Transcript File

• Night #1 - Up to Texas Independence slide
# 29
• Night #2 - #29 – end and then on to
Manifest Destiny
President Andrew Jackson:
(Dem) (1829-1837)
The Age of the Common Man
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•
A man of the poor people, a frontier president
who vowed to reform American government.
His inauguration was a drunken bash where
hundreds of people attended the White House
for a huge party after his speech.
From the South, but was not a friend of the
planters. He continued to add to the tariffs,
making it more difficult for planters to obtain
great wealth. Split with his VP. John C.
Calhoun over Tariffs.
Drunken bash at the White house
The Spoils System
• President Andrew Jackson’s inauguration signaled a sharp
departure from past presidencies. An unruly mob of office
seekers made something of a shambles of the March
inauguration, and though some tried to explain this as
democratic enthusiasm, the real truth was Jackson supporters
had been lavished with promises of positions in return for
political support. These promises were honored by an
astonishing number of removals after Jackson assumed power.
Fully 919 officials were removed from government positions,
amounting to near 10 percent of all government postings.
• In one year 423 postmasters were deprived of their positions,
most with extensive records of good service. The new
emphasis on loyalty rather than competence would have a long
term negative effect on the efficiency and effectiveness of the
federal government.
Jackson riding a pig into office:
“To the victors goes the spoils.”
John C. Calhoun
defies Andrew Jackson
• In 1828, Calhoun wrote South Carolina Exposition
and Protest, also known as Calhoun's Exposition.
Calhoun did not formally state his authorship at the
time, though it was known by some and assumed by
others.
• The document was a protest against the Tariff of
Abominations. The document stated that if the tariff
was not repealed, South Carolina would secede.
• John C. Calhoun declared this to be legal because it
was the state’s right since the states formed the
constitution.
Webster – Hayne debate
• The Webster-Hayne debate was a famous debate between
Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Senator Robert
Y. Hayne of South Carolina that took place on January 19-27,
1830 regarding protectionists tariffs. The heated speeches
between Webster and Hayne themselves stemmed from debate
over a resolution by Connecticut Senator Sam Foote calling for
the temporary suspension of further land surveying until land
already on the market was sold (this would effectively stop the
introduction of new lands onto the market). Webster's "Second
Reply to Hayne" (1830) was generally regarded as "the most
eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress."
• Webster's description of the US government as "made for the
people, made by the people, and answerable to the people,"
was later used by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address.
Webster Replies to Hayne
Jefferson Day Speeches:
Jackson V. Calhoun
• At the 1830 Jefferson Day dinner at Jesse Brown's
Indian Queen Hotel, Calhoun proposed a toast and
proclaimed, "the Union, next to our liberty, the most
dear." Jackson replied, "Our federal Union, it must be
preserved."
• In May 1830, Jackson discovered that Calhoun had
asked President Monroe to censure then-General
Jackson for his invasion of Spanish Florida in 1818.
• Calhoun resigned in protest against Jackson's
continuing support of the 1828 tariff.
Jackson reacts to Calhoun’s
Constitutional challenge
• Pres. Jackson passes the Force Bill
through congress giving him authority to
send 5,000 troops and eight ships to
South Carolina to blockade the coast.
Calhoun responds by forming a militia,
calling out the Citadel Cadets and slave
patrols for defense.
Henry Clay to the rescue
• Henry Clay offers The Compromise Tariff
of 1833 which slowly lowers tariffs over the
next ten years.
• SC gives up before blood shed occurs, but
as a large gesture of defiance, John C.
Calhoun “Nullifies” the Force Bill in the
state of South Carolina.
John C. Calhoun in 1832
The Peggy Eaton Affair
• More upheaval came when Calhoun’s wife
Floride Calhoun organized Cabinet wives
against Peggy Eaton, wife of Secretary of War
John Eaton. The scandal, which became known
as the “Petticoat Affair" or the "Peggy Eaton
affair", ripped apart the cabinet and created an
intolerable situation for Jackson. Jackson saw
attacks on Eaton stemming ultimately from the
political opposition of Calhoun, and he used the
affair to consolidate control over his cabinet,
forcing the resignation of several members and
ending Calhoun's influence in the cabinet.
Jackson breaks up his cabinet and
flushes out the “rats.”
Indian Removal Act
•
Removal of all Indians East of the
Mississippi to Oklahoma. This is called
the Trail of Tears. Thousands of Indians
are forced to march to Oklahoma in the
wintertime many died along the way.
Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw,
Seminole and Creek.
“The Civilized Tribes”
• The Cherokees in 1828 were not nomadic
savages. In fact, they had assimilated
many European-style customs, including
the wearing of gowns by Cherokee
women. They built roads, schools and
churches, had a system of representative
government, and were farmers and cattle
ranchers, written language was perfected
by Sequoyah, and some Cherokee even
became cotton planters.
Jackson versus the Supreme Court
• In 1830 the Congress of the United States passed
the "Indian Removal Act." Although many
Americans were against the act, most notably
Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett, it passed
anyway. President Jackson quickly signed the bill
into law.
• The Cherokees attempted to fight removal legally
by challenging the removal laws in the Supreme
Court and by establishing an independent Cherokee
Nation. At first the court seemed to rule against the
Indians. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, the Court
refused to hear a case extending Georgia's laws on
the Cherokee because they did not represent a
sovereign nation.
Jackson v. the
Supreme Court continued
• In 1832, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor
of the Cherokee on the same issue in
Worcester v. Georgia. In this case Chief Justice
John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee Nation
was sovereign, making the removal laws
invalid. The Cherokee would have to agree to
removal in a treaty.
• Jackson said, “John Marshall has made his
decision; now let him enforce it!"
Supreme Court
Chief Justice John Marshall
Removal
• The Treaty of New Echota, signed by John Ridge (a self
appointed chief of the Nation) and members of the Treaty
Party in 1835, gave Jackson the legal document he needed to
remove the First Americans. Ratification of the treaty by the
United States Senate sealed the fate of the Cherokee. Among
the few who spoke out against the ratification were Daniel
Webster and Henry Clay, but it passed by a single vote.
• In 1838 the United States began the removal to Oklahoma,
fulfilling a promise the government made to Georgia in 1802.
Ordered to move on the Cherokee, General John Wool
resigned his command in protest, delaying the action. His
replacement, General Winfield Scott, arrived at New Echota
on May 17, 1838 with 7,000 men. Early that summer General
Scott and the United States Army began the invasion of the
Cherokee Nation.
The Trail Of Tears
Indian Removal
Bank War
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•
•
At that time, the bank was the only nationwide bank
and, along with its president Nicholas Biddle, exerted
tremendous influence over the nation's financial
system. Jackson viewed the Second Bank of the
United States as a monopoly since it was a private
institution managed by a board of directors, and in
1832 he vetoed the renewal of its charter.
Calhoun and Clay were responsible for pushing for the
renewal of the charter on the Bank of the United
States.
To crush the bank, Jackson withdrew all federal funds
and deposited the money in the banks of his personal
friends. His detractors will call these “pet banks.”
Jackson destroys Biddle’s bank
Jackson battles the bank
The birth of the Whigs
•
•
New Party formed called the Whigs who deem
Jackson “King Andrew I” for his abuses of power.
Leaders of the Whigs were Webster, Calhoun and
Clay. Everyone runs for president in 1836 in an
attempt to split the vote and drive the election into the
House of Representatives.
The Whigs call for internal improvements rather than
boundless territorial expansion. They also call for
better prisons, asylums, some wanted public schools,
and better canals, railroads, telegraph lines and roads.
The Whigs claimed to be the defenders of the common
man, as Jackson had done earlier.
“King Andrew Jackson I”
Texas Expansion 1825 - 1836
• Moses Austin speaks to President of
Mexico and asks if Americans can settle in
Mexican providence of Texas. Santa Anna
agrees as long as Americans 1.) obey
Mexican laws, 2.) become Catholic, 3.)
give up holding slaves. Americans agree
to do all of the follow but of course they
actually do none of the following, so Santa
Anna, Mexican President, masses his
troops and prepares to attack Texas.
Texas Declaration of Independence
Sam Houston
Stephen Austin
The Independent
Republic of Texas
The War
• Americans under Sam Houston form a Texas
army and fight the Mexicans. About 100
Americans killed at the battle of the Alamo
(thirteen day siege of an old Catholic mission
converted to a Texan fort).
• Over the next six weeks several battles are
fought including the massacre at Goliad, where
Texans are slaughtered after they surrendered
because the Mexicans deem the Texans pirates.
The Alamo
Davey Crockett’s last stand
The Texas War for Independence
continued
• Rallying around the calls, “Remember the Alamo” and
“Remember Goliad,” the Texans (with American
volunteers) win the war. The Mexican Army is defeated
at San Jacinto (near modern Houston). Texans attacked
while the Mexicans were taking a siesta and captured
Santa Anna, Mexican Leader. Mexico gives
independence to Texas (the war lasted from Feb.
through April, 1836) but vows to take it back in the future.
Texans, the Lone Star Republic has it’s Southern
bordered at the Rio Grande River). Also, Mexico
threatens the US – do not annex Texas.
The Texas Question in the US
• Texas remains an independent nation for 9 years (Sam
Houston was the only President of Texas). Many Texans
want not only to be free from Mexico, but to become part
of the United States. The issue is a political hot potato
because it re-opens up the northern argument against
the expansion of the “slavocracy.”
• In an attempt to really get northerners fired up, John C.
Calhoun suggested that Texas be divided into five states
which should all be entered as new slave states.
• In 1844, South Carolina threatens to Seceded at the
Beaufort Convention if Texas is not granted statehood.
Texas cotton sales to England (without tariffs) was killing
the American cotton planters.
President Martin Van Buren
(1837-1841) (Dem.) (N Y)
Jackson carries
Van Buren into office
Van Buren as President
• Was known as the Northern man with Southern
principles. He was an old fashion type man and
he did not like controversy. His detractors called
him “a first class second rate man.”
• 1836 Presidential Campaign centered around
the fact that Van Buren was Jackson’s chosen
successor.
• Van Buren won the election, and he also
inherited Jackson’s old enemies and a sagging
economy, and international problems along the
Canadian border (Canadian rebellion) which
nearly brought us to war with England.
Financial Panic of 1837
•
Shortly after his election, the nation went into a
severe economic depression that he could not
control. The recession was caused by several
elements including, speculation in western
lands on borrowed capital, the wild cat banks,
and speculation craze in canals, roads,
railroads and slaves. Also, failures in wheat
crops (caused by the Hessian fly) caused grain
prices to go so high that most people couldn’t
afford it.
The fallout from the Panic of 1837
• Mobs broke into warehouses and broke
open flour barrels. Also, the failures of two
British banks caused the British to call in
loans that Americans had from the British.
All of this combined to cause a major
recession where many factories American
banks failed and carried down with them
millions in government funds.
The Divorce Bill
•
In an attempt to remedy the economy, Van
Buren created the “Divorce Bill” which
championed the idea of divorcing the federal
government from banking altogether. Under
this bill the Independent Treasury was created
where the United States locked up its surplus
money in vaults in large American cities. The
Whigs did not like this plan because it went
against their plan for a revived Bank of the
United States.