The Spirit of Reform, 1828-1845

1. The Spirit of Reform,1828-1845 Chapter 8

2. Jacksonian America Chapter 8 Section 1

4. A New Era in Politics • States expand voting rights • Eliminated land ownership as a qualification • 1824 election: 355,000 votes (27% of voter pop.) • 1828 election: 1.1 million votes (57% of voter pop.) • The “People’s President” – Andrew Jackson • Believed the majority should rule in a democracy and that ordinary citizens should play a more prominent role in government. • Supported the spoils system, the practice of appointing people to government jobs on the basis of party loyalty.

5. A More Open Electoral System • Old way = Caucus system • Congressmen from each party would nominate candidate • New way = National Nominating Convention • Delegates from states gather to nominate candidate • Believed to be more inclusive for the people

6. The Nullification Crisis • South Carolina • Existing tariffs caused prices for consumer goods to skyrocket. • As the economy worsened for S.C., the federal government levied another tariff in 1828. • Tariff of Abominations – to protect American industry • S.C. responded to this tariff by threatening to secede, or withdraw, from the Union.

7. The Nullification Crisis • Vice President John C. Calhoun proposed nullification. • States can make laws not valid. • Is the Union a creation of the states or does the Union preserve liberty of the states? • Debate between Robert Hayne (SC) and Daniel Webster (MA) CREEPY

8. The Nullification Crisis • Jackson Defends the Union • War of words with Calhoun • Tariff of 1832 – cut tariffs significantly • South Carolina Ordinance declares Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional. • 1833, Congress passes the Force Bill, authorizing the president to use the military to enforce acts of Congress. • Henry Clay proposes compromise.

9. Policies Towards Native Americans

10. Policies Towards Native Americans • Indian Removal Act (1830) • Many Native Americans gave in and began relocating to the Great Plains, but not the Cherokee • Worcester v. Georgia (1832) – honor Cherokee property rights • “Marshall has made his opinion, now let him enforce it.” – Andrew Jackson • Trail of Tears • Forced removal of Native Americans from their homes. • Resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 Native Americans.

12. Jackson Battles the National Bank • Jackson believed the National Bank was a monopoly that benefited the wealthy, and also unconstitutional • Did not want to recognize McCulloch v. Maryland • 1832, Jackson’s opponents passed a bill that would extend the Bank’s charter 20 years. • Jackson vetoed it. • “It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes.” Jackson’s Bank Veto Message to Congress • Removed the government deposits and put them in state banks, thus ending the Bank of the United States.

13. How Democratic was Andrew Jackson?

14. A New Party Emerges • Whig Party emerged as an opponent to Jackson’s actions as president • Advocated a larger federal government, industrial and commercial development, and a centralized economy.

15. The Presidency of Martin Van Buren • Democrat – New York • First president born as an American citizen. • Panic of 1837 • 618 banks closed causing an economic depression. • *Some historians blame Jackson for closing the National Bank • Favored slavery in the South but resisted its extension into the territories. • Inherited Jackson’s costly Seminole War. • Believed in a limited government

16. William Henry Harrison • “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” • Whig – Virginia • Defeated Van Buren in the 1840 election. • Died in office one month after taking the oath of office.

17. John Tyler • Whig - Virginia • “His Accidency” • Sided with the Democrats on many key issues. • Third Bank of United States • Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842) • Est. the border between the United States and Canada. • First U.S. trade mission to China. • Expanded the Monroe Doctrine to include Hawaii. • Annexed Texas

18. A Changing Culture Chapter 8 Section 2

19. A New Wave of Immigrants • (1815 -1860) 5 million immigrants arrived in America • Political and religious reasons. Also starvation and poverty • Almost 2 million came from Ireland • Widespread famine in 1845, when a fungus destroyed the potato crop • Generally settled in the Northeast and worked as unskilled laborers. • 1.5 million Germans settled in the Midwest, where they started farms and businesses.

20. A New Wave of Immigrants • Nativismemerges - Hostility towards foreigners • Anti- Catholic sentiments: Supreme Order of the Star Spangled Banner (1849) pushed for laws banning immigrants and Catholics from holding public office. • Delegates from the various groups formed the American Party (1854) • Secret membership • When questioned, members were obliged to answer, “I know nothing.” • Party was nicknamed the Know-Nothings

21. A Religious Revival • The revival of the nation’s commitment to religion was known as the Second Great Awakening • Believed that all people could attain grace by re-admitting God and Christ into their lives • Charles Grandison Finney helped found modern revivalism. • New denominations emerged: Unitarians and the Universalists mr. CREEPY

22. A Religious Revival • Joseph Smith, a New Englander, founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose followers are known as Mormons. • After being harassed in many places, the Mormons moved west and settled in Illinois. • Brigham Young became the leader of the church after Smith was murdered. The Mormons then moved to the Utah territory.

23. A Literary Renaissance • Romanticismadvocated feeling over reason and individuals above society • Transcendentalism was an expression of romanticism • Urged people to transcend the limits of their mind and let their souls embrace the beauty of the universe. • Influential transcendentalist writers: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau • Other writers created works that were uniquely American: • Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Emily Dickinson.

24. A Literary Renaissance • The early 1800s saw the rise of mass newspapers • Before the 1800s, most newspapers catered to well-educated readers • More Americans could read and write, and gained the right to vote • Penny papers - inexpensive newspapers that included the news that people wanted to know • General interest magazines catered to special interests • Harper’s Weekly

25. Utopian Communities • People formed communities as a way to a better life and freedom from corruption • They separated themselves from society to form their own utopia, or ideal society. • Characterized by cooperative living and the absence of private property. • Utopian communities: • Brook Farm in Massachusetts • The Shakers

27. Reforming Society Chapter 8 Section 3

28. The Reform Spirit • The reform movement stemmed from religious revival and the desire to create benevolent societies. • The Temperance Movement • Temperance- moderation in the consumption of alcohol. • American Temperance Union (1833) • Pushed for laws to prohibit the sale of liquor.

31. The Reform Spirit • Prison Reforms • Built new facilities, rehabilitated prisoners, designed rigid forms of discipline so that prisoners could achieve penitence • Dorothea Dix – helped the criminally insane • Educational Reform • Made school mandatory and the study of reading, writing, and arithmetic • Public schools – paid for with taxes • Women’s Education • Taught cooking, etiquette, and the core subjects.

35. The Early Women’s Movement • “True Womanhood” • The idea that women can receive fulfillment at home raising and developing their children’s character. • Partners to their husband • A Treatise on Domestic Economy by Catherine Beecher • Women Seek Greater Rights • Seneca Falls Convention • Gathering of women reformers; sought the right to vote • Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Mrs. Creepy

36. The Abolitionists Movement Chapter 8 Section 4

37. Early Opposition to Slavery • The growing movement to end slavery divided North and South. • Gradualism-belief that slavery had to be ended gradually. • 3 Step process • Colonization • American Colonization Society (1816) founded to help move African Americans back to Africa. • Estimated 12,000 African Americans moved to Africa between 1821-1860. • Liberia established

39. The New Abolitionists • Abolition- immediate freeing of enslaved African Americans without gradual measures or compensation to former slaveholders. • William Lloyd Garrison stirs a new movement • Founded the antislavery newspaper, Liberator (1831) • Believed the only option was emancipation, or the freeing of all enslaved people. • Founded the American Antislavery Society (1833) • 250,000 members by 1835

40. African American Abolitionists • Frederick Douglass • Sojourner Truth • Gained freedom in 1827 • Eloquent, joyous, and deeply religious speeches

42. The Response to Abolitionism • Reaction in the North: • While most opposed slavery, many feared the fallout abolition might create • Some feared a war between North and South • Reaction in the South: • Southern life remained mostly agricultural. • Uprisings led by enslaved African Americans. • Demanded the suppression of the Abolition movement as a condition of remaining in the union.