Second Party System [1828–1854] I Flashcards
Timeline: Jacksonian Democracy, 1820–1840
1824: John Q. Adams elected president in “corrupt bargain”. 1828: “Tariff of Abominations” protects northern manufacturers; Andrew Jackson wins popular and electoral votes. 1830: Congress passes Indian Removal Act. 1832: Nullification crisis risks violent secession; President Jackson vetoes renewal of 2nd Bank of U.S. 1834: Whig Party forms in opposition to the Democratic Party. 1837: Financial panic prompts extended recession. 1840: Whig candidate William Henry Harrison elected president.
Review - Evolution of the Two-Party System Timeline
Political scientists and historians have divided the development of America’s two-party system into roughly six eras: (1) First Party System [1789–1824] between the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party; (2) Second Party System [1828–1854] between the Whig Party and Democratic Party; (3) Third Party System [1854–1890s] between the anti-slavery/discrimination Republican Party and pro-slavery/discrimination Democrats; (4) Fourth Party System [1896–1932] Republican and Democrats with Progressive Era and limited government; (5) Fifth Party System [1933–1972] Domination of New Deal Democrats; and (6) Sixth Party System [1972-Present] Liberal-Democrat and Conservative-Republican realignment.
Evolution of the Two-Party System Timeline: Second Party System (1828–1854)
The Democratic-Republicans split into the Democratic Party (founded in 1828) and the Whig Party (founded in 1833) after John Quincy Adams (National Republican Party) controversially won the 1824 election against Andrew Jackson (Democrat). The Whigs, led by Henry Clay, advocated the primacy of Congress over the executive branch as well as policies of modernization and economic protectionism. While the Democrats, led by Jackson, supported the primacy of the Presidency over the other branches of government, and opposed both the 2nd Bank of the United States, as well as modernizing programs that they felt would build up industry at the expense of the taxpayer. The end of this era was marked by the collapse of the Whig Party mainly due to a major intra-party split from the Compromise of 1850 and previous economic issues becoming less relevant.
The Great Triumvirate
In U.S. politics, the Great Triumvirate refers a triumvirate of three statesmen who dominated American politics for much of the first half of Second Party System (1828-1854), namely Henry Clay of Kentucky, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. These men’s interactions in large part tell the story of politics under the Second Party System. All three were extremely active in politics, served at various times as Secretary of State, and served together in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each one represented major sections and their respective mindsets: the Western settlers (Clay), the Northern businessmen (Webster), and the Southern slaveholders (Calhoun). The debates leading to the Compromise of 1850 were the last great hurrah for the triad as they saw at the same time the emergence of a new generation of political leaders like Jefferson Davis, William H. Seward, and Stephen A. Douglas.
*New Political Style: From John Quincy Adams to Andrew Jackson*
The early 1800s saw an age of deference give way to universal manhood suffrage and a new type of political organization based on loyalty to the party. The election of 1824 was a fight among Democratic-Republicans that ended up pitting southerner Andrew Jackson against northerner John Quincy Adams. When Adams won through political negotiations in the House of Representatives, Jackson’s supporters derided the election as a “corrupt bargain”. The Tariff of 1828 further stirred southern sentiment, this time against a perceived bias in the federal government toward northeastern manufacturers. At the same time, the tariff stirred deeper fears that the federal government might take steps that could undermine the system of slavery.
*The Rise of American Democracy*
The Democratic-Republicans’ “corrupt bargain” that brought John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay to office in 1824 also helped to push them out of office in 1828. Jackson used it to highlight the cronyism of Washington politics. Supporters presented him as a true man of the people fighting against the elitism of Clay and Adams. Jackson rode a wave of populist fervor all the way to the White House, ushering in the ascendency of a new political party: the Democrats. Although Jackson ran on a platform of clearing the corruption out of Washington, he rewarded his own loyal followers with plum government jobs, thus continuing and intensifying the cycle of favoritism and corruption.
*The Nullification Crisis and the Bank War*
Andrew Jackson’s reelection in 1832 signaled the rise of the Democratic Party and a new style of American politics. Jackson understood the views of the majority, and he skillfully used the popular will to his advantage. He adroitly navigated through the Nullification Crisis and made headlines with what his supporters viewed as his righteous war against the bastion of money, power, and entrenched insider interests, the Second Bank of the United States. His actions, however, stimulated opponents to fashion an opposition party, the Whigs.
*Indian Removal*
Popular culture in the Age of Jackson emphasized the savagery of the native peoples and shaped domestic policy. Popular animosity found expression in the Indian Removal Act. Even the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the Cherokee in Georgia offered no protection against the forced removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast, mandated by the 1830 Indian Removal Act and carried out by the U.S. military.
*The Tyranny and Triumph of the Majority*
American culture of the 1830s reflected the rise of democracy. The majority exercised a new type of power that went well beyond politics, leading Alexis de Tocqueville to write about the “tyranny of the majority”. Very quickly, politicians among the Whigs and Democrats learned to master the magic of the many by presenting candidates and policies that catered to the will of the majority. In the 1840 “log cabin campaign”, both sides engaged in the new democratic electioneering. The uninhibited expression during the campaign inaugurated a new political style.
Virginia Dynasty
A phrase from the nineteenth century; it points out that four of the first five presidents, George Washington (1789-1797), Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), James Madison (1809-1817), and James Monroe (1817-1825), were from Virginia. John Adams (1797-1801) was from Massachusetts and only served a single term as president.
John Quincy Adams (DR)
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) began his diplomatic career as the U.S. minister to the Netherlands in 1794, and served as minister to Prussia during the presidential administration of his father, the formidable patriot John Adams. After serving in the Massachusetts State Senate and the U.S. Senate, the younger Adams rejoined diplomatic service under President James Madison, helping to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent (1814), which ended the War of 1812. As secretary of state under James Monroe, Adams played a key role in determining the president’s foreign policy, including the famous Monroe Doctrine. John Quincy Adams went on to win the presidency in a highly contentious election in 1824, and served only one term. Outspoken in his opposition to slavery and in support of freedom of speech, Adams was elected to the House of Representatives in 1830; he would serve until his death in 1848.
Presidential Election of 1824
The original race consisted of five candidates: John C. Calhoun, William H. Crawford, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and John Q. Adams. There wasn’t a two party system at the time, which meant political parties were more diverse and candidates were more free to act and build a coalition of supporters. On Election Day, none of the five candidates had secured enough electoral college votes to win, which meant the House of Representatives would choose from the top three finishers (Jackson with 99 electoral votes and Adams with 84) through the 12th Amendment. Henry Clay used his considerable influence to block Jackson in favor of Adams, who he felt alined with him more politically.
John Q. Adams’ Presidency
Henry Clay used his considerable influence to block frontrunner Jackson in favor of Adams when the election was decided in the House of Representatives in 1824. This became known in the Jackson camp as the ‘Corrupt Bargain’. The Jackson camp went on the offensive immediately and never allowed the Adam’s presidency to feel legitimate, which made his presidency largely unremarkable. He was accused of favoring ‘big government’ and ‘cronyism’. His tepid dealings with Native Americans and his ‘big-government’ policies never resonated with the American public. Southerners felt Adams and his likeminded administration would push for abolition of slavery.
Tariff of 1828 (or “Tariff of Abominations”) protects northern manufacturers.
In 1828, during the presidency of John Quincy Adams, Congress passed legislation that included an even higher tariff designed to shelter the burgeoning American manufacturing industry from British competition. The tariff became known to its Southern opponents as the ‘Tariff of Abominations’. Tariffs heightened sectional tensions because they raised prices on manufactured goods, which benefited the domestic manufacturing industry in the North, but was bad for Southern slaveholders who had to pay higher prices for goods. Southerners also feared that foreign countries would enact higher tariffs on raw materials produced in the South. Moreover, because the British reduced their exports to the United States in response to the tariff, they had less money to pay for US imports, especially cotton from the South. As a result, the British imported less cotton, which further depressed the Southern economy.
Identify the changes to the party system, Andrew Jackson’s running mate, and voting laws that preceded the Election of 1828.
(1) In the presidential election of 1828 most political parties coalesced into two primary political parties: the Democrats, led by Andrew Jackson, and the National Republican Party, led by John Q. Adams and essentially everyone else who was anti-Jackson. This was a precursor to modern American politics. (2) Additionally, this election was unique because Adam’s vice president, John C. Calhoun, switched sides to become Jackson’s running mate. (3) Finally, reforms in state constitutions also led to record-breaking voter participation in the election, with up to 80% of qualified voters participating; it was universal suffrage for men and the ‘Age of the Common Man’.
Understand how and why Jackson appealed to the ‘common man’.
Jackson appealed to lower segments of society that had recently obtained suffrage (for white men). The common man felt they had elected one of their own. Throughout his presidency, Jackson would continue to champion the causes of the common man, including fighting against economic monopolies, changing the political nomination process from one of insider-only caucuses to national conventions open to all, and rejecting pork-barrel* politics that had long been the mainstay of Washington, DC. * A metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative’s district.
Summarize the causes Jackson did and did not favor during his presidency.
Jackson vetoed the Maysville Road project claiming federal funding of intrastate projects was unconstitutional. He warned that any project that did not have all of America’s interest in mind and did not conform strictly to the Constitution would not survive. These and other actions did not make “Old Hickory” popular with the tea-and-crumpets crowd of DC, but endeared him in the hearts and minds of the common man.
Breifly summarize Jackson’s inauguration.
His inauguration became the first that was open to the public, and the public came in droves. It became a wild party for some of his supporters, who drank, ate, and celebrated the election of someone they viewed as one of their own. Jackson did little to dissuade this perception. He took a meandering 3-week journey from Tennessee to D.C., greeted by joyous supporters all along the way, before finally emerging in front of an estimated 21,000 supporters at his inauguration on the Capitol steps.
Describe the spoils system and the Whig party.
A ‘spoils system’ is when a victorious party fills important posts with ideological kin. Jackson was allegedly the first to do this and argued it was to ensure efficiency and accountability. Gradually, men who opposed Jackson joined other dissatisfied factions and coalesced into a political party all their own: the Whigs (1833). They saw Jackson’s strengthening of the executive branch’s power as monarchical and even mockingly labeled the new president as ‘King Andrew’. Some accused him of trying to establish a military dictatorship and was threatening the Constitution itself.
*Independence for Texas*
The establishment of the Lone Star Republic formed a new chapter in the history of U.S. westward expansion. In contrast to the addition of the Louisiana Territory through diplomacy with France, Americans in Texas employed violence against Mexico to achieve their goals. Orchestrated largely by slaveholders, the acquisition of Texas appeared the next logical step in creating an American empire that included slavery. Nonetheless, with the Missouri Crisis in mind, the United States refused the Texans’ request to enter the United States as a slave state in 1836. Instead, Texas formed an independent republic where slavery was legal. But American settlers there continued to press for more land. The strained relationship between expansionists in Texas and Mexico in the early 1840s hinted of things to come.
Explain Jackson’s international dealings, particularly with Mexico.
Jackson craved the Mexican border province of Texas for the United States, and he made its purchase the first priority of his presidential diplomacy. He, like presidents before him, sought an expansion of American territory. The problem was Mexico did not want to sell it. In response he allowed American settlers to emigrate to Texas. They disobeyed Mexican law by practicing slavery, refused to learn Spanish, and disrespected the Catholic Church. In 1835, Sam Houston, a friend of Jackson, launched a revolt against Mexico, declaring Texas free and sovereign. In his final days as president, Andrew Jackson extended diplomatic recognition to Texas.
Discuss how Jackson exercised presidential power with the veto and the Treaty of New Echota.
Jackson’s executive power was expressed in his use of the veto; for example, the Maysville Road bill and the second second charter of the Bank of the United States bill. He would also insist on executive dominance in matters related to Indian tribes still living in the United States. Jackson had made a history of dealing harshly with indigenous Americans throughout his career as a soldier and a politician. By 1835, he successfully pressured Congress to ratify the ‘Treaty of New Echota’, which would give the federal government all the power it needed to remove Indians from their lands.
Understand the causes of the tension between the North, South, and West between 1830 to 1840.
Northern states, with their base in heavy industry and capital, contrasted dramatically with the agricultural base of the South, a region primarily fueled by slave labor, share croppers, and an influential landed gentry. Western states, like the South, also had economies based on agriculture and raw materials and needed to expand in order to grow economically. Western and Southern states worked together to reduce the cost of federal land and lower protective tariffs that would strengthen their respective economies. Northern interests saw the protective tariffs as necessary to raise revenue for the government and protect America’s young industrial base.
Nullification
Nullification, in United States constitutional history, is a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution (as opposed to the state’s own constitution).
