Chapter 11 The Age of Andrew Jackson The

Chapter 11 The Age of Andrew Jackson

The Election 1824 Single Party Election 4 candidates • William H. Crawford (GA) • Andrew Jackson (TN) • Henry Clay (KY) • John Quincy Adams (MA)

“The Corrupt Bargain” Henry Clay agreed to help influence the House vote since he was Speaker of the House. When the House voted in JQAdams, Clay was appointed Secretary of State. Jackson was furious believing they had made an agreement on this.

The Adams Presidency Although John Quincy was a brilliant Secretary of State, his presidency was somewhat of a failure due to his federalist characteristics.

• Adams wanted the federal government to pay for many Internal Improvements and to promote arts and sciences but he was afraid to use the office of president to force the congress to go along. • In truth, Adams was more of an Independent than a federalist or a Whig (his party later). • He was elected to the House of Representatives after his presidency and he served there until his death (1830 -1848). As a congressman, he fought to force Congress to receive anti-slavery petitions and he was the attorney for the Plaintiff in the famous Amistad.

The Amistad Case • In February of 1839, Portuguese slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans from Sierra Leone and shipped them to Havana, Cuba, a center for the slave trade. • This abduction violated all of the treaties then in existence. • Fifty-three Africans were purchased by two Spanish planters and put aboard the Cuban schooner Amistad for shipment to a Caribbean plantation. • On July 1, 1839, the Africans seized the ship, killed the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. • On August 24, 1839, the Amistad was seized off Long Island, NY, by the U. S. brig Washington.

• The planters were freed and the Africans were imprisoned in New Haven, CT, on charges of murder. • Although the murder charges were dismissed, the Africans continued to be held in confinement as the focus of the case turned to salvage claims and property rights. • President Van Buren was in favor of extraditing the Africans to Cuba. • Abolitionists in the North opposed extradition and raised money to defend the Africans. • The case went to Federal District Court in Connectucut.

• The court ruled that the case fell within Federal jurisdiction and that the claims to the Africans as property were not legitimate because they were illegally held as slaves. • The case went to the Supreme Court in January 1841, and former President John Quincy Adams argued the defendants' case. • Adams defended the right of the accused to fight to regain their freedom. • The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Africans, and 35 of them were returned to their homeland. The others died at sea or in prison while awaiting trial.

The Election of 1828 Democratic Republicans Jackson Vs. National Republicans JQ Adams

Jackson’s Reputation In 1806, Jackson had fought a duel with a man named Charles Dickinson over a horse race and some insults that followed. Dickinson was known to be an expert shot. Jackson killed him in the duel. He was also known to have shot deserters in Florida and to have a very bad temper.

Jacksonian Democracy • Jackson’s appeal to the common man • Rise in the percentage of people voting to 80% • Change in elector system in the states • The use of the “spoils system” • Nominating conventions replace caucuses

Jackson and the Tariff • New England manufacturers pressured Congress for protection against low prices of English wool. • Westerners would not agree with the increase unless their raw materials would also be protected but this annoyed the New Englanders. • The South hated any protectionism since it did not benefit them.

The Tariff of Abominations • The tariff of 1828 raised the price of British imports by 50%. • In turn the British could not afford to buy cotton from the South. • John Quincy Adams signed the Tariff Bill because presidents had never used the veto.

John C. Calhoun explores Secession Southerners, who hated the tariff, discussed two possible actions: • Nullification • Secession Calhoun relied on the ideas of Jefferson and Madison to advocate States’ Rights but he didn’t know what the President thought.

The Webster-Hayne Debate of (1830) Senator Daniel Webster (NH) debated with Senator Robert Hayne (SC) on the floor of the Senate. Southerners hoped that the President would side with them since he was from the South.

Jackson’s Cabinet • Calhoun had been Secretary of War under President Monroe. He had criticized Jackson’s behavior in the Seminole War but Jackson did not know this. • Jackson had married Rachel Donelson Robards. She had divorced her husband to marry Jackson but the divorce was not properly filed and she and Jackson had to remarry after a proper divorce. • Jackson was known to fight duels with those who insulted his wife.

• Jackson’s wife was ridiculed in the election and died shortly before he took office. • Jackson was bitter about the “polite society” of Washington which had rejected his wife. • Calhoun’s wife was a leader of Washington society and instrumental in deciding who was accepted among the women. • Jackson chose John Eaton as his Secretary of War (an old friend who had helped him in his campaign).

• John Eaton had recently married a widow, Peggy Timberlake. • Peggy Eaton had previously been married to John Timberlake. He was a navy officer who was away for months. She was a popular and flirtatious daughter of an Innkeeper where Jackson and Eaton sometimes stayed. • Timberlake had committed suicide and some people thought this was because his wife was having an affair with John Eaton. • Although she married John Eaton, the Washington wives (led by Mrs. Calhoun) refused to invite her to events they hosted.

• Martin Van Buren was Jackson’s Secretary of State. He was single so he could invite Mrs. Eaton to his home since he had no wife to protest this. • Consequently, Jackson’s cabinet became a contest between Calhoun and Van Buren gained favor with Jackson just as Calhoun lost favor.

The Famous Toast • On April 13, 1830, there was annual celebration of Jefferson's birthday given by those who considered themselves his political heirs. • Those with states’ rights, nullification, and anti-tariff sentiments planned to make it a rally for their beliefs. • Jackson, attended and, after listening to many toasts by the nullifiers, rose and proclaimed: "Our Union: It must be preserved".

Calhoun made clear their differences with: "The Union, Next to our liberty, the most dear. May we always remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the states and distributing equally the benefits and burdens of the Union. "

Jackson and Calhoun • On May 12, 1830, soon after the Jefferson Dinner confrontation, William Crawford, whom Jackson largely blamed for his censure over Florida, got papers into the hand of Jackson that proved Calhoun had proposed Jackson's arrest and punishment over the Florida affair. • Jackson was determined by this time that the nullifier Calhoun should not succeed him, and this, provided a means to challenge Calhoun.

• Jackson sent the Florida correspondence to Calhoun with a note harshly demanding an explanation. • Calhoun responded in a 52 page letter. He implied Jackson was being manipulated against Calhoun by Van Buren.

• The Telegraph, long regarded as the administration's voice, had become a liability, being more loyal to Calhoun than to Jackson. It had even given the impression of Jackson as agreeable with the nullifiers. • So, by December 1830, Jackson, with the aid of his "kitchen cabinet" of private advisors, imported Francis P. Blair from Kentucky to launch The Globe, a purely Jackson newspaper.

• On February 17, Calhoun published via the Telegraph his recent correspondence with Jackson, with text that implied that it was part of a plot against him headed by Van Buren. • The article brought out into the open all the embarrassing feuds that had been going on in the cabinet, putting the administration up to ridicule. • On February 21, the new Globe labeled Calhoun's diatribe "a firebrand wantonly thrown into the [Democratic] party".

• Van Buren had been accompanying Jackson on his daily exercise rides (after first taking riding lessons). • On such a ride, Van Buren said he suggested to Jackson the way out of his dilemma. • Van Buren would resign, and the rest of the cabinet would be pressured to follow suit.

• The resignations took place in April 1831, followed by an ugly brawl in the Washington newspapers, which would have been worse were it not during Congress' adjournment. • Calhoun’s allies labeled it all a plot by Van Buren who they called "the Magician", and broadcast to the world all the charges of promiscuity against Peggy Eaton.

• Nothing like this decimation of a president's cabinet had happened before, and it was seen as a constitutional crisis. By weathering it Jackson set the precedent that a president could exercise such control over members of his cabinet. • Jackson had his new cabinet in place when congress reconvened. The next year and a half were the most eventful of his eight years in power.

The Nullification Crisis • In 1832, Congress passed a lower tariff • The State Legislature of South Carolina nullified this tariff and the tariff of 1828 • South Carolina threatened to secede if the Federal Government interfered • Clay constructed a new bill to gradually lower the tariff • Jackson convinced Congress to pass a Force Bill • South Carolina nullified the Force Bill

Jackson’s Indian Policies • The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole lived in southeastern regions (Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama). • These states wanted Native Americans removed from their lands. • In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. • Natives were paid to relocate and Congress created the Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

The Cherokee • The Cherokee lived in the State of Georgia and had treaties with the federal government recognizing them as a separate state. • Worcester was a missionary living on Cherokee land. • The State of Georgia tried to get him removed from the land just to hassle the Cherokees for not leaving. • Worcester sued the state of Georgia and the case went to the Supreme Court.

Worcester v. Georgia • John Marshall ruled that the State of Georgia could not force removal of Native Americans or interfere with their lands. • Jackson vowed to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling and help Georgia to remove the Native Americans. • “John Marshall has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it. ”

The Trail of Tears • In 1838 Jackson sent General Winfield Scott with 7, 000 troops to relocate the Cherokee. • The removal took place over a 1000 mile trail. 489 of 800 survived. • "Humanity weeps over the fate of the Indians, but true philanthropy reconciles the mind to the extinction of one generation for another" Andrew Jackson

Native American Resistance • In 1832 the Sac and Fox Indians left Iowa to return to their homes in northern Illinois. • They were led by Black Hawk. • Their return sparked a panic by white settlers in Illinois. • Governor Reynolds called up the militia to fight them. • The troops (which included a young Abraham Lincoln) had a hard time locating them but finally found them in Wisconsin territory. • They were defeated at the Battle of Bad Axe.

The Seminole Wars • The conflicts between white man and Indian in Florida became the longest continuous war in which the United States Government engaged an enemy. • The Seminoles were brought to Florida by the Spanish in the early 1700 s in order to fight off the Apalachee natives. • These natives remained and fought with the British against the South in the Revolutionary War.

• The development of the Southern states disrupted the boundaries of all native American groups in the region. In the mid 1700's Creeks left Western Georgia and moved southward to the Gainesville prairies. • Perhaps they were adventurous young Indians since Seminole means "runaway" or "wild". These small bands of Indians found Spanish Florida a safe refuge from the onslaught of white settlements. •

• The Seminoles were able to adapt to the white man’s life style. • They became wheat farmers and raised cattle. • Georgia farmers accused them of constantly stealing their cattle but Seminole cattle came from Spanish stock. • Another problem with the Southerners was that the Seminoles welcomed runaway African-American slaves into their tribes.

• Governor Jackson had viewed the Seminoles as a problem since there were 7, 000 of them but he did not have enough men to run them off. • The Treaty of Moultrie Creek ended the First Seminole War and gave the Seminoles reservation land in south central Florida.

• By 1828, the Florida Legislative Council was urging Congress to remove all Seminoles from Florida Territory. • Jackson wanted the removal of all Native tribes • Since Florida was a much needed slave territory, Southern Congressmen vigorously backed Jackson's plans.

• The Seminole Chiefs sent inspectors to Oklahoma to look over the land that the government was proposing to give them. • The inspectors signed the Treaty of Fort Gibson (Oklahoma) after their visit to Oklahoma. • The inspectors were NOT told that they would have to share the land with other tribes and the less suitable areas were not disclosed to them.

• Osceola vowed to fight the Treaty. • He was especially mad when he found out that the Africans who had lived among them would NOT be relocated but returned to slavery. • "Am I a Negro, slave? My skin is dark, but not black! I am an Indian, a Seminole. The white man shall not make me black. I will make the white man red with blood, and then blacken him in the sun and rain, where the wolf shall gnaw his bones and the buzzard shall live on his flesh. "

THE DADE MASSACRE • In December of 1835 Osceola began his war in dramatic fashion when his men ambushed the new Indian agent General Wiley Thompson, by his office just outside the gates of Fort King (Ocala). The Seminoles next killed Chief Emathia, who was helping Thompson recruit Indians to go to Fort Brooke (Tampa). • The reaction by the United States Government was to send reinforcements even though there were few trained foot soldiers in Florida.

• "Have a good heart; our difficulties and dangers are over now, and as soon as we arrive at Fort King you'll have three days to rest and keep Christmas gaily. " Major Francis L. Dade spoke these words of encouragement to 108 cold, tired soldiers in a pine forest on the morning of December 28, 1835. Within eight hours, only three soldiers would survive the battle that marked the beginning of the Second Seminole War.

• The United States government gave in after the death of 1500 soldiers. • The Seminole were allowed to remain in Florida. • Many Seminole, however, had died in the war and others relocated anyway. • By 1842, few were left that lived east of the Mississippi. • Native Americans had eventually relinquished 100 million acres in exchange for 32 million acres.

Jackson and the Bank • The National Bank had long been a sore spot for those who opposed eastern money. • The controversy dated back to Jefferson and Hamilton and their two different visions of America. • Jackson hated the National Bank and especially hated its president, Nicholas Biddle.

• Henry Clay and Daniel Webster convinced Biddle to apply for his charter early (1832 instead of 1836). • Jackson’s opponents thought to that if Jackson vetoed the bank’s charter, he would lose votes in the 1832 election (allowing Clay to win). • The plan backfired and Jackson was re-elected along with his Vice President, Martin Van Buren. • Jackson had vetoed the renewal of the bank and he then had all the federal money withdrawn from the bank and placed into state banks. The Bank of the United States disappeared forever.

The Whig Party • Opposition to Andrew Jackson’s presidency led to the formation of the Whig Party. • This was a single issue party in that it’s primary consensus was dislike of Andrew Jackson.

The Election of 1836 • Martin Van Buren was the personal choice of Andrew Jackson and faced no opposition for the Democratic nomination. • The Whigs, however, were badly split and decided to field a number of regional candidates in the hope of having the issue decided by the House of Representatives (as had been the case in the Election of 1824). • William Henry Harrison, hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe, hoped to gain the support of Western voters, Daniel Webster had strength in New England, and Hugh Lawson White had backing in the South. • In the end Van Buren destroyed the Whig strategy by polling well in all sections of the country. The Whigs, however, were able to make significant gains in Congress.

• As a historical footnote, no vicepresidential candidate received a majority of the electoral votes cast in 1836. Under the provisions of the Constitution (see Twelfth Amendment), the Senate was to make the final determination. Richard M. Johnson (Kentucky) was chosen to serve with Van Buren. This was the only instance in which the Senate has been called upon to perform this duty.

The Depression of 1837 • Panic of 1837 -land values dropped suddenly and investors panicked and caused banks to fail. • Van Buren believed in the principles of laissez faire but he did decide to take the federal money and deposit it in the National Treasury.

The Election of 1840 • William Henry Harrison became the first Whig President. • Harrison delivered an inaugural speech that lasted one hour and fortyfive minutes in a snowstorm. He also stood outside and greeted people for hours. • He died a month later of pneumonia.

John Tyler (Virginia) became the first Vice President to become President upon the death of a president. Although Tyler was a Whig, he had previously been a Democrat and did not support the Whig effort to recharter the National Bank. The Whig Party became increasingly divided along sectional lines. The Whig candidate, Henry Clay, lost to the Democrat James Polk in 1844.