal surplus • 1835-1837 their was no national debt • 1836 – Congress passed the Distribution Act to further stimulate the economy but the withdrawal of funds from Jackson’s “pet banks” forces loan recalls • Government land was to be paid in hard backed money (specie circular) • Van Buren suffers an economic panic early in his presidency

27. Results of Depression • Unemployment; bread riots; bankruptcy; public projects failed; banks ceased to make interest payments • A variety of factors caused the depression, but it was the Democrats who paid the political price for it • Van Buren had only a few legislative achievements, namely the independent treasury to house federal currency

28. To Texas • 1819 – The US gave up rights to Texas when it claimed Florida • Mexico claimed their independence and encouraged settlement with Stephen Austin to bring settlers to Texas between 1820’s and 1830’s • Texas Americans numbered about 30,000 by 1835 including famous rifleman Davy Crockett, knife (Arkansas toothpick) inventor Jim Bowie and ex-governor of Tennessee Sam Houston

29. Lone Star Rebellion • Texans were irritated with Mexican rule • Santa Anna wiped out all local rights and raised an army to control Texas (1835) • 1836 – Texans called for independence with Sam Houston as commander in chief • Santa Anna invaded killing 200 men at the Alamo in San Antonio which inspired other Americans to “Remember the Alamo”

30. The country of Texas • General Houston lured Santa Anna to San Jacinto attacked during siesta on April 21, 1836 • Houston won and forced Santa Anna to sign an agreement to recognize the Rio Grande as the southern boundary of Texas • Mexico complained to the US but US popular opinion allowed the recognition of Texas • Texas petitioned for membership in the Union (1837) but was stopped because of the slavery issue

31. Texas

32. Log Cabin Campaign 1840 • Whigs decided on William Henry Harrison for President and John Tyler for VP • Both sides used mass appeal and the “penny press” to sway voters • Whigs portrayed Harrison as a simple man who loved log cabins and hard cider trying to get the voters from the west • Democrats have no defense and Harrison won the election with “Tippecanoe and Tyler too”

34. Frustration of the Whigs • President Harrison died 1 month after taking office • Tyler takes over (once being a democrat) and does nothing the Whig party wanted • Tyler’s cabinet resigned and were replaced by democrats • Tyler was about an aristocratic government who would protect slavery and states rights

35. Forging the National Economy

36. The Young Republic • America’s people were young averaging under the age of 30 by 1850 • The “demographic center” was across the Alleghenies • America kept growing west; tobacco planters moved on after using the soils replaced by livestock in new pasture lands and trappers moving to the Rocky Mountains

37. March of Millions • 1860 – 33 states made up the United States; 4th most populous nation; 43 major cities • 1840’s and 1850’s brought millions of immigrants (Irish and German)

38. Irish • Mid-1840’s a potato famine struck Ireland killing about 2 million • Tens of thousands came to America in the 1840’s • Irish swarmed to seaboard cities to live in slums and worked at unskilled jobs sharing the bottom of society with the African-American • Eventually, they gained a political voice in city machines like New York’s Tammany Hall

39. Germans • European revolutions of 1848 sent millions of refugees to America • Many German immigrants had some wealth and skills which encouraged education • Settled in the mid-west and established model farms • German culture shaped many American customs

40. Antiforeignism • Immigration caused old-stock Americans to discriminate against foreigners • Immigrants would work for lower wages taking jobs from “native” Americans • The Irish brought over Catholicism in a dominant Protestant country • The “nativists” developed a political party against immigration known as “The Know Nothing” party

41. Beginnings of Industry • The new “factory system” spread from Britain to America during late 1700’s and early 1800’s • Samuel Slater is known as the “Father of the Factory System” • A British mechanic who came to America memorizing the spinning machine • Established the first factory ready to spin fiber

42. Industry Comes to America

43. Inventions Change the World • Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which separated cotton seeds from the fiber (1793) and began using inter-changeable parts • Before it took an entire day to produce one pound of cotton fiber which was very expensive • Cotton became profitable to grow, especially in the South where it became the chief export

44. The Cotton En”gin”e

45. Economic Sectionalism • The South and the North prospered • Southern planters dedicated themselves to growing cotton • Slavery got a renewed lease on life • Northern business men invested in the factory system chiefly textile industry • Large populations of poor immigrant workers provided labor • Factories near seaports encouraged trade

46. Factory Conditions • Men, women and children were all used as labor • Workers had long hours, low pay, meals were bad, conditions were unsanitary, poorly lit and badly ventilated • Eventually, labor organized strikes and unions to gain workers rights • Commonwealth v. Hunt ruled that labor unions were not illegal (1842)

47. Women • Women were important in pre-industrial America because everything was made by hand • Some women did work in factories but females were scarce and reserved for jobs like: nursing, domestic service and teaching • Household women did became the nation’s conscience and moral fabric

48. Women at Work

49. Lowell System • A factory system that relied on young unmarried women • The Lowell mills were clean, workers were well fed, and carefully supervised because the employment of women was considered immoral, the factory owners placed emphasis on maintaining a proper environment • Working in the factories was the only option for women without returning to the farms

50. Decline of the Lowell System • The paternalistic factory system did not survive for long • Manufacturers found it difficult to maintain the high living standards and attractive working conditions • Two strikes (1834 and 1837) failed to improve conditions but led to the Female Labor Reform Association which began promoting a 10 hour work day • Factory owners turned to immigrants