Transcript Jackson`s

Old Hickory
Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his toughness
and aggressive personality; he fought in duels, some fatal to his
opponents. He was a rich slaveholder, who appealed to the
common men of the United States, and fought politically against
what he denounced as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy. He
expanded the spoils system during his presidency to strengthen
his political base.
Jackson’s childhood home
Jackson’s home in Nashville, TN –
The Hermitage
At the battle of New Orleans
In the Nashville capitol.
Dickinson fired the first shot, which broke two of Jackson's ribs and
lodged two inches from his heart. Dickinson then had to stand at the
mark as Jackson, clutching his chest, aimed slowly and shot him fatally.
First Assassination Attempt on a President
On January 30, 1835, the 7th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, became the first to have an attempt
made on his life. Elected in 1828 and serving his first of two terms “Old Hickory” as he was affectionately known, made many
enemies for this stand on reform of the banking system and civil service patronage appointments.
South Caroline representative William R. Davis has just died. The president and most of the cabinet were attending
the funeral of Davis which was being held in the Capitol building.
Andrew Jackson at 67 years of age was suffering from respiratory aliments and showing his age. After the service
Jackson was walking through the Capitol Rotunda. Suddenly a man separated himself from the crowd and approached the
president. He got to within three paces of the president, raised a small pistol, and pulled the trigger at virtually point-blank range.
There was a loud bang, but nothing happened. The percussion cap had detonated, but the gunpowder failed to ignite.
Immediately he pulled a second pistol from his coat, aimed at the president and pulled the trigger, but it too misfired. No harm was
done to Jackson.
By this time the crowd had been alerted by the noise of the first misfire that something was wrong. Jackson,
outraged that someone was actually trying to harm him, charged the assassin. The president began savagely beating him with his
cane. With the assassin now on the ground and Jackson still assailing him, others rushed to assist him. Lawrence was taken
away for interrogation.
The would- be assassin was Richard Lawrence, a former house painter. Lawrence had been stalking the President
for several days.
Richard Lawrence had asked the Jackson Administration for a civil service appointment and was denied. He also
believed that the United States government owed him a substantial sum of money. Lawrence told authorities that this money
would enable him to assume his rightful place as the King of England. He was enraged because the President would not
authorize this payment. Finally Lawrence was convinced that Jackson had killed his father. These were the reasons for Richard
Lawrence’s attempt to assassinate the president.
Lawrence was brought to trial. During the one-day trial he repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, proclaiming that
he was the King of England and Rome. The jury acquitted him by reason of insanity. Their deliberation lasted only five minutes.
He was held at various hospitals and mental institutions for 26 years until his death in 1861.
There was speculation that Lawrence was part of a conspiracy and even Jackson believed that Lawrence had been
hired by his enemies to kill him, but there was never any evidence found to prove this. After his behavior at trial it was obvious
that he had acted alone.
Smithsonian Institute researchers did a study on Lawrence’s derringers a century after the assassination attempt.
Both guns discharge properly on the test’s first try. It was found the odds of both guns misfiring during the assassination attempt
were one in 125,000.
Painting of the assassination attempt.
The “Corrupt Bargain”
The Candidates
• Andrew Jackson•John Quincy Adams•Henry Clay•William CrawfordJackson won the popular
vote, but no candidate won
the electoral vote.
The vote went to the House
of Representatives who
picked from the top threeJackson, Adams, and
Crawford.
Who will you
vote for?
Clay used his position as
Speaker of the House to
persuade representatives to
vote for Adams, who won.
Adams!
Adams appointed Clay Secretary of State.
Jackson called the
election a
“Corrupt Bargain.”
Why did he feel this
was a “Corrupt
Bargain”?
He felt cheated
Secretary of State
Henry Clay
The Democratic-Republicans
split….. the supporters of
Jackson called themselves
“Democrats”
His opponents were called the
“Whigs”
John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson
faced each other again in the 1828 election.
Jackson won by a landslide.
To the
victor belongs
the spoils!
Jackson’s Inauguration Celebration
Spoils - benefits
gained by the
winner
After taking office, Jackson
replaces many Federalist
officials.
He gave their jobs to his
loyal supporters.
The Spoils System is
giving political jobs to
loyal supporters.
OUT!!!
Thomas Nast
depicts a statue
of President
Andrew Jackson
riding a pig, on a
pedestal that
reads, "To the
victors belong the
spoils." Jackson's
"spoils system,"
in which loyal
party members
were rewarded
with appointive
offices, was
attacked for its
corrupt and
fraudulent
implications.
The idea of spreading political
power to all people and ensuring
majority rule, this became known
as Jacksonian Democracy.
The expansion of voting rights
helped Jackson win the presidency,
the common man now had a voice
in the government.
"You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out,
and by God, I will rout you out.“ Andrew Jackson
President Andrew Jackson fights
the “monster” bank. (1833)
The Bank of the U.S.
was created by
Federalist Alexander
Hamilton.
The Bank’s purpose
was to regulate
economic policies.
Jackson thought the Bank was too powerful.
He thought Bank president Nicholas Biddle
and Bank administrators used the Bank for
their own profit.
The Bank cut back on
loans which hurt farmers
in the West.
Jackson vowed, “I will kill
it!”
He vetoed the Bank when
its charter was up for
renewal.
After his veto of the Bank of United States bill,
President Andrew Jackson's opponents accused
him of abusing his Presidential powers. This
cartoon shows Jackson as a tyrannical king,
trampling on the Constitution.
Andrew Jackson hated the idea of the Bank of
the United States. He thought it wasn’t fair to
the poor people. He wanted to destroy it. The
many-headed monster is the states, who are
fighting Jackson to keep the bank. Jackson
raises a cane that says “veto.”
In this cartoon, President
Andrew Jackson refuses to renew
the charter for the Bank of the
United States. Nicholas Biddle,
with the head and hoofs of a
demon, runs to Jackson’s left.
(LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)
Congress passed the Tariff
Bill of 1828 which was the
highest import tax ever.
This was a “protective
tariff” because it was
designed to protect U.S.
industry by increasing
tariffs on goods from
Europe.
This tariff hurt Southern
planters because they
depended on trade with
Europe.
The high tariff meant
Southerners still sold their
cotton to Europe, but paid
more for European imports.
They called it the “Tariff of
Abominations”. An
abomination is something
hated. Hurt southern
farmers
Vice President John C.
Calhoun was from South
Carolina and, like most
Southerners, believed in
the idea of “states’
rights”.
States’ rights is the right
of states to limit the
power of the federal
government.
South Carolina passed
the Nullification Act and
declared the tariff illegal.
Nullify means
cancel.
South Carolina threatened
to secede if the tariff was
not lifted.
Secede means withdraw.
What are Jackson’s
options?
If you were Jackson, what
would you do?
Henry Clay: the “Great Compromiser”
Henry Clay
designed a
compromise that
lowered the tariff
but gave the
president more
power to use
force if a state
threatened to
secede.
One Way
In a desire to attract
more white settlers,
Georgia began moving
Native Americans west.
Jackson believed he did
not have the power as
president to interfere
with Georgia’s rights and
stop the removal.
•Worcester v. Georgia Cherokee sued to try to keep Georgia
from taking their land
•Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee Nation
•President Jackson refused to enforce the ruling
"John Marshall
has made his
decision; now let
him enforce it!"
Jackson pushed the “Indian Removal Act”
through Congress which gave the president
power to move Native Americans west of the
Mississippi.
70,000 Native Americans,
mostly Cherokee, were
forced to move.
Besides losing their
homeland, many Native
Americans died along the
way.
This forced removal and
journey west became
know as the “Trail of
Tears”.
Some groups, such as the
Seminoles of Florida,
resisted.
Led by Chief Osceola,
The Seminole Indians of
Florida resisted removal
by fighting the U.S.
government in what
became known as the
Seminole Wars.
However, the Seminoles
were eventually
removed.
Actual photo of Andrew Jackson