Transcript Corrupt Bargain - cloudfront.net

Chapter 13
The Rise of a Mass
Democracy,
1824–1840
I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824
• How did the “Corrupt Bargain” come about?
I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824
• Corrupt bargain (1824) last old-style election
– James Monroe, last of Virginia dynasty,
completed 2nd term; four new candidates:
• John Quincy Adams (Mass.): highly intelligent,
experienced, aloof
• Henry Clay (Kentucky): gamy and gallant “Harry of the
West”
• William Crawford (Georgia): able, though ailing giant of
a man
• Andrew Jackson (Tenn.): gaunt, gutsy hero of New
Orleans.
Canvassing for a Vote,
George Caleb Bingham, 1852
• Answer on the worksheet
• What is happening in the image?
• Why is the party canvasser talking to these
men in particular?
• Is political canvassing done this way today?
Explain your answer.
Canvassing for a Vote,
George Caleb Bingham, 1852
• What is happening in the image?
– A canvasser from a political party is promoting his party’s platform
or listening to opinions of everyday folk, and perhaps putting down
the opposition party.
• Why is the party canvasser talking to these men in
particular?
– The two men seated look like they are eligible voters and have
interest in what politics is usually about—money, finance,
government spending.
• Is political canvassing done this way today? Explain your
answer.
– Yes, but they probably use telephones and the Internet to reach
people, as well. The more personable the contact the more likely a
potential voter is to be convinced to support the party.
How informed are Americans?
• Think about your own knowledge
• Listen/watch these Clinton and Trump
supporters.
• Were there any differences?
• What common factors did you notice?
I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824
(cont.)
• Four candidates:
– All four professed to be “Republicans”
– Results of campaign:
• Jackson, the war hero, had strongest personal
appeal, especially in West
– Polled as many popular votes as his next two rivals
combined, but failed to win majority of electoral vote (see
Table 13:1)
• Under 12th Amendment, such a deadlock must be
broken by House of Representatives
First State Election in
Detroit, Michigan, by
Thomas Mickell Burnham
This painting shows the “new
politics” of the Jacksonian
era. Politicians now had to
take their message to the
common man.
p249
Table 13-1 p249
I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824
(cont.)
• Twelfth Amendment (see Appendix)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Select among top 3 candidates
Clay as Speaker of the House was eliminated
Clay could throw his vote to whomever he chose
Crawford, felled by stroke, out of the picture
Clay hated Jackson, his archrival in West
Jackson resented Clay's denunciation of his Florida
foray in 1818
• Only candidate left for Clay was puritanical Adams
I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824
(cont.)
• Clay and Adams:
– Both fervid nationalists and advocates of
American System
– Clay met privately with Adams and assured him
of his support
– Decision day 1825: on first ballot Adams elected
president
– A few days later Adams announced Clay would
be secretary of state
I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824
(cont.)
• Office of secretary of state:
– Considered a pathway to White House
– Three preceding secretaries had become
president
– According to Jackson's supporters, Adams
bribed Clay with post
– Masses of angry common folk denounced
“corrupt bargain” and would remember in the
next election.
II. A Yankee Misfit in the White House
• How did Adams fare in his term of office?
II. A Yankee Misfit in the White House
• John Quincy Adams:
• Came to presidency with brilliant record in statecraft,
especially foreign affairs
• Ranks as one of the most successful secretaries of
state, yet one of the least successful presidents
• A man of scrupulous honor
• Entered White House under charges of “bargain,”
“corruption,” and “usurpation”
p250
II. A Yankee Misfit in the White
House (cont.)
• Because he won fewer than 1/3 of voters, he was first
“minority president,” having limited popular
support
• Did not possess many of the usual arts of the
politician and scorned those who did
• Had achieved high office by commanding respect
rather than by courting popularity
• Refused to oust efficient officeholders to create
vacancies for his supporters
• He only removed twelve public servants
II. A Yankee Misfit in the White
House (cont.)
– Nationalist views:
• Most people were moving away from post-Ghent
nationalism and toward states' rights and
sectionalism
• Adams, however, remained an adamant nationalist
• In 1st annual message, he urged Congress to fund
construction of roads and canals
• Renewed Washington's proposal for national
university
• Advocated federal support for an astronomical
observatory
II. A Yankee Misfit in the White
House (cont.)
• Public reaction to his proposals was unfavorable
– His land policy antagonized westerners
» He attempted to deal fairly with Cherokees of Georgia,
but in process angered whites who wanted Cherokee
land
III. Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in
1828
• How did the election of 1828 wind up going
for Jackson?
III. Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in
1828
• 1828 campaign began on February 9, 1825:
– Day of Adams' controversial election by House
– And continued for nearly four years
– United Republicans from Era of Good Feeling split:
• National Republicans with Adams
• Democratic-Republicans (early Democrat Party) with
Jackson
– Campaign marked by exaggerations and
mudslinging
Rachel Jackson A devoted wife
who did not live to
become First Lady, Rachel died
a month after the election of
1828. Andrew Jackson was
convinced that his enemies’
vicious accusations that she was
a bigamist and an
adulteress had killed her. The
more complicated truth
was that Andrew Jackson had
married Rachel Robards
confident that her divorce had
been granted. Two years
later, when they discovered to
their dismay that it had
not been, they made haste to
correct the marital miscue.
Louisa C. Strobel/The Granger
Collection
p251
III. Going “Whole Hog” for
Jackson in 1828 (cont.)
– On election day, electorate split on sectional lines:
• Jackson supporters came from West and South (see
Map 13.1)
• Adams won New England and Northeast
• Middle states/Old Northwest were divided:
• When popular vote was converted to electoral vote,
Jackson trounced Adams by 178 to 83
• Jackson's win represented growing importance of
West
Map 13-1 p252
IV. “Old Hickory” as President
• How did various parts of the American
electorate react to Jackson’s presidency?
IV. “Old Hickory” as President
• Carolinian moved “up West” to Tennessee:
– Through intelligence, personality, and leadership, he
became a judge and a member of Congress
– First president from West
– First nominated at formal party convention (1832)
(standard way to nominate candidates to today)
– Second without college education (Washington was first)
• His university was adversity
IV. “Old Hickory” as President
(cont.)
• Jackson was unique:
– Had risen from masses, but he was not one of them,
except insofar as he shared many of their prejudices
– A frontier aristocrat, he owned many slaves and lived in one
of the finest mansions in USA—the Hermitage, near
Nashville
• Jackson's inauguration:
– Symbolized ascendancy of the masses
– White House, for the first time, was thrown open
V. The Spoils System*
• How did the “spoils system” operate and
become a key to the development of political
parties?
V. The Spoils System
• Spoils System—rewarding political
supporters with public office:
– Introduced into U.S. Government on large scale
– Jackson defended it on democratic grounds:
• “Every man is as good as his neighbor, perhaps
equally better.”
• Washington needed a housecleaning
V. The Spoils System
(cont.)
• Spoils system (in truth) was less about
finding new blood than about rewarding old
cronies:
– Scandal accompanied new system
– Some, who made large campaign contributions,
were appointed to high office
– Illiterates, incompetents, and crooks were given
positions of public trust
– Despite its abuse, spoils system an important
element of emerging two-party order
Alexis de Tocqueville
(1805–1859) French
political thinker and
historian. He analyzed
the improved living
standards and social
conditions of
individuals, as well as
their relationship to the
market and state in
Western societies. He
spent almost a year
touring America. He
published his studies in,
Democracy in America .
p254
Election Day in Philadelphia, by John Lewis Krimmel, 1815 The German immigrant Krimmel
recorded as early as 1815 the growing popular interest in elections that would culminate in
Jacksonian democracy a decade later. Although politics was serious business, it also provided the
occasion for much socializing and merriment. Even disfranchised free blacks, women, and children
turned out for the festivities on election day. How excited to Americans get today?
p255
Table 13-2 p255
VI. The Tricky “Tariff of
Abominations”*
• What was the Tariff of 1828 and what issues
did Jackson face because of the it?
EC: Protective Tariff
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is a tariff? (1)
What is it used for (1)
How is a protective tariff different? (2)
What are the good effects of a protective
tariff? (2)
5. What are the bad effects? (2)
Protective tariff
• 1. tariff is a tax on foreign imports;
• 2. used to collect revenue to pay for
government operations.
• 3. To raise the price of the imports over the
price of similar local-made goods; to help
northern industries that were trying to get
control of the local US economy.
effects
• Good effect:
• Prices will go up, especially on imports.
• Americans will buy local-made products.
• Bad effect:
• Prices will go up, especially on imports.
– Local production cannot meet local demand; shortages cause higher
prices.
• The foreign country retaliates by putting a tariff on all
American products
– Hurts western and southern agriculture as their exports become
more expensive. Britain started looking for other places to grow,
wheat, tobacco, and cotton.
VI. The Tricky “Tariff of
Abominations”
• Problem for Adams and now for Jackson:
– Basic tariffs raise revenue to operate government.
– Protective tariffs protected industry against
competition from European manufactured goods
– They also increased prices for all Americans
– Protective tariffs invited retaliatory tariffs on American
agricultural exports abroad
– Middle states had long supported protectionist tariffs:
• Daniel Webster abandoned free trade to back higher tariffs
VI. The Tricky “Tariff of
Abominations” (cont.)
– 1824 Congress significantly increased general
tariff
– Jacksonites supported an even higher tariff bill
which surprisingly passed in 1828
– Jackson inherited political hot potato
– Southerners hated tariffs and branded 1828 one
“Tariff of Abominations”
VI. The Tricky “Tariff of
Abominations” (cont.)
• Why did South react so angrily?
– Believed “Yankee tariff” discriminated against
agricultural South
– Old South was falling on hard times, and tariff
provided convenient and plausible scapegoat
• Tariffs protected Yankee and middle-state
manufacturers
• Farmers and planters of Old South felt they were
stuck with paying the bill (because retaliatory tariffs
punish Southern exports)
South Carolina Belle Sewing
Palmetto Cockade The
“Tariff of Abominations” of 1828
drove many people in
South Carolina—the
“Palmetto State”—to flirt
with secession. Anti-tariff
protesters wore palmetto
blossoms, real or sewn from
fabric, to symbolize their
defiance of the federal law. The
blue cockade indicated
support for the ordinance of
nullification.
The Granger Collection, NYC;
inset: Collection of McKissick
Museum, University of South
Carolina
p256
VI. The Tricky “Tariff of
Abominations “(cont.)
• Deeper issues underlay southern outcry:
– Growing anxiety about possible federal
interference with slavery
– Kindled by congressional debate on Missouri
Compromise
– Fanned by aborted slave rebellion in Charleston
in 1822, led by free black Denmark Vesey
VI. The Tricky “Tariff of
Abominations” (cont.)
• Abolitionists might use power of U.S. Government
to suppress slavery in South
• Now the time, using the tariff, to take stand against
any federal encroachments on states' rights
• South Carolinians took lead in protesting against
“Tariff of Abominations”
– Published pamphlet The South Carolina Exposition
VI. The Tricky “Tariff of
Abominations” (cont.)
• The South Carolina Exposition:
– Secretly written by John C. Calhoun, one of the
top political theorists produced by America
– Denounced 1828 tariff as unjust and
unconstitutional
– Explicitly proposed that states should nullify it —
that is, they should declare tariff null and void
within their borders
John C. Calhoun (1782–1850), by
John Trumbull, 1827 Calhoun was
a South Carolinian, educated at
Yale. Beginning as a strong
nationalist and Unionist,
he reversed himself and became
the ablest of the sectionalists
and disunionists in defense of the
South and slavery. As a foremost
nullifier, he died trying to reconcile
strong states’ rights with a strong
Union. In his last years, he
advocated a Siamese-twin “dual
presidency,” probably unworkable,
with one president for the North
and one for the South. His former
plantation home is now the site of
Clemson University.
p257
VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina*
• What motivated the pro-nullification
people?
VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina
• Nullifiers—“nullies”:
– Tried to get 2/3 vote for nullification in South
Carolina legislature
– Blocked by Unionists—“submission men”
• US Congress tipped balance by passing new Tariff of
1832
– Nullification Crisis deepened:
• South Carolina ready for drastic action
• Nullifiers and Unionists clashed in election of 1832
VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina
(cont.)
• Nullification Crisis (cont.)
– “Nullies” emerged with 2/3 majority
– State legislature called for a special session
– Delegates, meeting in Columbia, declared existing
tariff null and void in South Carolina
– Threatened to take S.C. out of union if
Washington attempted to collect customs duties
by force
VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina
(cont.)
• Jackson not a big supporter of tariffs, but he
would not permit defiance or disunion:
– Threatened to invade state and have nullifiers
hanged
– Issued ringing proclamation against nullification
– If civil war was to be avoided, one side would
have to surrender, or both would have to
compromise
VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina
(cont.)
• Henry Clay (“the Great Compromiser”)
stepped forward:
– Although a supporter of tariffs, he backed
compromise that gradually reduced tariff
• Compromise Tariff of 1833
– Congress also passed Force Bill—authorized
president to use army and navy if necessary to
collect tariff duties
VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina
(cont.)
• Facing civil war within and invasion from
without, Columbia Convention:
– Repealed nullification of tariff
– Then nullified Force Bill
• Neither Jackson nor “nullies” won clear-cut
victory in 1833
• Clay was true hero
VIII. The Trail of Tears*
• What circumstances surrounded the battle in
Georgia over Cherokee lands and what was the
outcome?
VIII. The Trail of Tears
• Jacksonians committed to expansion west:
– Meant confrontation with 125,000 Native Americans who
lived east of Mississippi
– Federal policy toward Indians varied:
• 1790s, U.S. Government recognized tribes as separate nations and
agreed to acquire land only by formal treaty
• American people varied in their dealings with native-Americans:
– Many white settlers broke treaties
– Many other whites felt respect and admiration for Indians and
believed they could be assimilated
VIII. The Trail of Tears
(cont.)
• Energy devoted to “civilizing” and
Christianizing the Indians.
• In 1787, the Society for Propagating the
Gospel among the Indians was founded.
• The federal government appropriated
$20,000 to promote literacy, agriculture, and
vocational instruction among Indians.
VIII. The Trail of Tears
(cont.)
• Cherokees of Georgia made remarkable
efforts to learn the ways of whites:
– Missionaries opened schools
– 1808 Cherokee National Council legislated a
written legal code
– Some Cherokees became prosperous cotton
planters and even slaveholders
– “Five Civilized Tribes”—Cherokees, Creeks,
Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles
VIII. The Trail of Tears
(cont.)
• Georgia moved to take Cherokee land.
• Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cherokees.
• Jackson, wanting to open Indian lands to whites,
refused to recognize Court's decision (“nullifying”
judicial review).
• Jackson proposed to remove remaining eastern tribes
• Emigration was supposed to be voluntary, but
Jackson's policy uprooted >100,000 Indians.
Jackson the “Great Father”
A n anonymous cartoonist
satirizes Jackson’s alleged
compassion for the Indians,
but in fact his feelings toward
Native Americans were
complicated. He made
ruthless war on the Creeks as
a soldier, but he also adopted
a Creek Indian son (who died
of tuberculosis at the age of
sixteen). At least in part, his
motives for pursuing Indian
removal stemmed from his
concern that if the Indians
were not removed from
contact with the whites,
they would face certain
annihilation.
p258
VIII. Trails of Tears
(cont.)
• Indian Removal Act—1830:
– Remove all Indian tribes living east of the
Mississippi (see Map 13.2)
– Heaviest blow fell on Five Civilized Tribes
– Many died during forced migration, most
notably Cherokees along notorious Trail of Tears
– Bureau of Indian Affairs established in 1836
The “Trail of Tears” In the fall and winter of 1838–1839, the U.S. Army forcibly removed about fifteen thousand Cherokees,
some of them in manacles, from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States and marched them to Indian
Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Freezing weather and inadequate food supplies led to unspeakable suffering. The escorting
troops refused to slow the forced march so that the ill could recover, and some four thousand Cherokees died on the 116-day
journey.
p259
Map 13-2 p260
VIII. Trails of Tears
(cont.)
• Indian resistance in Black Hawk War (1832)
crushed.
• In Florida, Seminole Indians joined with
runaway slaves and retreated into Everglades
• For seven years (1835-1842) waged guerrilla
war that took lives of 15,000 soldiers.
• Seminole resistance broken in 1837 when
whites seized Chief Osceola through
treachery.
Black Hawk
and His Son
Whirling
Thunder, by
John
Wesley Jarvis,
1833 Chief
Black Hawk
and his son are
depicted here in
captivity. After
their surrender
in the Black
Hawk War of
1832, they were
put on public
display
throughout the
United States.
p261
IX. The Bank War*
• What were the circumstances surrounding the
National Bank?
IX. The Bank War
• Jackson did not hate all banks and businesses,
but he distrusted monopolistic banking and
over-big businesses.
• U.S. Government minted gold and silver
coins, but no paper money:
– Paper money printed by private banks—trusted
to have gold or silver somewhere to back the
notes.
– Value fluctuated with health of bank and amount
of money printed
IX. The Bank War
(cont.)
• Bank of the United States:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Most powerful bank
Acted like a branch of government
Principal depository for government funds
Controlled much of government's gold and silver
Its notes were stable
As source of credit and stability, it was important and
useful part of nation's expanding economy
IX. The Bank War
(cont.)
• The Bank was a private institution:
– Bank President Nicholas Biddle had immense
and, to many, unconstitutional power over
nation's finances
– To some, bank seemed sin against egalitarian
credo of American democracy:
• Belief formed deepest source of Jackson's opposition
• Bank won no friends in West because of foreclosures
• Profit, not public service, was its first priority
IX. The Bank War
(cont.)
• Bank War erupted in 1832:
– Webster and Clay presented Congress with bill
to renew Bank of the United States' charter
– Charter not end until 1836, but Clay pushed for
early renewal to make it election issue in 1832
– Clay's scheme was to ram re-charter bill through
Congress and then send it to White House
IX. The Bank War
(cont.)
• If Jackson signed it, he would alienate his western
followers.
• If he vetoed it, he would presumably lose
presidency by alienating wealthy and influential
groups in East. (this was Clay’s political goal).
• The re-charter bill slid through Congress, but was
killed by scorching veto from Jackson.
IX. The Bank War
(cont.)
• Supreme Court declared bank constitutional
in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Jackson's veto reverberated with
constitutional consequences:
– Vastly amplified power of presidency
– Argued he vetoed because he personally found
bank harmful to nation
– Thus claimed for president a power equal to 2/3
of votes in Congress
In Mother Bank’s Sickroom Pro-bank men Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun
consult on the grave illness that is causing Mother Bank to cough up her deposits. While Nicholas
Biddle, president of the Bank of the United States, ministers to the patient, U.S. president Andrew
Jackson looks on with pleasure.
p262
X. “Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832
• What were the politics and issues of the
election of 1832?
X. “Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832
• Clay and Jackson were candidates in 1832.
• For first time, a third party entered field—newborn
Anti-Masonic party:
– Became political force in New York and spread to middle
Atlantic and New England states
– Anti-Masons appealed to long-standing suspicions of
secret societies
– Since Jackson was a Mason (so were a lot of American
leaders since the revolution), the Anti-Masonic party
was also anti-Jackson
X. “Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in
1832 (cont.)
– Anti-Masons attracted support from evangelical
Protestants seeking to use government to effect moral
and religious reforms.
– Another novelty of 1832 was national nominating
conventions (three of them) to name candidates
• Now a regular practice (the reason for the primary elections held
in states to test candidates’ political popularity)
– Anti-Masons and National Republicans added formal
platform--publicizing positions on issues
X. “Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in
1832 (cont.)
• Advantages for Clay and National Republicans:
– Ample funds, including $50,000 in “life insurance” from
Bank of the United States (is that legal using quasifederal funds?)
– Most newspapers editors criticized Jackson
• Yet Jackson, idol of the masses, easily defeated the
big-money Kentuckian.
• Popular vote was 687,502 to 530,189.
• Electoral count was 219 to 49.
Fistfight Between Old Hickory
and Bully Nick, 1834 An aged
President Andrew Jackson faces
off against the bank’s director,
aristocratic Nicholas Biddle.
Comically presented as sparring
pugilists undressed in the style of
the popular sport, the two
are assisted by their seconds,
Daniel Webster and Henry Clay
for Biddle, Vice President
Martin Van Buren for Jackson.
p263
XI. Burying Biddle's Bank*
• How did Jackson triumph over the National
Bank?
XI. Burying Biddle's Bank
• Its charter denied, Bank of the United States
due to expire in 1836.
• Jackson decided to kill it sooner by
removing all federal deposits:
– He proposed depositing no more funds
– Gradually shrunk existing deposits by using
them to defray day-to-day expenses of
government (not a purpose of the Bank)
XI. Burying Biddle's Bank
(cont.)
• Death of Bank of United States left financial
vacuum and started a lurching boom-bust
cycle.
• Surplus federal funds placed in state
institutions—the so-called pet banks (Jackson
did the selecting).
• Without central control, pet banks and
“wildcat” banks were often fly-by-night
operations.
XI. Burying Biddle's Bank
(cont.)
• Jackson tried to rein in runaway economy:
– Authorized Treasury to issue Specie Circular—1836
decree required all public land be purchased with
“hard,” or metallic, money
– Drastic step slammed brakes on speculative
boom—retarding spending needed to sustain the
healthy economy.
– Contributed to financial panic and crash in 1837
XII. The Birth of the Whigs
• What created the Whig Party?
XII. The Birth of the Whigs*
• New parties:
– 1828 Democratic-Republicans adopted name
“Democrats”
– Whigs created by Jackson's opponents
• Hated Jackson and his “executive usurpation”
• First emerged in Senate, where Clay, Webster, and
Calhoun joined forces in 1834 to pass a motion
censuring Jackson for his single-handed removal of
federal deposits from Bank of the United States
p265
XII. The Birth of the Whigs
(cont.)
• Others who joined Whigs:
– Supporters of Clay's American System, southern
states' righters, northern industrialists and
merchants, and many evangelical Protestants
• Whigs saw themselves as conservative but
were progressive in support of active
government programs and reforms:
– Internal improvements (canals, railroads, telegraph
lines) and support for institutions (prisons,
asylums, public schools)
XII. The Birth of Whigs
(cont.)
• Other issues for Whigs:
– Welcomed market economy
– By absorbing Anti-Masonic party, they blunted
Democrat's appeal to common man
– Whigs claimed to defend common man and
declared Democrats were party of cronyism and
corruption
XIII. The Election of 1836
• Which way did the election of 1836 go?
Why?
XIII. The Election of 1836
• Martin Van Buren of New York:
– Jackson's choice as successor in 1836
– Jackson rigged convention to nominate Van Buren
– Jacksonites supported Van Buren without
enthusiasm
• Whigs unable to nominate a single candidate
XIII. The Election of 1836
(cont.)
• Whigs' strategy was to run several “favorite
sons”:
– Each with different regional appeal, hoping to
scatter vote so no one candidate would win
majority
– Deadlock would be decided by U.S. House, where
Whigs would have a chance
– Whigs' “favorite son” was General William Henry
Harrison of Ohio, hero of Battle of Tippecanoe
XIII. The Election of 1836
(cont.)
• Whigs' scheme failed:
– Van Buren, dapper “Little Magician,” gained
office by popular vote of 765,483 to 739,795
– Comfortable margin of 170 to 124 votes (for all
Whigs combined) in Electoral College
XIV. Big Woes for the “Little
Magician”
• How did things go for Van Buren?
XIV. Big Woes for the “Little
Magician”
– Van Buren, 8th president, 1st one born under
American flag:
• Statesman with wide experience in legislative and
administrative life
• In intelligence, education, and training, he was above
average for presidents since Jefferson
– He labored under severe handicaps:
• As a machine-made candidate, he incurred
resentment of many Democrats
• Inherited Jackson's numerous and vengeful enemies
XIV. Big Woes for the “Little
Magician” (cont.)
– His four years overflowed with toil and trouble:
• Two short-lived rebellions in Canada in 1837 caused
incidents along northern frontier and threatened war
• Antislavery agitators condemned possible annexation
of Texas
• Jackson bequeathed to Van Buren a searing economic
depression
XV. Depression Doldrums and the
Independent Treasury*
• What caused the failure of the economy in
1837?
XV. Depression Doldrums and the
Independent Treasury
• Panic of 1837:
– Caused by rampant speculation from mania of
get-rich-quickism
• Speculative craze spread from western lands and
“wildcat banks” to canals, roads, railroads, and slaves
– Jackson's actions, including Bank War and Species
Circular, gave additional jolt
– Failures of wheat crops deepened distress
XV. Depression Doldrums and the
Independent Treasury (cont.)
– Financial problems abroad hurt America's
economy when 2 big British banks failed
– Hardship was acute and widespread:
• Hundreds of American banks collapsed (no loans for
future business operations; savings disappeared)
• Commodity prices drooped,
• sales of public lands fell off,
• customs revenues dried up
• Factories closed (many could not pay debts)
• unemployed workers increased (many could not pay
debts)
The Long Bill
Americans who bought
on credit, confident
that they could make
their payments later,
were caught off guard
by the panic of 1837.
Customers like the
one shown here found
themselves confronted
with a “long bill” that
they could not pay,
particularly
when the banks
holding their savings
collapsed. (but also
because of the lack
of business
opportunities to
make cash to pay
debts)
p266
XV, Depression Doldrums and the
Independent Treasury (cont.)
• Whigs proposed active government remedies:
– Expanded bank credit, higher tariffs, and
subsidies for internal improvements
– Van Buren spurned these ideas
– Van Buren's “Divorce Bill:”
• Separate government from banks altogether
• By establishing a so-called independent treasury,
government would lock its surplus money in vaults
XV. Depression Doldrums and the
Independent Treasury (cont.)
• Van Buren's “divorce” scheme never popular
• Fellow Democrats gave lukewarm support
• Whigs condemned it, primarily because it squelched
hopes for revived Bank of United States
• After prolonged struggle, Independent Treasury Bill
passed in 1840
• Repealed in 1841 by Whigs, scheme reenacted by
Democrats in 1846
• Continued until Republicans instituted network of
national banks during Civil War
XVI. Gone to Texas*
• How did Americans wind up settling in
Mexican Texas? What went wrong?
XVI. Gone to Texas
• In 1821 Mexicans won independence.
• Mexican regime concluded 1823 agreement
granting huge tract of land to Stephen Austin:
– Promised (1) he would bring 300 American
families to Texas who would be Roman Catholics
– (2) Settlers would be properly Mexicanized
• Two stipulations largely ignored
XVI. Gone to Texas
(cont.)
• Texan Americans (Texicans) about 30,000 by 1835:
– Most law-abiding, but some left “States” just ahead of
sheriff
– “G.T.T.” (Gone to Texas) became descriptive slang
– Among settlers were Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie
– A latecomer was ex-governor of Tennessee, Sam
Houston
– Pioneer individualists who came to Texas were not easy
to push around
XVI. Gone to Texas
(cont.)
• Friction increased between Mexican government
and Texans over:
– Slavery, immigration, and local rights
• Slavery was particularly touchy topic
• Mexico emancipated its slaves in 1830 and banned further
importation of slaves into Texas, as well as further colonization by
troublesome Americans
• Texans refused to honor these decrees
• Kept their slaves, and new settlers kept bringing more slaves into
Texas
XVI. Gone to Texas
(cont.)
• Austin went to Mexico City in 1833 to
negotiate differences:
– Dictator Santa Anna jailed him for eight months
– Explosion came in 1835, when Santa Anna:
• Wiped out all local rights
• Started to raise an army to suppress upstart Texas
Samuel (“Sam”) Houston
(1793–1863) After a
promising career in
Tennessee as a soldier,
lawyer, congressman,
and governor, Houston
became the chief
leader and hero of the Texas
rebels. Elected to the U.S.
Senate and the governorship
of Texas, he was forced
into retirement when his love
for the Union caused
him to spurn the Confederacy
in the Civil War.
p267
XVII. The Lone Star Rebellion*
• How did the Texas Republic come into being?
XVII. The Lone Star Rebellion
• In 1836 Texas declared independence:
– Named Sam Houston commander in chief
• Santa Anna with 6,000 men swept into Texas:
– Trapped 200 Texans at Alamo in San Antonio,
wiping them out after 13 days
– Band of 400 Texans were defeated at Goliad and
then butchered as “pirates”
“Come and Take It” This mosaic,
done in 1959 by Bert Rees of
Austin, Texas, shows one of the
defenders’ cannon, as well as their
legendary battle flag of defiance.
p268
The Battle of the Alamo, 1836
Long celebrated in song and story,
the battle was a military defeat
but a spiritual victory for the Texas
rebels, whose annihilation to a
man inspired others and led eventually
to independence from
Mexico.
p268
XVII. The Lone Star Rebellion
(cont.)
• All these operations delayed Mexican advance
and galvanized American opposition:
– Slain heroes Bowie and Crockett became
legendary in death
– Texan war cries: “Remember the Alamo!”
“Remember Goliad,” and “Death to Santa Anna”
– Scores of vengeful Americans seized rifles and
rushed to aid of relatives, friends, and
compatriots
XVII. The Lone Star Rebellion
(cont.)
• Houston's small army retreated to east:
– Lured Santa Anna to San Jacinto, near site of city
that bears Houston's name (see Map 13.3)
– 1,300 Mexicans vs. 900 Texans (surprise attack)
– On April 21, 1836, Houston, taking advantage of
Mexican siesta, wiped out Mexican force and
captured Santa Anna
– Facing 30 bowie knives, Santa Anna signed two
treaties
Map 13-3 p269
XVII. The Lone Star Rebellion
(cont.)
• Santa Anna agreed to:
– Withdraw Mexican troops
– Recognize Rio Grande as southwestern
boundary of Texas
– After his release, Santa Anna repudiated
treaties because had been extorted under
duress
Lorenzo de Zavala
(1788–1836) A
Tejano, born in
Mexico, Zavala
was among the
signers of the Texas
declaration of
independence
in 1836, and served
briefly as vice
president
of the Texas republic.
The State
Preservation Board,
Austin, Texas.
p270
West Side Main Plaza, San Antonio, Texas, by William G. M.
Samuel, 1849 (detail) Even after annexation,
Texas retained a strong Spanish Mexican flavor, as the
architecture and activities here illustrate.
p271
XVII. The Lone Star Rebellion
(cont.)
– Americans overwhelmingly favored Texans even
though in 1819 U.S.A. recognized Spanish control of
Texas in exchange for Florida
– In 1837, departing President Jackson extended
recognition to Lone Star Republic
– Many Texans wanted recognition of independence
and outright union with United States
XVII. The Long Star Rebellion
(cont.)
• Texas petitioned for annexation in 1837:
– United States hesitated because of slavery issue
– Most settlers to Texas from South and
Southwest
– Explanation was proximity, not conspiracy
– Many Texans were slaveholders and admitting
Texas to Union meant greatly enlarging American
slavery
XVIII. Log Cabins and Hard Cider of
1840
• What circumstances shaped the election of
1840?
XVIII. Log Cabins and Hard Cider of
1840
• Democrats nominated Van Buren
• Whigs nominated only 1 candidate this time:
– Ohio's William Henry Harrison, believed to be
ablest vote-getter
– Whigs published no official platform
– Whigs, as result of a Democratic editor's insult,
adopted hard cider and log cabin as symbols
p272
XVIII. Log Cabins and Hard Cider
of 1840 (cont.)
– Whig campaign a masterpiece of inane hoopla
– Harrison was from one of the FFV's (“First Families
of Virginia”)
– Harrison won by surprisingly close margin of
1,274,624 to 1,127,781 popular votes; but an
overwhelming electoral margin of 234 to 60
– Whigs sought to expand and stimulate economy
– Democrats favored retrenchment and an end to
high-flying banks and aggressive corporations
p273
XIX. Politics for the People*
• How was the election of 1840 the beginning
of “populist” politics?
XIX. Politics for the People
• 1840 election demonstrated two major
changes in politics since Era of Good Feelings.
• First, triumph of populist democratic style:
• By 1840s, aristocracy was tainted and democracy was
respectable
• Politicians forced to curry favor with voting masses
• Wealthy and prominent had to forsake social pretensions
and cultivate common touch if they hoped to win
elections.
The County Election, by George Caleb Bingham, 1851–1852 The artist
here gently satirizes the drinking and wheeling and dealing that
sometimes marred the electoral process in the boisterous age of
Jacksonian politics.
p274
XIX. Politics for the People
(cont.)
• Common man moving to center of national political
stage
• America now bowing to divine right of the people
XX. The Two-Party System*
• How did the Two-party system become
engrained in the American political system?
XX. The Two-Party System
• Second dramatic change was formation of
vigorous two-party system:
– Jeffersonians so successful in absorbing Federalist
programs that true 2-party system never emerged
– Idea still prevailed that parties = conspiracy and
“faction” and injured health of virtuous republic
XX. The Two-Party System
(cont.)
• Both parties grew out of Jeffersonian
republicanism:
– Each laid claim to different aspects of inheritance
– Democrats glorified liberty of individual and
guarded against inroads of “privilege” into
government
– Whigs triumphed natural harmony of society and
were willing to use government to realize
objectives
• They berated leaders who appealed to self-interest
XX. The Two-Party System
(cont.)
• Democrats clung to states' rights and federal
restraint in social and economic affairs
• Whigs favored renewed national bank, protective
tariffs, internal improvements, public schools, and
moral reforms (e.g., prohibition, end to slavery)
– Separated by real differences in philosophy and
policy, but had much in common:
• Mass-based, “catchall” parties mobilized as many
voters as possible
• Social and geographic diversity within each
encouraged compromise and avoided creation of
sectional parties
p276