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Chapter 10 - The Growth of Democracy

The New Democratic Politics
Had the USA still consisted only of the thirteen original states, the North-South compromises might well have broken down by the 1820's and split the nation into two parts.
Westward expansion was the unifying force
Westward expansion encouraged the democratic process
 
The Expansion and Limits of Suffrage
Before 1800 the original 13 states limited the vote to property owners= wealth held power
Mobility undermined the social structure
Western states extended the right to vote to all white males, forcing older states to follow
More factions = more concessions to get votes
Women didn't get the vote, neither did blacks
Could mob rule succeed?
 
The Election of 1824
The "Era of Good Feelings" ended with the Panic of 1819 and the Missouri Crises
Democratic Republican was fractured and as a result 4 candidates ran
Andrew Jackson
John Quincy Adams
William H. Crawford
Henry Clay
Adams and Clay were tied so Clay supported Adams= Clay became secretary of state= Jackson was pissed and had public support so he was poised to win next election
Election of 1824 spelled the end of elitist politics
 
Organizing Popular Politics
Van Buren had a vision of tightly organized, broad-0based political groups
Politics now appealed to popular enthusiasms
Beginnings of mass rallies
New politics were heavily based on party loyalty, politicians were loyal to the people and vice versa
The task of politicians was to emphasize those differences in ways that forged support not just for one election but for permanent national communities of political interest
 
The Election of 1828
The first election to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of the new party system
Andrew Jackson, with Van Buren as campaign manager rode the wave of the new democratic politics to the presidency beating JQA who formed the new National Republican party
Changed Democratic Republicans to Democrats
Jackson's running mate was Calhoun, JQA's vice president
That Calhoun could change factions so easily would end with the new party politics
Democrats were the first to create a coalition between North, South and West= Jackson victory
 
The Jackson Presidency
"The Age of the Common Man"
The first politician to respond to the ways in which westward expansion and the extension of the suffrage were changing politics
 
A Popular Figure
Represented the common man
A military hero
Antagonistic to British and FNP
Jackson's inauguration was packed with common people
 
The Spoils System and the New Politics
Rewarded party loyalists by giving them positions in the government
Strong difference between old and new politics
Old people switched side regularly, (Calhoun)
 
The Nation's Leader vs. Sectional Spokesmen
Jackson believed that he was a national figure
Jackson believed that the president represented everyone= strong executive
Believed that the majority should govern instead of the sectional past
Opponents were Calhoun (south), Clay (West) and Webster (north)
Calhoun was a defender of the slave system
Webster was advocate of tariffs. A national bank, and a strong judiciary
Clay was only one willing to forge political alliances
 
A Strong Executive
Jackson with Van Buren dominated government
Used veto more frequently
Gave power to the states (roads)
 
Internal Improvements: Building an Infrastructure
Despite arguments over who should fund infrastructure everyone agreed that it needed to be done
 
The Transportation Revolution
National Road- largest federal expense tying East and West= fostering a national community
 
Canals and Steamboats
Roads were unpractical for commercial purposes
Erie Canal
Yankee ingenuity
Imported Irish workers
Turned New York away from Europe to America
Success convinced other states to build their own canals= canal boom
Steam boat were more efficient and able to navigate inland rivers
Boom to river cities
 
Railroads
Forced America's iron industry to modernize
Labor intensive
At first steamboats and canals would be more efficient
No standard rail width= slow start
 
The Legal Infrastructure
Federal courts asserted broad federal powers over interstate commerce
Encouraged enterprise
Court prevented states from interfering with contracts
Court denied monopoly= competition
Fulton's steamboat invention was patented but the actual application wasn't
All this was to encourage the commercialization of rural areas by encouraging large-scale economic activity
 
Commercial Agriculture in the Old Northwest
Improvements in infrastructure made it easier for farmers to send their produce to market
Government policy strongly encouraged western settlement
Subsistence farming was being replaced with commercial farming as produce could get to market faster
Commercial farming lead to regional farming
Wheat center moved west of Appalachians= Eastern farmers had to find new crops
Farmers regarded their farms to be temporary waiting for the price to be right before moving
Economy became at the mercy of international prices, railroad and canal companies and the national economy= everyone's intertwined
 John Deere's steel plow an Cyrus McCormick's reaper made farms more efficient= more produce= more $$ and more risk
 
Effects of the Transportation Revolution
Canals and Railroads led to huge investment into America
Catalyst for invention, innovation and change
North made more infrastructure improvements to west= more influential than the south
 
Jackson and His Opponents: The Rise of the Whigs
New infrastructure improvements drove people closer together= national questions and national problems
Jackson's dealings with these new problems of nationalism vs. sectionalism gave rise to the Whig party
 
The Nullification Crisis
The protective tariff was the main sectional issue between North and South
Tariff were wanted in the North where they protected American industry
Tariffs mad luxury goods more expensive in the South and the South faced retaliatory tariff on cotton
With the emergence of new industries more tariffs were needed
Tariffs were also hated in the South as Jackson, in an attempt to win Northern votes supported them.  They claimed that the tariffs were represented sectional interests, helping the North but harming the South= unconstitutional
Slavery was also an issue especially in South Carolina where the state was in recession
Britain had planned to emancipate all slaves
South was alarmed; if Washington didn't mind bowing to sectional Northern interests (tariffs) then they wouldn't' hesitate to emancipate American slaves again bowing to sectional Northern interests
These fears led to talk of nullification, the ability of a state to declare a federal law null, in South Carolina, (Virginia & Kentucky Resolves), (Hartford Convention)
These fears were summed up in Exposition and Protest by Calhoun who wrote it anonymously so as to not offend Jackson
Calhoun of South Carolina used his influence as Jackson's vice-president to get support for nullification
Calhoun saw nullification as a safeguard to the right of the minority vs. Jackson who saw it as a threat to national unity= Calhoun resigns and Van Buren take over
Nullification was practiced in South Carolina in 1832 when Congress (in spite of Jackson's urging) retained high taxes on some manufactured items.  South Carolina called an Ordinance of Nullification and declared the tariff and refused to collect the taxes required.
South Carolina threatened to secede if Jackson used force against the state
Congress passed the Force Bill, the federal government would collect the taxes at gunpoint if necessary
Henry Clay saves the day
Tariffs would be lowered for 9 years gradually (although the tariffs would rise again)
The other Southern states intimidated by the Force Bill refuse to join South Carolina= South Carolina steps down
 
Indian Removal
Since Jefferson the government was to assimilate the FNP
Also given the choice of re-location
In the North the FNP signed all their land away
In the South the FNP still had pockets of self governance
The Cherokee's successfully assimilated and created a constitutional republic
Bowing down to land-hungry whites the legislatures of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi voted to ignore the federal treaties recognizing these pockets
Jackson agreed and thus a policy of wholesale removal of FNP was born
The Cherokee's used the law and won a supreme court case, but the verdict was ignored
Military used to move the FNP some forcibly to leave westwards
 
The Bank War
Jackson refused to renew the charter for the Second Bank of the United States= political consequences
Opposition was known as the Whigs
The Bank held the government money, sold government bonds, made commercial loans, and exercised control over state banks.
The Bank demanded that all repayments to it be made in coin, therefore it stopped state banks from printing to much paper money (no single currency then).  It also restricted speculative activist such as risky loans.
In recession the bank only demanded repayment partially in coin
Acted as a currency stabilizer
Westerners claimed that the bank was harmful to the expansion (speculators)
Many feared that the rich would use it to control the economy
The Bank decided to apply for a second charter early before election as they thought Jackson would not risk a veto on an election year they were wrong, congress approved but Jackson vetoed saying that it was unconstitutional and helped the rich
The Bank war aroused sectional feelings (West vs. North), (poor vs. rich)
 
Jackson's Reelection in 1832
Jackson's veto was a great success with the poor defeating Henry Clay with his popularity
A third party was present, the anti-Masonic Party that stood for the common people and against the Masonic cult (rich club)
First to hold a nominating convention
The Bank had not died yet, as the application of renewal was early, so Jackson killed it by moving all government accounts to (pet) state banks
 
Whigs, Van Buren, and the Election of 1836
Biddle (bank manager) in retaliation against Jackson withdrawing the governments deposits called in all l0oans= recession= everyone mad at Jackson
The Whigs until now loosely united became a strong opposition
The Whigs ran four sectional candidates in hopes that they would force the result into the House of Representatives= a Whig victory, they failed
Whig failure symbolized the weakness of sectional politics
 
The Panic of 1837
The recession of 1833-34 was followed a speculative boom= new state banks were chartered to give out loans
A government surplus of $37 million was distributed to the states causing inflation
More state banks= more paper money= more inflation= Jackson's Specie Circular (government would only accept payment for public lands in hard currency)
British banks hurt by world recession, called in their loans
This led to the collapse of 800 banks in 1837 with $150 million in deposits
Widespread depression= Van Buren gave opportunities to the Whigs
 
The Second American Party System
The First American Party System (DM vs. FEDS) was viewed as an unforunate factional squabble
The Second American Party System, rose out of dramatic social changes caused by expansion and economic growth
Two parties, each with at least some appeal among voters of all social classes in all sections of the country
 
Whigs and Democrats
Democrats represented Jefferson's yeoman farmers= widespread support in all areas
Hatred of bank intervention, monopolies (Bank of the United States) and independence
Disliked the change that came with the infrastrucuture revolution
Whigs were the beneficiaries of the economic change
Strong federal role
Supported the Bank system
Affiliated with the church
Democrats appealed to workers in the cities
Landowners liked the whig platform of a strong government in the control of the economy
 
The Campaign of 1840
The Whigs choose William Henry Harrison (West) of Henry Clay to be the Whig candidate
To balance Harrison they chose John Tyler (South) his running mate
Harrison won easily portraying Van Buren as an aristocrat
 
The Whig Victory Turns to Loss:
Harrison dies= Tyler becomes president
Tyler was a former Democrat who left as he disagreed with the Jackson
Tyler was as much anti-Jackson as he was anti-Whig, he was only chosen to run as he appealed to the sectional tastes of Southerners
 
 
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