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In 1825, James Monroe was succeeded by John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams (2nd U.S. President). Adams' opponent in the election of 1824 was Andrew Jackson, the hero from the Battle of New Orleans. Jackson actually had received more popular votes than Quincy Adams, but he failed to win a majority in the electoral college. The House of Representatives therefore decided the outcome, and chose Quincy Adams. Adams' administration was largely unsuccessful. Congress and the new president were quickly at odds over issues involving the tariff and the relative power of the federal government over individual states. Jackson ran again for president in 1828, this time handily defeating Quincy Adams (see map, p. 302). Jackson's presidency (1829-1837) heralded a new era in American democracy, often referred to as Jacksonian Democracy. For one thing, Jackson ran for president as a representative of the common man, instead of as part of the establishment elites. He took advantage of the fact that by the 1820's, almost all states had eliminated the remaining property qualifications for voting, so that pretty much all white males could vote (universal white male suffrage). Jackson's supporters used new campaign techniques such as mass rallies and parades, barbeques and picnics, and "mudslinging." Jackson was arguably the country's first truly strong president. He dominated Congress, and was considered tyrannical and authoritarian by his opponents. He defended the spoils system (the practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs), and understood how to exploit the growing sectional tensions (over slavery and states' rights) to his political advantage. Three big issues dominated Jackson's presidency. First, Jackson accelerated the policy of Indian Removal, ignoring a Supreme Court decision that would have protected the last remaining tribe, the Cherokees. Second, north and south became bitterly divided over the issue of the tariff. Although Jackson was not sympathetic to the tariff, he believed strongly that the federal government had the authority to impose tariffs on the states, and threatened to use military force against states in the deep south that opposed the tariffs of 1828 and 1832. These states (particularly South Carolina) argued that they had the right to nullify (ignore) federal laws that they considered unconstitutional. Jackson opposed the theory of nullification because he felt it undermined the federal government. After Jackson's threatened use of force, the southern states abandoned their hard line position, but the crisis revealed how deep sectional divisions had become. Finally, Jackson opposed the Bank of the United States. As you recall, the first bank had been established during the Washington Administration, at Alexander Hamilton's insistence. Jackson viewed the bank as undemocratic, and largely a tool of northern commercial interests. In 1832, Jackson vetoed a bill that would have renewed the bank's charter. He then proceeded to try to hasten the bank's destruction by removing federal deposits. This led to a confrontation with Congress, and ultimately to a censure resolution (approved by the Senate, but rejected by the House). But Jackson's victory over the Bank was to many a victory for democracy, even though a period of economic uncertainty and distress would follow. By the end of Jackson's second term (1837) the two-party system in American politics was firmly established. The Democrats (Jackson's party) represented the interests of the common man; the Whigs stood for more orderly progress under the guidance of an enlightened, property-owning elite. People had come to accept the idea of a "loyal opposition;" in other words a second party that could oppose the president or represent a minority in Congress, while at the same time remaining loyal to the ideals of American democracy and representative government.
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