The Age of Jackson

Era of Good Feeling In the election of 1816, James Monroe defeated Federalist Rufus King by 183 to 34 electoral votes After this election the Federalist party begins to quickly disappear Monroe wanted to spread a sense of national unity around the country The newspapers named this idea of unity the “Era of Good Feeling” and it will last for both of Monroe’s terms He and the rest of the country believed the government should now focus on bringing economic prosperity to the country

National Economy Many politicians believed that the country should focus on building the countries infrastructure, support high tariffs to protect industry, and support states’ rights The country also began to focus on a capitalist type of economy This is where privately owned businesses compete in a free market The government also set up the Second Bank of the United States These new policies relied on a stronger central government

The Monroe Doctrine After the War of 1812, many states in Latin America began having their own revolutions to kick out Spain and Portugal’s control Many European nations said that they would help Spain gain back its lost territory This worried President Monroe In 1823 he issued what is known as the Monroe Doctrine This states that the US would not allow European nations to create American colonies or interfere with free nations of Latin America The Monroe Doctrine boosted the influence of the US in the region for decades to come The next president, John Quincy Adams, continued to practice this policy

The Life of Jackson Andrew Jackson grew up poor and was an orphan by the age 14 During the War of 1812, one soldier described him as being as “tough as hickory” which earned him the nickname Old Hickory Jackson was very much a man of the people He believed that ordinary people should be able to participate in politics Andrew Jackson was loved by most Americans during his time in the military and as president

Election of 1824 Jackson ran for president against John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford Jackson won the most electoral votes, but not the majority Because of this the House of Representatives had to choose the president again Because the House was mostly Republican they chose Adams Jackson was furious because he won the popular vote and the most electoral votes and still lost To make things worse, Adams appointed Henry Clay as Secretary of State Clay had been the Speaker of the House Many, including Jackson, thought that the votes in the House were rigged

New Era of Politics Many states were extending suffrage to more people Most states dropped the property requirement for males to vote That being said, only white males were allowed to vote Jackson’s idea that ordinary people should be allowed to vote and hold office began to spread all over the country People who began to follow Jackson became known as Jacksonians Jacksonians began to grow suspicious of the government and banks because they believed they favored the wealthy

New Political Parties Jackson’s Democracy brought back the two-party system that briefly went away during the Era of Good Feeling Jackson came up with the Democratic party The Whigs grew out of the now dead Federalist party and vehemently opposed Jackson and his ideas Previously, parties would hold a caucus to elect their leaders These were small meetings of prominent, and usually wealthy, party members Some states, including Utah, still use the caucus system today More and more states started to use what is know as a primary system More people can participate in these and is considered to be more democratic

Election of 1828 Because more people are allowed to vote than ever and because Adams proved to be a terribly president, Jackson easily defeats Adams in the election Jackson did best in rural areas in the West and South These areas will remain mostly Democrat until the Civil Rights Movement Adams only won in places in the New England area Which will remain controlled by the Whigs until the Civil War His inauguration was more a party than a ceremony Jackson began replacing people in the government with his supporters Opponents accused Jackson of a spoils system of governing The practice of rewarding loyal supporters with government jobs

Thought Questions Should the United States continue to practice a form of the Monroe Doctrine by acting as watch dog for the rest of the world? Why do you think there is such low turn out in modern elections? Should elected officials be able to grant people government jobs in return for their help in a political campaign?

Native Americans in the Southwest Many people, including Andrew Jackson, saw the Native Americans in the Southwest as a problem They thought they the Indians should move somewhere else so the whites could farm on their land These tribes were the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole The Cherokees had become more “civilized” in the recent years They had come up with an alphabet for their language Many had businesses, went to school, and converted to Christianity

Native Americans Lose their Land Attempts to kick the Native Americans off their land date back to Thomas Jefferson who believed they were leave their land voluntarily After the War of 1812 the US government signed treaties with many tribes in the Northwest and the tribes moved west of the Mississippi The tribes in the Southeast would not give up their land Some Indian tribes sued state government who tried to force them off their land In Worcester v. Georgia Chief Justice Marshall said the state could not force the Indians off their land Andrew Jackson’s response to Marshall, “John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it!”

The Trail of Tears Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 This gave him the power to offer Indian tribes land in the west for their land in the east Many tribes believed they had no choice and moved to the Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma The federal government did not provide adequate supplies for most tribes to make the long journey One group “walked 24 hours barefoot through the snow and ice” The Cherokees held out longer than the other tribes, but eventually gave in and moved 4000 out of the 15,000 Cherokees died on the trail The Seminoles also held out for a long time They even had a war with settlers, which they lost and then were forced to move

The Bank War Many wealthy business men liked the Second Bank of the United States The bank allowed them to make loans The notes from the bank were a stable kind of currency Many Americans disliked the Bank Andrew Jackson led this charge Jackson said the Bank allowed a small group of the wealthy people to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary people Jackson refused to renew the Bank’s charter during the election of 1832 The Bank closed its doors in 1836

States’ Rights The balance between state and federal powers had been an issue since the early days of the Union and continued during Jackson’s Presidency In 1828 Congress passed a bill that would raise the tariff on iron, textiles, and other products This benefitted the North and the West where these products were made, but hurt the South because they had to pay more for the products John C. Calhoun, Jackson’s VP, argued that the southern states should nullify the law To Calhoun, states’ rights was more important than saving the Union In 1832 South Carolina threatened to leave the Union Jackson said that the Union could not be dissolved and any attempt to do so would be treason After Jackson threat of force, South Carolina repealed its nullification

End of the Jackson Era In the election of 1836 the Whigs ran three different candidates against Jackson’s hand-picked successor, Martin Van Buren The Whigs’ idea was that nobody would win the majority of votes and the election would go to the House to decide, but the plan failed Van Buren became president during the Panic of 1837 The panic was caused by the fact that British manufacturers were no longer buying American cotton which caused the price of cotton to drop American banks then could not collect on their loans from American cotton produces and many banks closed The panic ruined Van Buren’s Presidency In the election of 1840 he ran again against the Whig candidate William Henry Harrison This election marked the end of the Age of Jackson