Instructional Focus Document Notes Grade 8/Social Studies

1. Instructional Focus Document NotesGrade 8/Social Studies UNIT: 07 TITLE: Age of Jackson Part 1: Jackson Democracy

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Candidates in 1824

9. 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.)

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. Jackson’s Inauguration • Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829 reflected the growing spirit of democracy. • The spread of political power to all the people became known as “Jacksonian Democracy.”

15. Jackson was the “Common Man’s” President

16. 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.

17. The Democrat Party Begins • Democrats were people who supported Andrew Jackson. • Democrats included frontier farmers, factory workers, commoners, etc.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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)

21. 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”

22. 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

23. 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.

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

25. 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

26. The “Kitchen Cabinet” • Because they would meet after hours in the White House Kitchen, they earned the nickname, “Kitchen Cabinet”

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. The Bank Wars • Jackson DID veto the National Bank’s 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.

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

31. 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.

32. States Rights • This is the right of individual states to limit the power of the Federal government within their borders. • During Andrew Jackson’s 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

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. Calhoun vs. Webster • John C. Calhoun (Andrew Jackson’s Vice President) claimed that a state should have the right to nullify a law it considered unconstitutional. • Calhoun supported States Rights

36. Calhoun vs. Webster • Daniel Webster disagreed with Calhoun. • Webster said the Constitution united the people…not the states • Webster and Calhoun became bitter opponents in Congress

37. 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.

38. 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.

39. Nullification Crisis • Faced with Jackson’s firm stand, South Carolina backed down and repealed the Nullification Act.

40. 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

41. 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.

42. 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

43. 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.

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

45. Supreme Court and States Rights • McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) came to the U.S. Supreme Court because Maryland wanted to tax the National Bank’s 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

46. 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 Court’s ruling was that ONLY the Federal Government had the power to regulate interstate commerce. The Federal Governments power was reinforced

47. 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.

48. Cherokee Resettlement

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

50. 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.