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April 1, 2021 History NotesTHE JACKSONIAN ERA CONTINUEDINFORMATION ABOUT ANDREW JACKSONHe was elected President twice—in 1828 and again in 1832He was the first President from west of the Appalachian MountainsHe was a famous general, lawyer and judgeHe owned a plantation just outside of Nashville called the HermitageHe was married to RACHAEL DONELSON JACKSON who died about the time he became PresidentJACKSON’S INAUGURATION20,000 people came to his first inauguration—a huge crowd at that timeMany of those attending the inauguration had come from the western statesJackson invited people to come to the Whitehouse following the ceremonyThose who accepted the invitation made a huge mess; someone even rode a horse into the Whitehouse ‘Proper’ people back east referred to Jackson as a farmer President and thought he was crudeThey criticized him because he had not attended Harvard or some other eastern college But, the ‘common’ people loved him TARIFFS --one of two BIG problems facing our countryObviously the issue of slavery was very divisive in America during this period of history. But slavery was NOT the only divisive issue. Tariffs in Jackson’s day were almost as controversial as slavery. Why were tariffs placed on products coming into the United States? 1-to raise money for the government 2-to protect a country’s industryWhy would our industry need protection? Our industry at this time couldn’t make products that were as good or as cheap as products made in England and other countries. We did not have the experience or the skills needed to manufacture products as proficiently as European countries. We needed time to ‘catch up’.What good, if any, could come from tariffs? Tariffs would make European products more expensive than American products, so Americans were ‘forced’ to buy goods from other Americans. This ‘protection’ allowed our manufacturing to grow and gain needed experience. Soon American industry could compete. What is the negative effect of tariffs? Tariffs raise the price of products that people want to buyWhat Americans supported tariffs and who opposed tariffs in the early 1800s? People who owned or worked in factories supported tariffs—that’s how they earned their $ Most other people, especially southern FARMERS opposed to tariffs—it made what they bought more expensive Page 2What is the real solution to the tariff problem? Develop and improve your industry so that its products are of better quality than foreign products make your industry so efficient that it can make products cheaper that the competition.TARIFF OF ABOMINATIONS (TARIFF OF 1828) (abomination-something that causes hatred or disgustThe North supported this tariff because it protected their industryThe South hated this tariff because much of their living was made by trading their agricultural products for goods manufactured in England. This tariff made life more expensive for southerners for 2 reasons: 1. Tariffs made goods purchased from England more expensive and 2. Tariffs tended to decrease the amount of agricultural products the English bought from the U.S.SOUTH CAROLINA vigorously protested this tariffJOHN C. CALHOUN, Jackson’s Vice Pres., and ROBERT HAYNE, S.C. Senator led the protestBoth were strict-constructionists and argued that the tariff was UnconstitutionalCalhoun argued that SC consequently did not have to enforce the tariffThis idea that a state did not have to enforce a federal law was called the DOCTRINE OF NULLIFICATION Calhoun and Hayne argued states had a right to defy the federal government when justified. BUT FOR A STATE TO NULLIFY A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LAW THREATENED THE UNITY OF OUR COUNTRY. Despite all the talk, the Tariff of Abomination was passed without incident. TARIFF OF 1832 Despite the heated controversy, Congress passed a new tariff in 1832There was a furor (an outbreak of public anger) that developed as a result of this new tariffSouth Carolina began to seriously talk of SESSESSION-to leave the Union This controversy actually threatened the unity and wellbeing of our country-the United States SAVING THE UNIONDANIEL WEBSTER, one of the great orators in American History, spoke before the U.S. Senate on the importance of keeping the Union intact—‘LIBERTY AND UNION, NOW AND FOREVER, ONE AND INSEPERABLE” meaning that he was adamantly opposed to any state leaving the Union. Andrew Jackson, like Webster, argued that SC seceding from the union, couldn’t happenJackson threatened SC with an army of 50,000 if they should try to leave the UnionWhat was needed was a solution that everyone could live with. None other than Henry Clay would propose another compromise. Page 3 CLAY’S NOBLE COMPROMISE 1-lower tariff rates gradually over a 10 year period 2-try to eliminate tariffs completely in the 10th yearSC accepted the compromisethe Union was saved…again (remember Clay’s Missouri Compromise?) COUPLED WITH SLAVERY, THE CONTROVERSY OVER TARIFFS WIDENED THE DIVISION AMONG AMERICAN CITIZENS EVEN MORE. CLAY HELPED SAVE THE UNION A SECOND TIME, BUT THERE WOULD COME A DAY WHEN COMPROMISE WOULD NO LONGER WORK!!!OTHER IMPORANT ISSUES IN THE JACSONIAN ERA One of the most important developments of the Jacksonian Era was that our government grew more democratic. As a result the term Jacksonian Democracy became popular.JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 1. NOMINATING CONVENTIONSNominating conventions rather than the Caucus System was used to select candidates for President. The CAUCUS SYSTEM was used by party leaders to pick the candidate they wanted to run. Most people under the caucus system had absolutely no voice in who would run. Nominating Conventions opened up the selection process to MORE people. 2. VOTING RIGHTSVoting rights were expanded so that most white men could vote by the end of the Jacksonian Era. Blacks and women, however, still could not vote. DEMOCRAT PARTY It was during the Jacksonian Era that the Democrat Party came into being.Andrew Jackson was the first DEMOCRAT to be elected President. SPOILS SYSTEMThe Spoils System was introduced to American politics during the Jacksonian Era.Spoils System was the practice of appointing one’s friends and political supporters to government jobs(‘to the victor go the spoils’)THE NATIONAL BANKJackson vetoed an act to re-charter the National Bank because he thought it was un-constitutional and because he thought that Nickolas Biddle, the director or the bank, was corrupt. ** He disliked the National Bank because he thought it was unfair by setting high interest rates that made it harder for common people to get loans.What became evident was that if the US were to have a National Bank, it needed government oversight and honest bankers who had the good of the American people in mind. Page 4WHAT BANKERS OR ANYONE ELSE IN GOVERNMENT NEEDED TO BE PEOPLE OF INTEGRITY!**INTEGRITY is the most important quality for any candidate for office or any government worker.SLAVERY A great controversy enveloped the United States over the use of slave labor. Southern plantation owners argued that slave labor was essential in order to produce cotton, tobacco, rice and other agricultural crops. They further argued (weakly) that most slave owners were “good” to their slaves. Northerners, for the most part, were abolitionists: they opposed slavery. Some believed that slavery should be ended gradually and were willing to compromise. (Missouri Compromise was a good example.) Others, however, wanted slavery ended immediately. These people were called RADICALABOLITIONISTS. RADICAL ABOLITIONISTS WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON was a newspaper publisher; his paper was written primarily to stir up northerners to demand that slavery be ended immediately. FREDERICK DOUGLASS, a radical abolitionist and a black newspaper publisher, had been born into slavery but escaped when he was young. Douglass, author of 3 books, was a very intelligent, well-spoken supporter of abolition. Douglass, Garrison, and others were very influential in growing support to end slavery.NAT TURNER REBELLIONNat Turner was a black preacher who was willing to do most anything to end slavery including the organization of some Virginia slaves to rebel against their owners. Unfortunately, the rebellion turned violent when a number of people including women and children were murdered. More violent acts would follow. What all of this proved was that our nation was greatly divided over a social issue that one day would be the major factor in states seceding from the Union and war being declared. War did NOT happen during Jackson’s time in office, but the problem steadily grew. TRAIL OF TEARSUnder Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Indians were forced from their native land in the Carolinas, TN, & GA.American settlers coveted Cherokee land, some even believing that there was gold to be found there,Congress narrowly passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 that sent the Cherokee and 4 other ‘civilized’ tribes (SHAWNEE, SEMINOLE, CREEK, CHICKASAW) to “Indian Territory’” located in OKLAHOMA. On the journey west to Oklahoma many Cherokees died from sickness, accidents, drownings, etc.Not all Cherokee were removed—some successfully hid out in the mountains.Consequently, several thousand Cherokee still live in western North Carolina today.It was, however, a sad time for most of the Cherokee. Jackson’s LEGACY was stained by this cruel, unjust occurrence! Page 5WHIGS AND DEMOCRATS The Democrat Party evolved from the Democrat-Republican PartyJackson was the first leader of the Democrat PartyThe opposition party to the Democrats was now called the WHIG PARTYWhigs hated Jackson and often referred to him as King AndrewELECTION OF 1836 Jackson had served his two terms. Now it was time to elect a new President. Martin Van Buren from NY, Jackson’s Vice President, ran as a DemocratThe Whigs had 4 candidates in the race:Van Buren, viewed as a ‘Jackson man’ won the election easily PRESIDENT VAN BUREN Van Buren was very unpopular and his Presidency is considered a failureA DEPRESSION hit America during his time in office primarily because of the following: 1) England reduced by about half the amount of cotton they bought from the US 2) Weather was bad so farmers’ crops in the Midwest yielded much less than expected 3) Problems with the National Bank caused money problems throughout the countryThe term ‘depression’ refers to economic hard times where money is in short supply and people struggle to earn a living. END OF THE JACKSONIAN ERA With the defeat of Martin Van Buren in 1840, the Jacksonian Era came to a close. The Jackson Era was marked by many significant events that would profoundly affect our country.Some of Jackson’s accomplishments were commendable.His actions associated with the Trail of Tears, however, put a stain on his otherwise good record.As Tennesseeans we can be proud that our city is named for him. ELECTION OF 1840Van Buren ran again as the DemocratWilliam Henry Harrison ran as a Whig (he was only other major candidate this election)Harrison was chosen because he resembled Jackson in some waysHarrison was a war hero (Tippecanoe) and he was advertised as a frontiersmanHowever, he actually went to college and studied medicineThis was the first election marked by slogans, open public rallies, songs, etc.Harrison’s slogan was ‘TIPPECANOE AND TYLER TOO”The Democrats called Harrison the “GRANNY GENERAL” because of his ageHarrison won the election easily—largely because Van Buren was very unpopular Page 6HARRISON’S INAUGURATION AND DEATH To dispel worries about his age, he delivered his inauguration speech without wearing a hat or coat on a cold, wet day in Washington. His speech…was almost 2 hours long.Within days Harrison was ill.After only 31 days as President, Harrison died of pneumonia.Harrison was the first President to die in office.JOHN TYLERVP John Tyler of Virginia became President at Harrison’s death.Because Tyler was unpopular, he was given the nickname “His Accidency”.Tyler quickly got in trouble with his own party.Whigs favored a strong National Bank but Tyler was opposed to it.When Tyler vetoed a bank bill, The Whigs expelled him from the party.Tyler became the only President other that G. W. to not be a member of a political party PROBLEMS WITH GREAT BRITAIN AVOIDED Some Canadians decided to fight for their independence from England.American GUNRUNNERS supplied the rebels with guns and ammunition.The Canadian militia learned of this illegal activity and attacked an American boat named the Caroline, sinking her and killing some American sailors. Serious trouble was avoided when Americans Ashburton and Webster negotiated a peaceful settlementA PERMANENT BORDER BETWEEN CANADA AND THE U.S. WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED AT THIS TIME TYLER’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS1. Our disputed border with Canada was permanently established through the WEBSTER- ASHBURTON TREATY with England2. Texas was annexed into the Union as a new state just 2 days before leaving office Tyler was not elected to a 2nd term as President. ................
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