Rise of Andrew Jackson and his presidency. He focuses on Andrew Jacksons clashes with wig Party Members such as henry clay and Daniel Webster in the bank wars of the 1830s. This class is about 55 minutes. Well, good morning, everybody. And welcome to American History. My name is jonathan barth. You all know me as professor barth. And i am a history professor at Arizona State university. In conjunction with two very stellar world class programs, and there they are. On the screen. The school of historical philosophical and religious studies, quite a mouthful, so we call this shippers, great program, and then also the center for political thought and leadership. Or ptl. Another stellar program. If this lecture intrigues you, you should check out our center. Were doing some big things. And finally, if you are interested in learning more about yours truly, there we are, www. Professor barth. Com, you can read about me on that web site. Well, a generation of politicians has passed. Alexander hamilton dies in a duel in 1804. James madison pictured there on the right retires from politics and dies in 1836. John adams, and Thomas Jefferson, died on the same day, july 4th, 1826, 50 years to the day of the signing of the declaration of independence, pretty incredible, you cant make Something Like that up. But america is changing. A market revolution is sweeping the young republic. Mass commercialization. Profit making. New opportunities for investments. Inventions. Entrepreneurship. A burst in the population. Look at the population explosion from one million in 1750 to 13 million by 1830, this is a young population, average age, about 17 years old, aggressive, energetic, highly individualistic, oftentimes reckless. A burgeoning population. Factories have sprouted out all across the north. Especially new england. Producing textiles. And other manufactured goods. Outside of the cities, outside of new england, an agricultural boom in ohio, in pennsylvania, wheat exports off the chars. In the south, a new plan, cotton, that that drug of a plant, creating that soft durable textile. Spreading all throughout the south, entrenching that slave system deeper and deeper in the south, cotton takes off. And if youre going to have textiles, if youre going to have cotton steam boats by the 1820s and 1830s trekking up and down the mississippi river. Canals. Canal mania. Canals built all across the country, the most famous being the erie canal completed in 1825. Connecting the hudson river to lake erie, and what an accomplishment that is. If you have canals, if you have plantations, and factories, and you need credit, and here too we have lots and lots of credit. Banks sprouting up all across the United States. From three banks in 1790 to several hundred banks by the 1820s. The banks are chartered by the states, stay within that particular states boundary, and each one is showing their own currency. But sitting on top of those state banks is the mother bank, the chief bank, the central bank, the bank of the United States. And this is the second bank of the United States. Because as you recall, from earlier in the semester, there was a first bank of the United States, 1791, alexander hamilton, pushes through congress a bank of the United States, this bank, a private bank, with stockholders, and dividends, this bank, hamilton says, will benefit not only financial, private financial interests but will benefit the country, the public. How will it benefit the public . Because the treasury, the u. S. Treasury will deposit money in the bank, money coming in from taxes, and the treasury can also borrow money from the bank, this bank has a 20year charter, but it has lots of opponents. You remember, that chief opponent, Thomas Jefferson hates the bank. The bank, jefferson believes, is an institution that imperils american liberty. By elevating to power a wealthy financial elite. An unproductive elite. Jefferson opposes it. Jefferson comes to power in 1800. So the bank of the United States, the first bank, the charter expires in 1811, but one year later, a war erupts with britain, that war is a very expensive war, and the National Government finds itself in tremendous fiscal straits. And so after the war is finished, five years later, the democratic republicans, the party of jefferson, charter a second bank of the United States, and this second bank, much like the first, also will have a 20year charter, this charter will run out in 1836, and presumably congress and the president in good faith will renew the charter. So there you have it. And there were bumps along the road, right, after the bank was chartered, you will recall from the last charter, the panic of 1819 explode, this massive bubble in western land speculation, a bubble caused largely by the bank, by all of this new bank currency, it creates a bubble, and then it bursts. But the country recovers from the panic of 1819 fairly quickly, and so the second bank of the United States survives that panic, and goes into the 1820s with very little opposition. Most americans by the mid 1820s have come to accept the bank, the market, revolution, its fully under way. But its not just the economy that is changing, it is the political arena that is changing. Two new political parties, the wigs, and the democrats. Bucking heads. Who are these wigs and democrats . Well, representative new england for the whigs we have Daniel Webster, a lawyer from massachusetts, one of the most brilliant or tors in u. S. Congressional history. Quite an impressive figure, Daniel Webster is. We also have in massachusetts, john quincy adams. Son of the second president of the United States, john adams. He too is a whig. But then most famously of course, we have henry clay, hailing from the state of kentucky. And clay, well, clay ends up running for president , five times. Just cant get it. Cant seem to do it. But nonetheless, henry clay is one of the most important political figures in American History. What does clay do . Well, clay has a program, a system, an american system, and that american system is threefold, henry clay says first, we need to have protective tariffs on american manufacturing. And sure enough, henry clay, when he becomes secretary of state, under president john quincy adams, adams signs into law a new tariff, the tariff of 1828, raising the tariff from 25 to 45 . Thats one heck of a tariff. 45 . Why do they do that . To protect american manufacturers and textile goods. Clay also says we need federally funded internal improvements. Using federal dollars, to finance the building of roads, canals, bridges, and so forth. And then finally, clay says, we need to recharter that bank of the United States. Unlike hamilton, however, clay frames his defense of the bank of the United States in common man rhetoric. Hamilton said the bank is good for financial interests. Clay says the bank is good for farmers. The bank is good for mechanics. For manufacturers. The bank is good for the country as a whole, we need to recharter this bank, and there is the whig party platform, the whigs support clays american system, the whigs support utilizing the powers of the federal government, to stimulate economic activity, and they adopt a broad interpretation of the constitution. The federal government, the whigs does have the right to engage in this activity and most of the whigs will come from new england, because of the tariff, those factories are in new england, but also from the west and this is what distinguished clay from hamilton. Hamilton makes no appeals to the west. Clay is from the west. And clays internal improvements in the bank he hopes will get some western votes. But they have opposition. And theres that democratic party, the democrats, oppose the american system. The democrats adopt a strict interpretation of the constitution. A very limited view of the federal governments powers. The domes appeal to farmer the democrats appeal to farmers, to wealthy plan tain tation owners in the south, but also to common ordinary people, to wage erners, to working class laborers in places like new york. New york definitely a hot bed for democratic activity. The south and the west. New york, you have martin van buren, a democrat, later president of the United States, he later leaves the democratic party, and joins the antislavery, free soil party, well get to that in a future lecture. Representing the south for the democrats, we have another legendary figure. John c. Calhoun. Calhoun, a rabid defender of slavery. But also a rabid opponent of the tariff. He hates that tariff so much, in fact, that calhoun calls the tariff of 1828 the tariff of abominations. This 45 tariff calhoun says discriminates against the south, and sure enough, calhoun, that same year, in 1828, authors, in secret, and he does so in secret because hes Vice President of the United States, at the same time, just to give you an idea how muddy the political world is back then, calhoun authors in secret, an essay, advocating nullification, the idea that the states can nullify, or make null and void any federal law that they deem unconstitutional. South carolina does not nullify this tariff yet. But it puts the idea in their head. Well, from the west, we have Andrew Jackson. Andrew jackson, and there he is. The man. Probably the most colorful president in United States history. I say probably, i think we could state almost objectively, the most colorful president in u. S. History. A jine of a figure. Tall. He stood at 61. That was very tall for that day and age. 61, skinny, bushy eyebrows, hair, brushed high above, a very large forehead, with piercing blue eyes. Look at those eyes. Jackson was a hot tempered man. He was a bit stubborn. And oftentimes, bullheaded. He had strong convictions, and he knew when he was opposed to something, he stood up to, to that, that system. Well, he had a few nicknames in fact as well, Andrew Jackson, he went by the name old hickory, old hickory, tough as old hickory wood. The second nickname, you wont believe this, sharp knife. Who has a nickname like sharp knife. Andrew jackson has a nickname like sharp knife. What is his story . He was born in 1767 in waxaw, north carolina, he was born and his parents died at a very early agend was and was raised with no parental restraints and as a young boy he got into brawls and fights and wasnt all that interested in learning or reading. Jackson was nine years old at the time of the American Revolution and youll see young andy, right there, in the middle. Nine years old. At age 13, he joined the militia, as a messenger, and at one point, he ran that a british officer, and british officer told him, told young andy, he said clean my boots, and young andy said i aint cleaning your boots and the officer took his sword, slashed young andys leaving a permanent scar on his left hand, and the left side of his head. Well, jackson went on to help found the state of tennessee, got married, in 1806, someone insulted his wife, he challenged the man it a duel, shot him. He shot him. The only president in the United States history who has ever killed a man. Thats Andrew Jackson. Sharp knife. All right . Well Andrew Jackson joins the military. He joins the military. And fights the creek indians in 1814. Fides the seminole insidance in 1817. And then in 1815, earns his fame through the battle of new orleans. This spectacular victory against the british, even though again, as you remember, the war was already over. That doesnt seem to matter. Because this elevates Andrew Jackson to celebrity status. And that is indeed what jackson is. A celebrity. He has some political experience. He served about two years in the u. S. Senate. But thats really all. Jackson, well, he was also very wealthy. Very, very wealthy. Theres this plantation, the hermitage, the hermitage starts out, 1804, jackson has nine slaves. By the 1830s, jackson has well over 100 slaves and slaves are very expensive. Most Common People cant afford any at all. Jackson has over 100. He is a very, very wealthy man. Very well to do. Well, jackson enters, like i said, enters the senate in 1823. In 1824, he runs for the presidency, a fourway race between jackson, adams, William Crawford and henry clay. Jackson wins the popular vote 42 . Jackson also wins the most electoral votes, but jackson does not win a majority of electoral votes. And so the contest goes to the house of representatives. Henry clay is speaker of the house, henry clay cannot stand Andrew Jackson. His rival in the west. An ry clay strikes a deal with john quincy adams, that says, tell you what, ill get the votes, you need, in the house of representatives, if you make me secretary of state. The deals made. Adams wins in the house of representatives becomes the secretary of state and Andrew Jackson furious with this corrupt bargain, this rigged election. Jackson vows, i will get my revenge. In four years. Sure enough. He does. 1828, two man contest. Jackson versus adams. Jackson wins in a landslide. And look at that electoral map. Quite an impressive victory. Landslide victory. And how does he do it . How does he do it . The answer is very simple. Democracy. Democracy. Jackson benefits from universal male suffrage. We call this period jacksonnian democracy. Property qualifications for all free men in the United States are eliminated. No property required to vote. Double the number of voters in 1828 than you saw in 1824. Jackson uses this to his advantage. And wages a Political Campaign that utilizes a form of politics we call populism. Populism. And populism is a political term that has come up quite a bit in the last few years. What is populism . Well, populism is not an ideology per se. You can find populism on the left, you can find populism on the right. Populism is a style of politics, a style of politics that speaks to the interest, to the hopes, to the fears, of common ordinary people. Populists tend to pit the people versus the elites. The people versus the establishment. Possible lifts tend to warn of nefarious forces in positions of power, whether those positions of power are in government or in the corporate world. Nefarious forces. And the cherry on top, populists often benefit from charismatic personalities. And very often, with populism, youll see populists emerge who uses the shear force of personality. The to rally people around him and to use that charisma to attacks what he claims at least in his defense, to attack corrupt entrenched interests. Thats what populism is. Andrew jackson is a populist. Andrew jackson inaugurated into the presidency in 1829. And in celebration of his presidency, he throws a party. Opens up the white house lawn to the public. Hundreds of people from around the country pour in to the white house lawn, shop keepers, wage earners, common, ordinary, every day americans, sleeping on hotel room floors, and in hallways, and they pack in, on the white house lawn. A spiked punch bowl and whiskey is being passed around. It is where lombardi and jackson are stoked and as you can imagine, these guys dont like it one bit and they look at what is going on and this disgusts them. Can you imagine what Daniel Webster thought of Something Like this . Hes not going to like it too much. Jackson is ready. And well, the country ready for jackson . Thats the real question. What is this man going to do . Theres no telling. Hes a loose cannon, right . Whats going to happen . Well, henry clay says all right, well, we lost that election, thats fine, clay says. Im going to push through my american system. And he begins with internal improvements. Clay says, we need a road, weve got all these farmers from my home state of kentucky, we need a road that stretches from lexington, kentucky, to maysville, kentucky, right there along the ohio river. And i want to use federal dollars to build that road. The bill goes on jacksons, arrives on jacksons desk, after it flies through congress. Jackson responds and vetoes the bill. The road veto. One of the first famous vetoes in president ial history. Clay very upset. But this is just the beginning. This is just the beginning. All right. Clay says, he revetoed my internal improvements bill. Lets try another plank on the american system. Lets try a new tariff. The tariff of 1832. Now, this is a strange tariff because it seems to contradict clays program. The tariff of 1832 lowers the tariff from 45 to 35 . Why does clay do this . Well, you will recall, that tariff of abominations, in 1828, South Carolina and other states in the south are very angry about this. Clay fears that maybe 45 is pushing it too much. Lets lower it a little bit. High enough still but just a little bit in order to soften some of that opposition. The bill of rights on andrew ar jacksons desk. President jackson signs the bill. All sounds good. Oh, well, South Carolina isnt so pleased with this bill. South carolina nullifies the tariff of 1832. Why would they do this . It lowered the tariff. South carolina says, not enough. Not enough. This tariff is unconstitutional. We have a right to declare this tariff null and void and if you do not respect our nullification of this bill, of this tariff, we will leave the United States. Whats Andrew Jackson going to do . Calhoun is a democrat.