Transcript Andrew Jackson`s Presidency Power Point

Spoils System
•
Jackson appointed his close friends and political
supporters to government jobs.
•
He saw this as the rewards of winning the Presidency.
•
“Kitchen Cabinet” – Jackson’s closest friends; gave him
advice on key issues. He listened to them as much as the
real cabinet.
•
Opponents of this system argued that it lead to
corruption and inefficiency in government.
•
Practice was used by many Presidents that followed
Jackson.
Indian Removal
•
Many southerners wanted to remove the few Native American
tribes that remained on large tracts of land east of the
Mississippi.
•
Jackson was in agreement; he believed the Indians would be
better served moving west and preserving their culture.
•
Five Civilized Tribes – Five major tribes, including the
Cherokee, who had adopted many aspects of white culture
including Christianity, slave holding, and a republican form
of tribe government.
Indian Removal
•
In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which
forced all remaining eastern tribes to move west of the
Mississippi.
•
The Cherokee sued the government to stay. In the case of
Worcester v. Georgia (1832) the Supreme Court ruled that the
Cherokee could not be forced to move.
•
Jackson disagreed, reportedly saying “John Marshall has
made his decision; now let us see him enforce it.”
•
Cherokee were forced on march from WNC to what is today
Oklahoma. Thousands died on the infamous “Trail of Tears”.
Tariff of Abominations
•
Southerners felt that the tariff on imports benefited the
north at their expense.
•
John C. Calhoun, Jackson’s Vice President, wrote in The
South Carolina Exposition that states should have the
right to nullify acts of Congress that they felt were
unconstitutional or unfair. He also called for secession if
necessary.
•
South Carolina threatened to nullify the tariff.
Tariff of Abominations
•
Jackson was furious. He threatened to hang Calhoun for
treason and told South Carolina that if they did nullify the tariff
he would send federal troops to take over the state.
•
In the end, the tariff was reduced and South Carolina did not
nullify the tariff. Questions about nullification and secession
would remain until the end of the Civil War.
Bank of the United States
•
Jackson disliked the BUS. He felt that it benefited only the
wealthy at the expense of the common man.
•
Jackson vetoed the bill that would re-charter the BUS.
•
Jackson took the government’s deposits out of the BUS and
placed the money in various state banks (wild cat banks) across
the U.S. in an attempt to disperse the wealth among the states.
•
This lead to a tremendous economic depression in the United
States as the wild cat banks made bad investments with the
government’s money.