1. Democracy in America, 1815–1840 Norton Media Library Chapter 10
Eric Foner

2. I. Andrew Jackson

3. II. The Triumph of Democracy
Property and Democracy
Property requirements for voting were eliminated by states
The Dorr War
Rhode Island was an exception
Wage earners organized the People’s Convention in 1841
Elected Thomas Dorr

4. II. The Triumph of Democracy (con’t)
Democracy in America
By 1840, more than 90 percent of adult white men were eligible to vote
Democratic political institutions came to define the nation’s sense of its own identity
Tocqueville identified democracy as an essential attribute of American freedom
The term “citizen” in America had become synonymous with the right to vote
As with the market revolution, women and blacks were barred from full democracy
They were denied on the basis of natural incapacity

5. II. The Triumph of Democracy (con’t)
Women and the Public Sphere
Rise of the mass circulation “penny press”
The growth of the reading public opened the door for the rise of a new generation of women writers
A Racial Democracy
Despite increased democracy in America, blacks were seen as a group apart
Blacks were often portrayed as stereotypes
Blacks were not allowed to vote in most states
In effect, race had replaced class as the boundary that separated those American men who were entitled to enjoy political freedom from those who were not

6. III. Nationalism and Its Discontents
The American System
A new manufacturing sector emerged from the War of 1812 and many believed that it was necessary complement to the agricultural sector for national growth
In 1815 President James Madison put forward a blueprint for government-promoted economic development that came to be known as the American System
new national bank
tariffs
federal financing for better roads and canals

7. III. Nationalism and Its Discontents (con’t)
President Madison came to believe that a constitutional amendment was necessary for the government to build roads and canals
Banks and Money
The Second Bank of the United States was a profit-making corporation that served the government
Local banks promoted economic growth
Local banks printed money
Value of paper currency fluctuated wildly
Bank of the United States was supposed to prevent the over-issuance of money

8. III. Nationalism and Its Discontents (con’t)
The Panic of 1819
The Bank of the United States participated in a speculative fever that swept the country after the War of 1812 ended
Early in 1819, as European demand for American farm products returned to normal levels, the economic bubble burst
The Panic of 1819 disrupted the political harmony of the previous years
Americans continued to distrust banks
The Supreme Court ruled in McCulloch v. Maryland that the Bank of the United States was constitutional
Maryland could not tax the bank

9. III. Nationalism and Its Discontents (con’t)
The Missouri Controversy
James Monroe’s two terms as president were characterized by the absence of two-party competition
The absence of political party disputes was replaced by sectional disputes
Missouri petitioned for statehood in 1819
Debate arose over slavery
Missouri Compromise was adopted by Congress in 1820
Henry Clay engineered a second Missouri Compromise

10. III. Nationalism and Its Discontents (con’t)
Northern Republicans did not want slavery to expand for political reasons
The Missouri debate highlighted that the westward expansion of slavery was a passionate topic and would prove to be a fatal issue

11. IV. Nation, Section, and Party
The Monroe Doctrine
Between 1810 and 1822, Spain’s Latin American colonies rose in rebellion and established a series of independent nations
In 1822, the Monroe administration became the first government to extend diplomatic recognition to the new Latin American republics

12. IV. Nation, Section, and Party (con’t)
Fearing that Spain would try to regain its colonies, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams drafted the Monroe Doctrine
No more European colonization of the New World
The United States would abstain from European affairs
No re-colonization

13. IV. Nation, Section, and Party (con’t)
The Election of 1824
Andrew Jackson was the only candidate in the 1824 election to have national appeal
None of the four candidates received a majority of the electoral votes
Fell to the House of Representatives
Henry Clay supported John Quincy Adams
Clay’s “corrupt bargain” gave Adams the White House
Democratic party
Whig party

14. IV. Nation, Section, and Party (con’t)
The Nationalism of John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams enjoyed one of the most distinguished pre-presidential careers of any American president
Adams had a clear vision of national greatness
Supported the American system
Wished to enhance American influence in the Western Hemisphere

15. IV. Nation, Section, and Party (con’t)
Adams held a view of federal power far more expansive than most of his contemporaries
Stated that “liberty is power”
His plans alarmed many and his vision would not be fulfilled until the twentieth century
Martin Van Buren and the Democratic Party
Adams’s program handed his political rivals a powerful weapon
individual liberty
states rights
limited government

16. IV. Nation, Section, and Party (con’t)
Martin Van Buren viewed political party competition as a necessary and positive influence to achieve national unity
The Election of 1828
By 1828, Van Buren had established the political apparatus of the Democratic party
Andrew Jackson campaigned against John Quincy Adams in 1828
Victory went to Jackson and American politics had been transformed

17. V. The Age of Jackson The Party System Democrats and Whigs
Politics had become a spectacle
Party machines emerged
“spoils system”
National conventions chose candidates
Democrats and Whigs
Democrats and Whigs approached issues that emerged from the market revolution differently
Democrats favored nongovernment intervention in the economy
Whigs supported government promotion of the economy

18. V. The Age of Jackson (con’t)
Public and Private Freedom
The party battles of the Jacksonian era reflected the clash between “public” and “private” definitions of American freedom and their relationship to governmental power
Democrats supported a weak federal government, championing individual and states’ rights
Reduced expenditures
Reduced tariffs
Abolished the national bank

19. V. The Age of Jackson (con’t)
Democrats opposed attempts to impose a unified moral vision on society
Whigs believed that a strong federal government was necessary to promote liberty
Whigs argued that the role of government was to promote the welfare of the people
The Nullification Crisis
Jackson’s first term was dominated by a battle to uphold the supremacy of federal over state law
Tariff of 1828

20. V. The Age of Jackson (con’t)
South Carolina led the charge for a weakened federal government
John C. Calhoun emerged as the leading theorist of nullification
Exposition and protest
States created the Constitution
Daniel Webster argued that the people, not the states, created the Constitution
Calhoun and Jackson disagreed about the meaning of liberty and union and nullification
Calhoun left the Democratic party for the Whigs

21. V. The Age of Jackson (con’t)
Indian Removal
The expansion of cotton and slavery forced the relocation of Indians
Indian Removal Act of 1830
Five Civilized Tribes
The law marked a repudiation of the Jeffersonian idea that “civilized” Indians could be assimilated into the American population
The Cherokees went to court to protect their rights
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
Worcester v. Georgia

22. V. The Age of Jackson (con’t)
John Ross led Cherokee resistance
Trail of Tears
The Seminoles fought a war against removal
William Apess appealed for harmony between white Americans and Indians

23. VI. The Bank War and After
Biddle’s Bank
The Bank of the United States symbolized the hopes and fears inspired by the market revolution
Heading the Bank was Nicholas Biddle of Pennsylvania
Jackson distrusted the bank
Biddle’s bank threatened Jackson’s reelection
Jackson vetoed a bill to renew the Bank’s charter

24. VI. The Bank War and After (con’t)
The Pet Banks and the Economy
Both “soft money” advocates and “hard money” advocates supported Jackson’s veto
Jackson authorized the removal of federal funds from the vaults of the National Bank and their deposit in local banks
“pet banks”
Roger Taney
Prices rose dramatically but “real wages” declined

25. VI. The Bank War and After (con’t)
The Panic of 1837
By 1836 gold or silver was required by the American government and the Bank of England for payments
With cotton exports declining, the United States suffered a panic in 1837 and a depression until 1843
Martin Van Buren approved the Independent Treasury to deal with the crisis
The Independent Treasury split the Democratic party
Calhoun went back to the Democrats

26. VI. The Bank War and After (con’t)
The Election of 1840
The Whigs nominated William Henry Harrison in 1840
Harrison was promoted as the “log cabin” candidate
Running mate was John Tyler
Selling candidates in campaigns was as important as the platform for which they stood
His Accidency
Harrison died a month after taking office
Tyler vetoed measures to enact the American System

27. The Missouri Compromise, 1820 • pg. 357

28. The Presidential Election of 1824 • pg. 360

29. The Presidential Election of 1828 • pg. 363

30. Indian Removals, 1830–1840 • pg. 372
Indian Removals, 1830–1840

31. The Presidential Election of 1840 • pg. 377

32. fig10_01.jpg
Pages 344–45: Stump Speaking. In this painting from the 1850s, George Caleb Bingham depicts a candidate in a county election addressing a group of voters, an illustration of grassroots democracy in action. One of the listeners appears about to question or challenge the speaker. A founder of the Whig Party in Missouri, Bingham himself ran for office several times and was elected to the Missouri legislature in 1848.
Credit: The Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Bank of America.

33. fig10_02.jpg
Page 347: An anti-Jackson cartoon from 1832 portrays Andrew Jackson as an aspiring monarch, wielding the veto power while trampling on the Constitution.
Credit: Reproduced from the Collections of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ

34. fig10_05.jpg
Page 351: The American Women’s Home, a guide to domestic life by the sisters Catharine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Even though works like this were meant to instruct middle-class women on how to meet their domestic responsibilities, their popularity allowed talented women to take on a new public role as writers.
Credit: General Research Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation.

35. fig10_07.jpg
Page 353: An image from a broadside from the campaign of 1824, promoting the American System of government-sponsored economic development. The illustrations represent industry, commerce, and agriculture. The ship at the center is named the John Quincy Adams. Its flag, "No Colonial Subjection," suggests that without a balanced economy, the United States will remain economically dependent on Great Britain.
Credit: Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division Washington, LC-USZ

36. fig10_08.jpg
Page 362: Andrew Jackson, in a campaign portrait from The text, referring to his victory at the Battle of New Orleans in 1814, reads, "Protector and defender of beauty and booty.
Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ

37. fig10_04.jpg
Page 366: County Election, another painting by George Caleb Bingham depicting American democracy in action. In this 1852 work, a voter takes an oath while party workers dispense liquor, seek to persuade voters, and keep track of who has cast abllots. The banner reads, "The Will of the People the Supreme Law." The slogan is meant to be ironic. Bingham includes a number of Democratic politicians he accused of cheating him in a recent election.
Credit: The Saint Louis Art Museum.

38. fig10_10.jpg
Page 368: A cartoon published in 1833, at the height of the nullificiation controversy, shows John C. Calhoun climbing steps, including those marked "nullification," "treason," and "civil war," toward the goal of "despotism." He is flanked by James H. Hammond and Robert Y. Hayne, two of South Carolina's political leaders. On the right, President Jackson threatens to hang them.
Credit: Library of Congress.

39. fig10_11.jpg
Page 369: An 1834 print portrays the United States as a Temple of Liberty. At the center, a figure of liberty rises from the flames, holding the Bill of Rights and a staff with a liberty cap. Justice and Minerva (Roman goddess of war and wisdom) flank the temple, above which flies a banner, "The Union Must and Shall be Preserved.”
Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Washington, LC-USZ

40. fig10_13.jpg
Page 371 top: Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper. Founded in 1828 at New Echota, captial of the Cherokee Nation in Georgia, it was printed in English and in a recently devised Cherokee alphabet.
Credit: Warder Collection.

41. fig10_16.jpg
Page 374: The Downfall of Mother Bank, a Democratic cartoon celebrating the destruction of the Second Bank of the United States. President Jackson topples the building by brandishing his order removing federal funds from the Bank. Led by Nicholas Biddle, with the head of a demon, the Bank's corrupt supporters flee, among them Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and newspaper editors allegedly paid by the institution.
Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Washington, LC-USZ

42. fig10_17.jpg
Page 376: The Times, an 1837 engraving that blames Andrew Jackson's policies for the economic depression. The Custom House is idle, while next door a bank is mobbed by worried depistors. Beneath Jackson's hat, spectacles, and clay pipe (with the ironic word "glory"), images of hardship abound.
Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Washington, LC-USZ

43. fig10_18.jpg
Page 378: A Whig campaign publication illustrates the way the party promoted its 1840 presidential candidate, William Henry Harrison, as a humble, cider-drinking common man—an image far removed from the wealthy Harrison's actual social status.
Credit: Bettmann/Corbis.

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45. Give Me Liberty! An American History
End chap. 10
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This concludes the Norton Media Library
Slide Set for Chapter 10
Give Me Liberty!
An American History by
Eric Foner