I. Democratic Republicans Regroup
A. Democratization
1. Removal of property requirements for voting (but substituted w/ poll taxes in most states).
2. Written ballots vs. viva voce voting
3. Direct voter selection of electors rather than legislators who selected elector.
4. Parties compete for voters (BBQ’s, free alcohol, etc.)
5. Increased voting for white males (females and minorities still disenfranchised)

B. Controversial Election of 1824
1. Rise of sectionalism
a. 5 candidates from the same party representing different regional areas
b. South - Calhoun and Crawford
c. North – John Q. Adams
d. West – Clay and Jackson

2. Election results
a. Jackson wins popular and electoral vote but does not win a majority
b. Per Constitution, election is decided by the House of Reps.
c. Clay lends his support to J.Q. Adams so as to forge West-Northeast alliance (to support his “American System”)
d. Clay becomes Secretary of State

C. J.Q. Adams’ brief presidency
1. opposed federally funded infrastructure projects to protect NY
2. infuriates Southerners by implicitly recognizing Haiti
3. attempted to be custodian of “public good” by refraining from involvement in partisan politics
4. followed Washington’s example of appointing opponents to high office (which infuriated his supporters)
5. his presidency marked the end of Washington’s “non-partisan” tradition

II. The “Glorious” Jackson
A. Jackson’s Rising Star
1. hot tempered war hero
2. non-politician who benefited from growing disenchantment with the gov’t
3. enthusiastic grass roots support
4. revered in south and west
5. despite self-made wealth, viewed as “common man”
6. uneducated, considered “uncorrupt, natural, plain”
7. fit into (mastermind) Van Buren’s plan to re-establish a two party system
8. Jackson would be first “modern” Democrat

B. The Election of 1828
1. lots of mudslinging
2. Adams accused of being a corrupt “sissy”
3. Jackson accused of being a drunken gambler, adulterer and murderer
4. Jackson swept the election with twice as many electoral votes

C. Jackson’s early policies
1. clearly establishes “spoils system” under guise of rotating civil service jobs
2. Rejected federal support of intra-state infrastructure
3. Supported and executed removal of Indians east of the Mississippi (Indian Removal Act of 1830)
4. Supported “tariff of abominations” (1828)

D. Debate over tariffs (actually, states’ rights)
1. Southerners opposed high tariffs, middle and northern states clamored for them
2. “Tariff of Abominations” (1828) – approved by Adams but promoted by Jackson supporters in Congress – highest ever and designed to keep many English manufactured goods out of the American market
3. Jackson wanted to reduce but still maintain tariffs in order to mollify northern supporters (particularly in Penn.)
4. VP Calhoun and other southerners led an attack on the tariffs causing a rift between Calhoun and Jackson
5. Southerners argued state rights and the “nullification” precedent established by the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of the 1790’s.
6. South Carolina applied “nullification” by refusing to have tariffs collected within its borders. ****Secession from the Union became a consideration***
7. To ease the crisis, Jackson pushed the Compromise Tariff (promoted by Henry Clay who feared a civil war) and the Force Bill (which allowed the Pres. to use armed forces to collect tariffs in SC)
8. South Carolina agreed to collect the tariffs but applied nullification to the Force Bill so as to not back down.

E. Jackson vs. the Bank of the US
1. Arguing that the Bank of the US benefited only “moneyed capitalists”, Jackson vetoed the recharter of the bank (1832) which would cause it to disappear in 1836.
2. Jackson tried to “kill” the bank faster by taking federal deposits out of it and placing this money in state banks.
3. The movement of federal money to the state banks allowed them to overprint and over end money, which led to economic expansion but also caused inflation.
4. Increase in # of “pet banks” (state banks that held federal deposits)
5. Despite Jackson’s opposition to the credit frenzy, he was pressured by Congress to sign the Deposit Act (1836) which further increased the # of pet banks.
6. To counter the Deposit Act, Jackson forced through the Specie Circular (1836) which said the gov’t would accept only specie in exchange for public land.
7. Rise of the “soft money” vs. “hard money” rift in the Democratic party

III. Rise of the Whigs
1. largely a reaction to controversial Jacksonian policies.
2. Supported the Bank of the US
3. Supported Clay’s American System of federally funded infrastructure improvements
4. Supported social reforms (public ed. & temperance)
5. Wide base of support that included southerners and westerners eager for infrastructure improvements, social reformers, native born Protestant workers, anti-Masons, commercial farmers, planters, merchants, bankers, manufacturers, evangelicals.
6. Still disorganized and not unified in the election of 1836. Learned lesson, rallied behind a single candidate and won in 1840.

IV. Van Buren’s Presidency
A. Panic of 1837
1. Major recession - largely caused by Jackson having placed federal deposits in irresponsible state banks as well as the Species Circular. Another cause was England checking the flow of specie into US in 1836.
2. Banks stopped issuing as much paper money
3. Demand for specie from Western farmers caused the supply to dry up. Banks stopped redeeming paper money for specie

B. Van Buren’s Response
1. Establish a federal Treasury (Treasury Act of 1840)
2. Failed to address the issue of regulating state banks
3. Took on an antibank, hard money position

V. “Tippecanoe and Tyler too!”
1. Whigs rallied around one candidate – 67 year old William Henry Harrison
2. Used his “war hero” status
3. Ran a folksy “Log Cabin” campaign without a platform
4. Used catchy slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too!”
5. Accused Van Buren of being a modern day “monarch” – too refined…
6. Van Buren responded sluggishly and lost the election of 1840.
7. Election of 1840 saw a huge increase in the # of voters as more eligible voters went to the polls (80% vs 55% in prior elections).