The Age of Jackson Mrs. Saunders VUS.6

The American System In 1815, President Madison presented a plan to Congress designed to unify the North and South, which were developing vastly different economies, calling for: –The development of a transportation system (roads, canals and railroads to encourage trade) –A protective tariff to increase the cost of foreign made goods and raise money for the public works projects (the Tariff of 1816) –Resurrecting the National Bank (reduced by Jefferson during his presidency)

The American System Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House, and John C. Calhoun supported Madison's plan and Clay called it the “American System”. Most Northerners welcomed the tariff because it made their products more competitive. Most Southerners resented the tariff that would make goods more expensive.

The American System Because Henry Clay was from Kentucky and John Calhoun was from South Carolina, they united to get the Tariff of 1816 passed. In 1816 James Monroe was elected President and everyone in the country seemed to pleased with the development of the Country – this time period became known as the “Era of Good Feelings”

Election of 1824 John Quincy Adams (son of John Adams) ran against Andrew Jackson (now called Democrat not Democratic- Republican). Jackson won the popular vote but lacked a majority of the electoral votes. The House of Representatives had to decide the outcome and Clay used his influence to sway the vote to Adams. Adam then appointed Clay as Secretary of State and Jackson accused them of corruption.

Election of 1828 By 1828, Americans began to see themselves as equals and were more eager to participate in the electoral process. Delegates from states chose candidates for President at nominating conventions. The distinction between “aristocrat” and common man was disappearing as new states provided for universal manhood suffrage, while the older states were lowering property requirements for voting. Jackson Won the Presidency and John C. Calhoun became his Vice-President.

The Age of Jackson Began a new democratic spirit in American politics The mass of American people, who had previously been content with rule by the “aristocracy,” participated in the electoral process.

The Age of Jackson At Andrew Jackson's inaugural in 1829, the White House was thrown open to men (and women) of all classes, and the crowd of 20,000 tracked mud onto the carpets, broke chairs by climbing on them to see the new president, and generally shocked genteel observers.

The Age of Jackson “Spoils System”: A practice of using public offices to benefit members of the victorious party Andrew Jackson was credited with inventing the "spoils" system of giving the victors in an election the rewards of making job appointments. Jackson believed that governmental jobs required no special skills, and could be held by any man, however little educated. Federal appointments were given without regard to skills or training to men who had helped Jackson win the presidency.

Nullification Crisis A few months before the election of 1828, Congress passed a tariff law with high duties. People who opposed it (southerners and westerners) called it the Tariff of Abominations. John C. Calhoun (V.P.) from S.C. opposed the tariff and insisted the States had the right to prevent an unconstitutional law from being enforced. State legislature could pass an act the would nullify the federal law. The S.C. legislature passed such and act and Calhoun resigned as Vice-President. Clay and Calhoun worked a compromise so the nullification crisis ended but the questions of nullification remained unanswered.

Age of Jackson Distrusting the Second National Bank as an undemocratic tool of the Eastern elite, Jackson vetoed the rechartering of the bank in Jackson’s bank veto became the central issue in the election of 1832, as Henry Clay, the National Republican candidate, supported the bank.

The Age of Jackson Jackson’s veto of legislation to recharter the bank of the United States made the presidential veto part of the legislative process, as Congress, from then on, was forced to consider a presidential veto when proposing legislation. An 1836 cartoon, "General Jackson Slaying the Many Headed Monster." Jackson used the issue of the Second National Bank as his principal reelection theme in 1832 and in the election called on the common people to join him in fighting the privileged "monster" corporation, which had branches in 22 states. In this cartoon Jackson, aided by Martin Van Buren (center) his loyal vice president, wields his veto against the monster, whose heads represent the directors of the state branches.

The Age of Jackson The Jacksonians' policy of removing federal funds from the Bank of the United States and placing them in "pet banks" helped to contribute to the fiscal problems that ended in a severe economic panic in 1837, which led to bank failures and dissatisfaction with the use of state banks as depositories for public funds When Jackson removed all federal funds from the Second Bank twenty-three state banks, known as "pet" banks, were chosen as the depositories for these federal monies. With federal funds gone, Biddle had to call in the Bank's loans; the result was a severe recession in 1834, which Jackson supporters blamed on the Bank officers rather on their own shortsightedness.