The Early Years
- Andrew Jackson was born in a log cabin in the backwoods of the Carolinas in 1767. Jackson joined the Patriots during the American Revolution at the age of 13. At the age of twenty, Jackson moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he eventually becomes a wealthy attorney
Entering Public Service
Jackson became the first person from Tennessee to serve in the House of Representatives and he also served as Senator before becoming President in 1828.
As a young general in the army, President James Monroe sent Jackson to protect the border of Florida against the Seminole and Creek Indians. After defeating the Creeks battle, they began to refer to Jackson as “Sharp Knife” after Jackson forced them to give up lands that had been guaranteed to them in earlier treaties with the U.S. Jackson also gained fame for his military achievements during the War of 1812 leading American forces to victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans.
Jackson earned the nickname, “Old Hickory” after a soldier said that he was “tough as hickory.”
Jackson became the first person from Tennessee to serve in the House of Representatives and he also served as Senator before becoming President in 1828.
As a young general in the army, President James Monroe sent Jackson to protect the border of Florida against the Seminole and Creek Indians. After defeating the Creeks battle, they began to refer to Jackson as “Sharp Knife” after Jackson forced them to give up lands that had been guaranteed to them in earlier treaties with the U.S. Jackson also gained fame for his military achievements during the War of 1812 leading American forces to victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans.
Jackson earned the nickname, “Old Hickory” after a soldier said that he was “tough as hickory.”
Elections of 1824 and 1828
While earning the most popular votes in the presidential election of 1824, Jackson did not receive enough electoral votes to secure the victory. Choosing from the top three vote getters, the House of Representatives selected John Quincy Adams to be the sixth president of the United States. However, Jackson easily defeated Adams in the election of 1828 to become the first President from a western state. Jacksonian Democracy Jackson was extremely popular with the “common man”, which he considered to be farmers, factory workers and western frontiersmen. Jackson’s belief in shifting the political power from the wealthy and educated elite to the “common man” was part of what became known as Jacksonian democracy. However, Jackson’s critics viewed his popularity as a danger sign that his presidency was coming to resemble that of a king. As a result, Jackson earned yet another nickname. His opponents called him “King Andrew”, fearing Jackson’s intentions of strengthening the powers of the presidency. |
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The Spoils System
Upon assuming the Presidency, Jackson fired over 200 government workers and replaced them with his own Democratic supporters. A supporter of Jackson’s replied to criticism of the president by stating, “To the victor belongs the spoils.” The Spoils system is the practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs. Jackson appointed some of his most dedicated supporters with jobs within his Cabinet, although few of them were qualified for the job.Instead of relying on his Cabinet for advice, Jackson relied on a small group of unofficial advisors as the “kitchen cabinet” since Jackson frequently met with them in the White House kitchen.
Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet
Martin Van Buren: Secretary of State, Later V.P.
John H. Eaton: Secretary of War
Amos Kendall: Auditor of the U.S. Treasury
Major William B. Lewis: Second Auditor of the Treasury
Isaac Hill: U.S. Sen. and Editor, New Hampshire Patriot
Francis P. Blair, Sr.: Editor, Washington Globe
Duff Green: Owner, United States Telegraph
Upon assuming the Presidency, Jackson fired over 200 government workers and replaced them with his own Democratic supporters. A supporter of Jackson’s replied to criticism of the president by stating, “To the victor belongs the spoils.” The Spoils system is the practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs. Jackson appointed some of his most dedicated supporters with jobs within his Cabinet, although few of them were qualified for the job.Instead of relying on his Cabinet for advice, Jackson relied on a small group of unofficial advisors as the “kitchen cabinet” since Jackson frequently met with them in the White House kitchen.
Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet
Martin Van Buren: Secretary of State, Later V.P.
John H. Eaton: Secretary of War
Amos Kendall: Auditor of the U.S. Treasury
Major William B. Lewis: Second Auditor of the Treasury
Isaac Hill: U.S. Sen. and Editor, New Hampshire Patriot
Francis P. Blair, Sr.: Editor, Washington Globe
Duff Green: Owner, United States Telegraph
The Bank War
The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816 for a term of 20 years. The time limitation reflected the concerns of many in Congress about the concentration of financial power in a private corporation. The Bank of the United States was a depository for federal funds and paid national debts, but it was answerable only to its directors and stockholders and not to the electorate.
The supporters of a central bank were those involved in industrial and commercial ventures. They wanted a strong currency and central control of the economy. The opponents, principally agrarians (farmers), were distrustful of the federal government. The critical question — with whom would President Jackson side?
These buildings, known as Bankers Row, are across from the Second Bank of the United States. This financial center is sometimes called "America's first Wall Street."At the time Jackson became President in 1828, the Bank of the United States was ably run by Nicholas Biddle, a Philadelphian. But Biddle was more an astute businessman than politician. His underestimation of the power of a strong and popular President caused his downfall and the demise of the financial institution he commanded.
Jackson had been financially damaged by speculation and a tightening of bank credit early in his business career. He retained a distrust of financial institutions throughout his life. At first, however, Jackson's position on the Bank was not outwardly antagonistic. He was concerned about the Bank's constitutionality and the general soundness of paper money in place of gold and silver ("HARD MONEY"). Jackson was also sympathetic to "SOFT-MONEY" supporters from the west who wanted access to easy CREDIT.
In January 1832, Biddle's supporters in Congress, principally Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, introduced Bank recharter legislation. Even though the charter was not due to expire for four more years, they felt that the current Congress would recharter the Bank. They felt that Jackson would not risk losing votes in Pennsylvania and other commercial states by vetoing it. Jackson reacted by saying to his vice-president, Martin Van Buren, "The Bank is trying to kill me, Sir, but I shall kill it!"
Jackson's opposition to the Bank became almost an obsession. Accompanied by strong attacks against the Bank in the press, Jackson vetoed the BANK RECHARTER BILL. Jackson also ordered the federal government's deposits removed from the Bank of the United States and placed in state or "PET" BANKS. The people were with Jackson, and he was overwhelmingly elected to a second term. Biddle retaliated by making it more difficult for businesses and others to get the money they needed. This caused an economic contraction at the end of 1833 and into 1834. The bank charter expired in 1836.
The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816 for a term of 20 years. The time limitation reflected the concerns of many in Congress about the concentration of financial power in a private corporation. The Bank of the United States was a depository for federal funds and paid national debts, but it was answerable only to its directors and stockholders and not to the electorate.
The supporters of a central bank were those involved in industrial and commercial ventures. They wanted a strong currency and central control of the economy. The opponents, principally agrarians (farmers), were distrustful of the federal government. The critical question — with whom would President Jackson side?
These buildings, known as Bankers Row, are across from the Second Bank of the United States. This financial center is sometimes called "America's first Wall Street."At the time Jackson became President in 1828, the Bank of the United States was ably run by Nicholas Biddle, a Philadelphian. But Biddle was more an astute businessman than politician. His underestimation of the power of a strong and popular President caused his downfall and the demise of the financial institution he commanded.
Jackson had been financially damaged by speculation and a tightening of bank credit early in his business career. He retained a distrust of financial institutions throughout his life. At first, however, Jackson's position on the Bank was not outwardly antagonistic. He was concerned about the Bank's constitutionality and the general soundness of paper money in place of gold and silver ("HARD MONEY"). Jackson was also sympathetic to "SOFT-MONEY" supporters from the west who wanted access to easy CREDIT.
In January 1832, Biddle's supporters in Congress, principally Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, introduced Bank recharter legislation. Even though the charter was not due to expire for four more years, they felt that the current Congress would recharter the Bank. They felt that Jackson would not risk losing votes in Pennsylvania and other commercial states by vetoing it. Jackson reacted by saying to his vice-president, Martin Van Buren, "The Bank is trying to kill me, Sir, but I shall kill it!"
Jackson's opposition to the Bank became almost an obsession. Accompanied by strong attacks against the Bank in the press, Jackson vetoed the BANK RECHARTER BILL. Jackson also ordered the federal government's deposits removed from the Bank of the United States and placed in state or "PET" BANKS. The people were with Jackson, and he was overwhelmingly elected to a second term. Biddle retaliated by making it more difficult for businesses and others to get the money they needed. This caused an economic contraction at the end of 1833 and into 1834. The bank charter expired in 1836.
The Trail of Tears — The Indian Removals
Not everyone was included in the new Jacksonian Democracy. There was no initiative from Jacksonian Democrats to include women in political life or to combat slavery. But, it was the Native American who suffered most from Andrew Jackson's vision of America. Jackson, both as a military leader and as President, pursued a policy of removing Indian tribes from their ancestral lands. This relocation would make room for settlers and often for speculators who made large profits from the purchase and sale of land.
Indian policy caused the President little political trouble because his primary supporters were from the southern and western states and generally favored a plan to remove all the Indian tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River. While Jackson and other politicians put a very positive and favorable spin on Indian removal in their speeches, the removals were in fact often brutal. There was little the Indians could do to defend themselves. In 1832, a group of about a thousand Sac and Fox Indians led by Chief Black Hawk returned to Illinois, but militia members easily drove them back across the Mississippi. The Seminole resistance in Florida was more formidable, resulting in a war that began under Chief Osceola and lasted into the 1840s.
The Cherokees of Georgia, on the other hand, used legal action to resist. The Cherokee people were by no means frontier savages. By the 1830s they developed their own written language, printed newspapers and elected leaders to representative government. When the government of Georgia refused to recognize their autonomy and threatened to seize their lands, the Cherokees took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court and won a favorable decision. John Marshall's opinion for the Court majority in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia was essentially that Georgia had no jurisdiction over the Cherokees and no claim to their lands. But Georgia officials simply ignored the decision, and President Jackson refused to enforce it. Jackson was furious and personally affronted by the Marshall ruling, stating, "Mr. Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it!"
Finally, federal troops came to Georgia to remove the tribes forcibly. As early as 1831, the army began to push the Choctaws off their lands to march to Oklahoma. In 1835, some Cherokee leaders agreed to accept western land and payment in exchange for relocation. With this agreement, the Treaty of New Echota, Jackson had the green light to order Cherokee removal. Other Cherokees, under the leadership of Chief John Ross, resisted until the bitter end. About 20,000 Cherokees were marched westward at gunpoint on the infamous Trail of Tears. Nearly a quarter perished on the way, with the remainder left to seek survival in a completely foreign land. The tribe became hopelessly divided as the followers of Ross murdered those who signed the Treaty of New Echota.
The Trail of Tears is the most sorrowful legacy of the Jacksonian Era.
Not everyone was included in the new Jacksonian Democracy. There was no initiative from Jacksonian Democrats to include women in political life or to combat slavery. But, it was the Native American who suffered most from Andrew Jackson's vision of America. Jackson, both as a military leader and as President, pursued a policy of removing Indian tribes from their ancestral lands. This relocation would make room for settlers and often for speculators who made large profits from the purchase and sale of land.
Indian policy caused the President little political trouble because his primary supporters were from the southern and western states and generally favored a plan to remove all the Indian tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River. While Jackson and other politicians put a very positive and favorable spin on Indian removal in their speeches, the removals were in fact often brutal. There was little the Indians could do to defend themselves. In 1832, a group of about a thousand Sac and Fox Indians led by Chief Black Hawk returned to Illinois, but militia members easily drove them back across the Mississippi. The Seminole resistance in Florida was more formidable, resulting in a war that began under Chief Osceola and lasted into the 1840s.
The Cherokees of Georgia, on the other hand, used legal action to resist. The Cherokee people were by no means frontier savages. By the 1830s they developed their own written language, printed newspapers and elected leaders to representative government. When the government of Georgia refused to recognize their autonomy and threatened to seize their lands, the Cherokees took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court and won a favorable decision. John Marshall's opinion for the Court majority in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia was essentially that Georgia had no jurisdiction over the Cherokees and no claim to their lands. But Georgia officials simply ignored the decision, and President Jackson refused to enforce it. Jackson was furious and personally affronted by the Marshall ruling, stating, "Mr. Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it!"
Finally, federal troops came to Georgia to remove the tribes forcibly. As early as 1831, the army began to push the Choctaws off their lands to march to Oklahoma. In 1835, some Cherokee leaders agreed to accept western land and payment in exchange for relocation. With this agreement, the Treaty of New Echota, Jackson had the green light to order Cherokee removal. Other Cherokees, under the leadership of Chief John Ross, resisted until the bitter end. About 20,000 Cherokees were marched westward at gunpoint on the infamous Trail of Tears. Nearly a quarter perished on the way, with the remainder left to seek survival in a completely foreign land. The tribe became hopelessly divided as the followers of Ross murdered those who signed the Treaty of New Echota.
The Trail of Tears is the most sorrowful legacy of the Jacksonian Era.
The South Carolina Nullification Controversy
By the late 1820's, the north was becoming increasingly industrialized, and the south was remaining predominately agricultural.
In 1828, Congress passed a high protective tariff that infuriated the southern states because they felt it only benefited the industrialized north. For example, a high tariff on imports increased the cost of British textiles. This tariff benefited American producers of cloth — mostly in the north. But it shrunk English demand for southern raw cotton and increased the final cost of finished goods to American buyers. The southerners looked to Vice President John C. Calhoun from South Carolina for leadership against what they labeled the "Tariff of Abominations."
Calhoun had supported the Tariff of 1816, but he realized that if he were to have a political future in South Carolina, he would need to rethink his position. Some felt that this issue was reason enough for dissolution of the Union. Calhoun argued for a less drastic solution — the doctrine of "nullification." According to Calhoun, the federal government only existed at the will of the states. Therefore, if a state found a federal law unconstitutional and detrimental to its sovereign interests, it would have the right to "nullify" that law within its borders. Calhoun advanced the position that a state could declare a national law void.
In 1832, Henry Clay pushed through Congress a new tariff bill, with lower rates than the Tariff of Abominations, but still too high for the southerners. A majority of states-rights proponents had won the South Carolina State House in the recent 1832 election and their reaction was swift. The South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification was enacted into law on November 24, 1832. As far as South Carolina was concerned, there was no tariff. A line had been drawn. Would President Jackson dare to cross it?
Jackson rightly regarded this states-rights challenge as so serious that he asked Congress to enact legislation permitting him to use federal troops to enforce federal laws in the face of nullification. Fortunately, an armed confrontation was avoided when Congress, led by the efforts of Henry Clay, revised the tariff with a compromise bill. This permitted the South Carolinians to back down without "losing face."
In retrospect, Jackson's strong, decisive support for the Union was one of the great moments of his Presidency. If nullification had been successful, could secession have been far behind?
By the late 1820's, the north was becoming increasingly industrialized, and the south was remaining predominately agricultural.
In 1828, Congress passed a high protective tariff that infuriated the southern states because they felt it only benefited the industrialized north. For example, a high tariff on imports increased the cost of British textiles. This tariff benefited American producers of cloth — mostly in the north. But it shrunk English demand for southern raw cotton and increased the final cost of finished goods to American buyers. The southerners looked to Vice President John C. Calhoun from South Carolina for leadership against what they labeled the "Tariff of Abominations."
Calhoun had supported the Tariff of 1816, but he realized that if he were to have a political future in South Carolina, he would need to rethink his position. Some felt that this issue was reason enough for dissolution of the Union. Calhoun argued for a less drastic solution — the doctrine of "nullification." According to Calhoun, the federal government only existed at the will of the states. Therefore, if a state found a federal law unconstitutional and detrimental to its sovereign interests, it would have the right to "nullify" that law within its borders. Calhoun advanced the position that a state could declare a national law void.
In 1832, Henry Clay pushed through Congress a new tariff bill, with lower rates than the Tariff of Abominations, but still too high for the southerners. A majority of states-rights proponents had won the South Carolina State House in the recent 1832 election and their reaction was swift. The South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification was enacted into law on November 24, 1832. As far as South Carolina was concerned, there was no tariff. A line had been drawn. Would President Jackson dare to cross it?
Jackson rightly regarded this states-rights challenge as so serious that he asked Congress to enact legislation permitting him to use federal troops to enforce federal laws in the face of nullification. Fortunately, an armed confrontation was avoided when Congress, led by the efforts of Henry Clay, revised the tariff with a compromise bill. This permitted the South Carolinians to back down without "losing face."
In retrospect, Jackson's strong, decisive support for the Union was one of the great moments of his Presidency. If nullification had been successful, could secession have been far behind?
States entering the Union:
Arkansas
Michigan
Arkansas
Michigan