Jacksonian Democracy and Reform Era

Overview

Chapter 10 of Give Me Liberty covers Jacksonian Democracy, expanding (yet limited) suffrage, economic policy battles, Native removal, sectional crises over tariffs, and party politics (Democrats vs. Whigs) from the 1810s–1840s.

Jacksonian Politics and Expanding Suffrage

• Jackson’s 1829 inauguration drew crowds; White House celebration turned chaotic and damaging.
• Jackson styled as common man: poor origins, frontier lawyer, War of 1812 hero, popular appeal.
• From Kentucky (14th state) onward, no property requirement to vote; older states phased them out.
• By Civil War, only one state still had property voting requirements; trend tied to Jacksonian era.
• Dorr War (Rhode Island): insurgents drafted new constitution; leader Thomas Dorr arrested for treason.
• By 1840, about 90% of white males could vote; rise of mass political participation.

Democracy’s Limits and Social Hierarchies

• Tocqueville observed weak aristocracy and a unique American democratic culture in the 1830s.
• Constitutional structures limited direct voter impact: justices appointed, senators chosen by legislatures, Electoral College.
• States controlled voting rules, enabling later restrictions on Black male suffrage after the Civil War.
• Specialized press flourished: Freedom’s Journal (Black), The Liberator (immediate abolition), Cherokee Phoenix.
• Women excluded under Cult of Domesticity; separate spheres justified political exclusion.
• Black Americans faced disenfranchisement, militia/jury exclusions, and court barriers in several states.
• Minstrel shows spread racist stereotypes; “Jim Crow” figure later lent name to segregation laws.
• New York (1821): ended property test for whites; required $250 property for Black voters.

The American System and Economic Development

• Henry Clay’s American System: national bank (BUS), internal improvements, protective tariffs.
• Aimed to unify markets, stabilize currency, and protect infant industries, especially in the North.
• Regionalism strong; many prioritized state/section over national identity.
• Second BUS (1816) private corporation; restrained unstable state bank note issues, financed growth.
• Infrastructure primitive; travel from Kentucky to DC took weeks, spurring calls for roads/canals.
• Funding disputes: Madison vetoed internal improvement bill on constitutional grounds.

Financial Panics and Federal Supremacy

• Panic of 1819: land over-speculation burst; banks called loans; farmers lost land; distrust of banks rose.
• Over-speculation: buying assets expecting resale at higher prices; recurring cause of panics.
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): upheld BUS constitutionality; affirmed federal supremacy over states.

Era of Good Feelings and Missouri Compromise

• Monroe’s presidency: single-party politics, post–War of 1812 nationalism.
• Missouri Compromise (1820): Missouri slave, Maine free, 36°30′ line in Louisiana Purchase territory.
• Above line free, below slave (except Missouri); later overturned in future events.
• Tallmadge Amendment (failed): gradual emancipation proposal; South blocked it over broader emancipation fears.
• Jefferson feared the compromise line would sectionalize and divide nation.

Latin America and the Monroe Doctrine

• U.S. recognized new Latin American republics; echoed Declaration of Independence arguments.
• In some Latin states, Indians and free Blacks voted; reflected broader revolutionary ideals.
• Monroe Doctrine (1823): no new European colonization in Americas; U.S. stays out of Europe; no interference in new nations.

Election of 1824 and the “Corrupt Bargain”

• No electoral majority; House decided among Jackson, J.Q. Adams, Crawford.
• Clay (4th) backed J.Q. Adams; Adams won, named Clay Secretary of State; Jacksonians cried “corrupt bargain.”
• Adams as nationalist: supported American System; promoted agriculture, commerce, manufacturing; loose constitutional view.
• Adams-Onís Treaty (1819): J.Q. Adams, as Monroe’s Secretary of State, acquired Florida.

Rise of the Second Party System

• Tariff of 1828 (“Tariff of Abominations”): sharp increase; intensified sectional tensions.
• Martin Van Buren built Democratic party machine; saw parties as vehicles for participation, not division.
• Election of 1828: Jackson defeated Adams decisively; high turnout; heavy mudslinging.

Democrats vs. Whigs: Beliefs and Coalitions

• Democrats: opposed American System; favored limited government; lower tariffs, end BUS, fewer internal improvements.
• Democratic base: farmers, city workers, laborers, many immigrants (Irish, Germans).
• Whigs: supported American System; believed government could promote freedom via development.
• Whig base: businesses, banks, farmers benefiting from infrastructure; backed moral reforms (e.g., temperance).
• Newspapers aligned with parties; patronage and spoils system rewarded supporters with government jobs.
• Under Jackson: tariffs reduced, BUS destroyed, internal improvement aid decreased; no national debt briefly.
• Localities enacted moral laws (e.g., bans on alcohol, prostitution) during Jackson’s era.

Nullification Crisis

• Tariff of 1828 angered South; Calhoun saw Northern favoritism and future threat to slavery.
• Calhoun’s South Carolina Exposition and Protest (anonymous): drew on VA/KY Resolutions; argued for nullification.
• Daniel Webster’s Second Reply to Hayne: defended nationalism; opposed nullification/sectionalism.
• Jackson saw nullification as disunion; Calhoun resigned as vice president.
• Tariff of 1832 lowered rates; still unacceptable to South Carolina.
• Compromise Tariff of 1833: 10% reduction annually over 8 years; Force Bill authorized military collection of tariffs.

Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears

• Indian Removal Act (1831): removal west of Mississippi; aligned with white westward expansion.
• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia: tribes deemed non-citizens; could not sue.
• Worcester v. Georgia (1832): Court said natives could not be forced west; Jackson refused enforcement.
• Resulting removals led to Trail of Tears: 18,000 forced west; about one-quarter died; destination Oklahoma.
• William Apess (Pequot): Son of the Forest urged harmony between whites and Natives.

The Bank War and Panic of 1837

• Nicholas Biddle led BUS; Jackson, a hard-money (gold/silver) advocate, distrusted banks.
• BUS recharter of 1832 became election issue; Jackson vetoed, seen by some as policy-based veto expansion.
• Jackson withdrew federal deposits before 1836 expiration; placed funds in state “pet banks.”
• Roger Taney moved funds; later appointed Chief Justice by Jackson.
• Specie Circular (1836–1837): public land purchases required gold/silver; strained farmers’ liquidity.
• Panic of 1837: wages fell, unemployment rose, land lost; deep economic downturn.

Van Buren, Independent Treasury, and 1840 Campaign

• Van Buren (elected 1836): pulled federal money from state banks; created Independent Treasury to isolate federal funds.
• Election of 1840: Whig William Henry Harrison (“Tippecanoe”) with John Tyler; log cabin, hard cider imagery.
• Harrison won; Tyler, a former Democrat chosen to balance ticket, not a true Whig.
• Harrison died in 30 days; Tyler became first VP to assume presidency; vetoed Whig bills; “His Accidency.”

Party Positions on Key Economic Policies

Key Terms & Definitions

• Over-speculation: Purchasing assets to resell at higher prices later; frequent cause of financial panics.
• Spoils system: Awarding government jobs to political supporters; defended as rotation in office.
• Cult of Domesticity: Ideology assigning women to home and moral guardianship; used to justify exclusion from politics.
• Nullification: State claim to void a federal law deemed unconstitutional within its borders.
• American System: Clay’s program of national bank, protective tariffs, and internal improvements.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review causes/effects of Panic of 1819 and 1837; connect to over-speculation and policy shifts.
• Memorize Missouri Compromise components and Tallmadge Amendment’s proposal and failure.
• Contrast Democratic vs. Whig platforms across bank, tariffs, and internal improvements.
• Trace sequence of Nullification Crisis: 1828 tariff, Exposition, debates, 1832 tariff, Compromise, Force Bill.
• Outline Indian Removal legal cases and Jackson’s non-enforcement leading to Trail of Tears.
• Understand 1824 “Corrupt Bargain,” Adams’s nationalism, and rise of party machinery under Van Buren.