Chapter 10: The Democratic Chapter 10: The Democratic RevolutionRevolution

1820 to 18441820 to 1844By Neil Hammond

Millbrook High School

The Democratic RevolutionThe Democratic Revolution• In the early years of the republic men of

“great ability” ruled (read “rich, white men)

• Beginning in the 1820s more ordinary folks held public office (much to the disgust of Europeans)

• In the early 1800s most states had extended the franchise. Few other countries were so lucky…In England the Great Reform Act of 1832 changed who could vote, but only 10% of the white male population could…way less than in America

The Democratic RevolutionThe Democratic Revolution• 1810s and 1820s states gradually replaced property

qualifications with taxpayer qualifications. New states were often very liberal with voting rights

The Democratic RevolutionThe Democratic Revolution• As white men gained more rights,

women and free blacks lost theirs (eg Ohio disenfranchised blacks in 1802…NY had property qualifications for blacks but not whites)

• Some states redrew districts to make them more democratic, and instituted rules where judges were elected NOT appointed

Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren• He is credited with developing the “political

machine”

• His NY “Bucktail” supporters (so called because they wore a deer's tail on their hats) were encouraged to vote (and informed about issues) through a newspaper run by Van Buren’s supporters

• When Van Buren and his party won control of NY, he gave out about 6000 state government positions to his supporters (spoils system). VB insisted on strict party discipline and required his members to vote as the party caucus (an informal meeting of the party’s leaders)

1824 Election1824 Election• Map, Reading and questions

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams• Called for an active national government

• Adams called for:

– 1. the establishment of a national university in Washington

– 2. extensive scientific explorations in the Far West, and a uniform standard of weights and measures.

– 3. Henry Clay's American System of national economic development and its three key elements: protective tariffs to stimulate manufacturing, federally subsidized roads and canals to facilitate commerce, and a national bank to control credit and provide a uniform currency.

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams• Adams won support from the NE and MW, but

Southerners hated the plan

• “Old Republicans” opposed his plans, too, on constitutional grounds

• After a trip to Monticello to meet Thomas Jefferson, his longtime hero, Martin Van Buren declared his allegiance to the constitutional “doctrines of the Jefferson School.” Now a member of the U.S. Senate, Van Buren joined the Old Republicans in defeating most national subsidies for roads and canals. Congress approved only a few of Adams's proposals for internal improvements, among them the short extension of the National Road from Wheeling, Virginia, into Ohio.

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams• A battle over tariffs defined JQA’s presidency

• 1824 Clay and JQA pushed a higher tariff through Congress

• When Van Buren and his Jacksonian allies won control of Congress in the election of 1826, they proposed higher tariffs on wool, hemp, and other imported raw materials. Their goal was to win the support of wool- and hemp-producing farmers in New York, Ohio, and Kentucky for Jackson's presidential candidacy in 1828. – When this tariff was passed in 1828 the South

was outraged (the “tariff of Abominations”)– JQA was blamed for the tariff

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams• Opponents also criticized JQA’s Indian policy. A deeply

moral man, the president had supported the land rights of Native Americans against expansionist whites in the South.

• In 1825, U.S. commissioners had secured a treaty from one Creek faction that would have ceded the tribe's lands in Georgia to the United States, for eventual sale to the citizens of that state. When the Creek National Council repudiated the treaty, claiming it was fraudulent, Adams called for new negotiations. Eager to acquire the Creeks' land, Georgia governor George M. Troup attacked the president as a “public enemy … the unblushing ally of the savages.” Joining forces with Georgia's representatives in Congress, Troup persuaded the national legislature to enact a measure that extinguished the Creeks' land titles and forced most Creeks to leave the state.

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams• Elsewhere in the nation, Adams's primary

weakness was his increasingly out-of-date political style. The last notable to serve in the White House, he acted the part: aloof, moralistic, and paternalistic. When Congress rejected his activist economic policies, Adams questioned the wisdom of the people and advised elected officials not to be “palsied by the will of our constituents.” Ignoring his waning popularity, the president did not use patronage to reward his supporters and allowed hostile federal officials to remain in office. Rather than “run” for reelection in 1828, Adams “stood” for it, telling supporters, “If my country wants my services, she must ask for them.”

The Election of 1828The Election of 1828• Jackson’s supporters were not shy about running a

national campaign. Their goal was to push policies that appealed to Southern planters and Northern farmers and artisans

• Van Buren and Jackson's supporters organized a massive campaign– 1) 50 newspapers in NY declared for J on the same day– 2) Mass meetings, parades, barbecues – 3) “Old Hickory”…Jackson Forever

• At first Jackson’s followers were known as Democratic-Republicans, but later they became known simply as “Democrats”. Jackson and his supporters attacked the way government had run in the past, vowing to institute equal rights and popular rule

JacksonJackson• Who was he?

• Born somewhere on the NC / SC frontier in 1767. During the Revolutionary War, Jackson had refused to follow an order from a British soldier, who slashed his face with a sword

• Jackson served during the War of 1812, gaining fame in 1815 for the victory at the battle of New Orleans…he was also popular because of his actions toward Florida

JacksonJackson• Jackson stormed

the election

• 1. His hostility to business corporations and to Clay's American System won support among northeastern artisans and workers who felt threatened by industrialization.

JacksonJackson• 2. Jackson also

won the votes of Pennsylvania ironworkers and New York farmers who had been enriched by the controversial Tariff of Abominations.

• 3. Yet…AJ called for a “judicious tariff,” which won him support from Southerners

JacksonJackson

• What did the election of 1828 mean? It was a victory for the “common man”. More people voted than had ever voted before.

• Jackson was NOT like earlier presidents. He came from humble beginnings. He was a “common man”

Jackson’s Agenda: Rotation Jackson’s Agenda: Rotation and Decentralizationand Decentralization

• Spoils System

• Jackson vetoed four internal improvement bills in 1830

Peggy Eaton and the Peggy Eaton and the “Kitchen” Cabinet“Kitchen” Cabinet

• Peggy Eaton– Earlier marriage…husband

suicide– Married John Eaton (timing)

• Reaction of AJ’s cabinet– Motives of Jackson

• Kitchen Cabinet

Indian RemovalIndian Removal• Jackson’s priority

– Indian Removal Act, 1830

• Increasing calls for removal– MW & SW– For their own protection?

• Five Civilized Tribes– Indian wants– SW…Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws

and Seminoles– Mixed-bloods ruled the tribes by 1820s– Favored assimilation

Indian RemovalIndian Removal• Alphabet, newspaper,

slaves!

• 1802 GA had given up its Western land claims– Federal Pledge

• Jackson withdrew all federal troops in GA, AL and MS

RemovalRemoval• Black Hawks, Illinois

– Bad Axe Massacre

• Cherokee sue!

• Cherokee Nation v Georgia– Cherokee claimed they were an independent

nation– Supreme Court declared them “domestic

dependent” nations

Worcester v GeorgiaWorcester v Georgia• GA law – whites need a license to live in

CH territory– Seven missionaries refused to get them– GA arrested them and sentenced them to

hard labor– Samuel Worcester appealed to the Supreme

Court

• Worcester v Georgia– Marshall ruled in favor of the Cherokee– He said that the NATIONAL government

controlled Indian affairs– State laws had no effect in Indian lands

Jackson’s ResponseJackson’s Response• Jackson refused

to enforce the decision

• 1835 Treaty

• 1838 Removal