7. The Monroe Doctrine as Monroe stated it: Hart III, 494-498. 8. Why did the South oppose protection? Wilson, 39-61. 9. The Holy Alliance: McMaster V, 31-32, 37; Hart III, 479–480; Robinson and Beard, 343-362. 10. Dates for the chronological table: 1821, 1823. II. Give an account of Lafayette's visit to the United States in 1824. Sketch the life of John Randolph and tell some of the anecdotes relating to him. What were his objections to the protective tariff? What arguments did Clay urge in favor of the "American System"? Compare the Monroe Doctrine with the policy adopted in 1793 by Washington relating to foreign affairs. Is the Monroe Doctrine still upheld by public sentiment? 12. Special Reading. James Schouler, History of the United States, Vol. III. Frederick Trevor Hill, Decisive Battles of the Law. D. C. Gilman, James Monroe. The and Clay XXVIII THE JACKSONIAN ERA (1825-1841) The sixteen years (1825-1841) following the Era of Good Feeling may be called the Jacksonian Era, for during these years Andrew Jackson was the overshadowing figure in American politics. What influ ence did Jackson have upon the politics of his time? What were the leading events of the Jacksonian Era? 101. JACKSON'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST ADAMS. The administration of Adams was little else than a political battle with Andrew Jackson and his friends. Adams was no sooner inaugurated (March 4, 1825) than he appointed Henry Clay as Secretary of State. This appointment was at once declared by Jackson's friends to have been Clay's reward for the support which he gave Adams in the contest for the Presidency. A corrupt bargain, said the Jackson men, had been made: Clay had helped Adams because Adams had promised to give Clay the highest place in his cabinet. As a matter of fact no evidence has been found to substantiate Jackson's charge. Adams was as honest and as straightforward as any man that ever sat in the Presidential chair and he was wholly incapable of making a corrupt bargain of any kind. He appointed Clay simply because he thought the Kentuckian would give strength to his cabinet. But Jackson believed that a bargain had been made and he openly charged Clay with purchasing a cabinet position by making a President. John Quincy Adams. It was not only the alleged bargain between Clay and Candi of the Adams that caused Jackson to be dissatisfied with the result The of the election of 1824; Jackson had received more electoral date votes than any other candidate and he felt that he was the People people's choice. Whether or not he actually was the choice of the people in 1824 cannot be determined, for in some of the States the electors were not yet chosen by a popular vote. But Jackson, feeling that by the election of Adams the will of the people had been defeated, resolved that the people should have their will and that he would be their leader. Early in 1825 he resigned his seat in the Senate and announced himself as Presidential candidate for election in 1828. He at once began a campaign in which for the first time in our history a direct appeal was made to the voters for their support. Charac As we shall see presently, the campaign of Jackson re- Jackson's sulted in the organization of a new political party and in ter bringing about a revolution in American politics. What were the characteristics of the man who was to exert such a powerful influence upon his time? "Jackson," says Professor Burgess, was ignorant and unschooled, indeed, but virtuous, brave, and patriotic beyond any 66 cavil or question; faithful and devoted in his domestic life, absolutely unapproachable by pecuniary inducements; the best of friends and the most implacable of enemies; quick, hasty in forming his judgments and tenacious beyond expression in holding to them; earnest, terrible in the inflexibility of his purposes; unflinching and recklessly daring in the performance of what he felt to be his duty; hostile to all gradations of power and privilege; the military Andrew Jackson. hero of the country and a martyr to the persecutions of the politicians - here were certainly qualities to raise the enthusiasm of the masses if not of the classes." The An Illfated Administration The Tariff of 1828 The entrance of such a strong personality into politics was bound to produce a division of parties on personal lines. Soon the old Democratic party found itself split into a Jackson party and an anti-Jackson party. The Jackson men claimed to be Democrats of the old Jeffersonian type, but in reality they were simply zealous and devoted followers of their chief. They rallied around Jackson not as a political thinker or even as the leader of a particular party, but as the man whom they trusted and whom the nation could trust. The anti-Jackson men under the leadership of Adams and Clay soon began to call themselves National Republicans, but they too cared little for party names or party principles; their only aim was to prevent Jackson from coming into power. The Jackson men, of course, early directed their attacks against Adams with the view of discrediting his administration and rendering it unpopular. This was not difficult to do, as Adams himself was a very unpopular man. While faithful to duty he was at the same time so cold and stiff in his manner that it has been said of him that at every step he took he made an enemy. He was very unpopular with Congress, and the Jackson men in that body were powerful enough to thwart him in his plans. Not one administrative measure of importance was carried through Congress during the four years that Adams was President. Indeed, Congress seldom vouchsafed so much as a respectful consideration of the measures which he proposed. He strongly advocated a broad policy of internal improvements, believing that Congress should make liberal appropriations for the construction of interstate highways and canals and for deepening and otherwise improving rivers and harbors, but in this policy he was opposed by the leaders of his party, especially by those of the South, who feared that such an expenditure would unduly increase the power of the federal government. Nevertheless, during the administration of Adams more than $2,000,000 were expended on roads and harbors. While the Jackson men in Congress were beating down Adams they were at the same time doing all they could to advance the interests of their leader. As an incident in this campaign the tariff law of 1828 was passed. This law carried the protective principle beyond any point it had yet reached. The duties which it placed on hemp, pig iron, wool, coarse cotton, and woolen goods, iron manufactures, sugar, and salt, were so high as to prohibit importations. The law was intended, of course, to benefit the manufacturers, but John Randolph was close to the truth when he said "it referred to manufactures of no kind except the manufacture of a President of the United States," for in the framing of the bill political considerations were dominant and both the Adams men and the Jackson men manoeuvered for advantage. As it turned out the advantage was with the Jackson men, for the law was satisfactory to the Middle States and the West, the two sections upon which Jackson relied for his strength. Election 1828 While Jackson's friends were making political capital for The him in Washington, the candidate himself was moving about of among the people, the central figure of receptions and public dinners. When the time for the election of 1828 arrived the anti-Jackson men put Adams forward as their candidate. Adams did almost nothing to strengthen his candidacy, relying upon his excellent record as a statesman. Jackson's sole reliance was on the good-will of the people and the results of the election showed that he had secured their good-will. The popular vote was 647,276 for Jackson and 508,064 for Adams; the electoral vote was 178 for Jackson and 83 for Adams. The strength of Adams was in New England and the Middle States. Jackson was supported by the South, but his main strength was in the West. Himself a frontiersman, he voiced as no other man could the sentiments and the aspirations of the democracy that was acquiring such headway (p. 293) in the western country. Every electoral vote west of the Alleghanies was cast for him. In the campaign of 1828 Jackson did not seek the nomina- Jacksontion through the aid of politicians and through the action Democof the congressional caucus (p. 241), but carried his candidacy directly to the voters. This direct method of campaigning ian racy |