Early Presidents Discussion Board Assignment July 14

JACKSON TO TAYLOR

The election of 1828 was turning point in American political history. It was a repeat of the election of 1824 with John Quincy Adams facing Andrew Jackson. Many consider this the real beginning of modern politics. This was the first election in American history in which there were no restrictions on voting; you did not have to be a property owner or you did not have to possess a certain amount of money. This was the first open election and the farmers of America would take advantage of this situation. Plus this was the first major personality election in which voters would learn about the private lives of the candidates and would become much more interested in their lives and their images than the real issues. Dirty politics or mudslinging really began with this crucial election of 1828.

There were numerous stories about both candidates. And many of these stories were true. Stories focused upon the cold personality of John Quincy Adams and how he was such an extreme loner. Stories told of his best friend being his dog and his nude bathing in the Potomac River. Other stories told of his problems with his wife and his children. During his presidency, there was the purchase of a pool table for the white house; critics called it a gaming table. They indicated that with government funds a pleasure table was placed in the white house. One story even called Adams a pimp and said that he arranged women for his foreign guests.

There were many stories also about Andrew Jackson and most of these stories were also true. It is an understatement to say that Andrew Jackson was one of the most colorful individuals ever to run for president. There were the stories about his smoking habits; he smoked a great deal and if he knew that you did not like smoking, he would often blow smoke right in your face. Some called him Mr. Chimney. There were stories about his drinking of alcohol and how he liked to party with his friends. He was called by his friends: King Dung because he and his friends would often fall down outside the tavern after a long evening of drinking and roll in the horse manure. Actually he is considered the only president to be featured on the label of a bottle of hard liquor. He is found on the bottle of Old Hickory, bourbon whiskey. Stories told about his bad temper and how he liked to fight and how he liked to fight duels. Stories told that he was a womanizer and how he married a pregnant women named Rachael who was already married and was never divorced. He was always very sensitive about this situation and would readily fight to defend her honor. Stories circulated about his career in the military and how he would often display a bad temper to his men. There were many stories about his health since he had two bullets in his body from his military career and these bullets had poisoned his system and caused him to be very thin and to have numerous illnesses, especially constant bouts of diarrhea. But this man Andrew Jackson appealed to the farmers-common people- of America. He had the habits of common people and it is those common people who elected Jackson in 1828 in what is considered the most popular election in our history. A higher percentage of eligible voters voted in this election than any other election in our entire history. Andrew Jackson was elected as the most popular man ever and would leave office in 1836 as an extremely popular president.

Was Jackson really a common man when he was elected president or was this just an image? There is no doubt that the origins of Jackson were common and that the habits of Jackson were common. Jackson was the first president to be born in a log cabin in the frontier. He had little formal education and his family was a poor farm family. He held many jobs as he was growing up and then joined the army and rise quickly within the military. He became an Indian fighter with his battles against the Creeks during the War of 1812; and he became a military hero as the upset winner of the Battle of New Orleans during that same war. When the war was over, Jackson became a successful attorney and plantation owner. The Hermitage is the plantation home of Jackson in Tennessee. Visit his plantation home at: http://www.hermitage.org/mans.htm He was then elected to the senate and in 1828 was elected president of the United States. It is true that he was wealthy when he was elected president. But he never forgot his common origins and his common man habits kept him in touch with the common people. He was more common than not.

Andrew Jackson was responsible for the third and last road to the white house in our early history. His political formula that would last for years in known as the Jackson formula. It is a four part formula that involved: a. being born in a log cabin, b. being a farmer, c. being an Indian fighter, and d. being a military hero. After Jackson's election, it would be difficult being elected president without having some part of this formula. The part of being a military hero would become the important and longest lasting part of this formula. There would be many military hero presidents after Jackson.

Andrew Jackson's election in 1828 is called the rise of common people into politics. While Jackson is considered the most popular president in our early history, he is also the most democratic president in our early history. Jacksonian Democracy has to do with the opening of the basic system of government to common people. There are many examples of how the government became more accessible to common people during the presidency of Jackson. Jackson was elected president in 1828 by average people who voted for the first time; other common people also came into politics. Take Davy Crockett, for example; he is part of the Jacksonian Democracy. Here is a man from the west who had relatively little education and yet he was elected to congress. The inauguration of Andrew Jackson is another example of the democracy; thousands of farmers came to Washington, D.C. to share in the victory of Jackson. This was the first victory for farmers in our history. As Jackson gave his inaugural speech, no one could hear what he was saying as people were yelling, " Andy, Andy." They wanted to touch Jackson and get close to Jackson; they followed him into the white house for the inaugural party and they nearly tore the white house apart. Newspapers described the inauguration day of Andrew Jackson as being similar to the invasion of Rome by the barbarians.

Jackson himself made policies which made the system more democratic. He drastically expanded the spoils system and brought more average people into government. He established a system called rotation where he took men who had been involved in government for years and who held important positions in government and he gave them new jobs of lesser importance as he brought his people into government. He also created the first unofficial cabinet; this cabinet was referred to as the kitchen cabinet, because his friends met with him in the kitchen of the white house and gave him advice. Jackson was the most popular of the early president and Jackson was the most democratic of the early presidents. In fact, Jackson's presidency may have featured the high point of democracy in our entire history.

Jackson is referred to as a president of majority politics. He came in on a high and he left on a high. His policies were extremely popular and they appealed to a large number of people. There were three major policies of Jackson that contributed to his popularity. We have already discussed the Indian policy of Jackson. Jackson instituted the successful but tragic policy of Indian removal. The removal of Indians from the eastern United States was a very popular policy but a very controversial one. He changed the direction of Indian policy and his staff members began to institute new Indian treaties of removal.

His economic policy was also extremely popular but also controversial and is open to criticism today. Andrew Jackson had a severe dislike of banks. In 1819 during the depression he had money in a Tennessee state bank and that bank went out of businesses. He not only disliked banks but he had an intense dislike of bankers. When he became president he found that he had to deal with the National Bank of the United States. This bank was initially an idea of Alexander Hamilton to give the wealthy more control over the economy. It was a government bank owed by both the government as well as the wealthy. It was started under George Washington and had been rechartered in 1816. Jackson had a real dislike of this national bank and of the director of that bank Nicholas Biddle. Jackson even said that Biddle smelled of money.

The wealthy feared Jackson and wanted him out of office in 1832. They actually came together under the leadership of Henry Clay from Kentucky and formed a rival political party known as the Whig party. The Whigs were aware of Jackson's attitude toward banks in general and toward the National Bank in particular. They planned to make the National Bank a campaign by getting Biddle to apply for the renewal of the bank before the election of 1832. The recharter bill passed congress in the summer of 1832 and this bill was vetoed by Jackson. He did it for personal reasons and for the fact that he felt that the bank gave the wealthy too much control of the economy. This became a major issue in the election of 1832 when Jackson faced Whig leader Henry Clay. The bank was the major issue of the campaign but it did not stop Jackson from being elected for a second term.

Jackson now interpreted his election as a popular mandate to proceed against the National Bank that still had four years left. He started removing federal funds from the bank and began depositing them in select state banks. The National Bank had been the major agent in aiding business, in stabilizing the currency, and in curbing inflation. That institution was virtually dead and now inflation and land speculation increased. Problems with the sale of public land led to weakened confidence in state banks. By 1837 there were be a depression and the economic policies of Jackson were greatly responsible for that depression. While Jackson's veto of the National Bank was a popular one, it was not a smart one from an economic standpoint. But this depression would occur after Jackson left office and it was a problem for his successor.

Jackson's best day was president was his handing of the Nullification Crisis. South Carolina was in the midst of a cotton depression during the presidency of Jackson; those in South Carolina were convinced that the main reason for the economic crisis was the high tariff sought by northern factory owners that restricted foreign products from coming into the United States. South Carolina, in particular, blamed the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 for their present problems. South Carolina now passed a nullification ordinance in which the state decreed that the national tariffs did not apply and could not be collected in South Carolina and that the use of federal force was grounds for secession. Here we another crisis between the federal government and the south.

Jackson's response was strong and immediate in this nullification crisis. He ordered the federal forts in South Carolina to be on immediate alert. He issued a message to Congress in which he recommended a reduction in the tariff. He then issued a Proclamation to the People of South Carolina in which he stated that nullification was an impractical absurdity, that the sovereign and indivisible federal government was surpreme, and that no state could refuse to obey the laws of the land or could leave the union. Finally he stated that disunion by armed force is treason. In South Carolina they called him "King Andy", while most Americans were impressed with his strong, immediate response. The crisis ended when a compromise tariff was introduced in congress. Jackson had become a very powerful leader during this crisis and most experts consider this the high point of his presidency.

Jackson had come in on a high and would leave on a high. He is the sickest president in American history and is one of the most personal and biased. Yet he is rated the most popular and democratic president in our early history. While some of his policies are questionable such as his Indian policy and his economic policy, he remained the ultimate president of majority politics. Here are details on the life and presidency of Jackson: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/aj7/about/bio/jackxx.htm He gave more people policies which they wanted. And there is no question the most impressive aspect of his presidency was his handling of the nullification crisis. His popularity allowed him to hand pick his successor in 1836. The Whig party nominated a series of candidates so that the Democrats could not get a majority and so the election would again be in the House of Representatives. The Democrats turned to an experienced politician who was vice president during the second term of Jackson: Martin Van Buren. Van Buren was the choice of Jackson and that was all the farmers needed to know. Plus Van Buren pledged that he would follow the policies of Jackson. In 1836 Van Buren was elected the 8th president of the United States.

Martin Van Buren was known as the Little Magician for his success at power politics. He was the first career politician to be elected president. This wealthy man with a Dutch background was very different from Jackson and that would hurt his presidency. Jackson was a wealthy man with common man habits; Van Buren was a wealthy man with wealthy man habits. He did not relate well to the common people and he was continually compared to Jackson. Davy Crockett said it best when he said that Van Buren was as opposite to Jackson as dung is to a diamond. But the major problem that Van Buren would face would be the Depression of 1837. Van Buren is known in our early history as the depression president.

The Panic or Depression of 1837 was caused by Jackson's economic policies. He killed the national bank and put money in state banks. The only real control on the economy was gone and the economy went crazy. Cotton prices fell by one half; unemployment rose along with rent, food and fuel prices. Several banks began to close; public land sales fell. Many viewed Van Buren as being very unsympathetic to the common people during this depression. Van Buren resonded with an Independent Treasury System in which money would be taken away from state banks and put in a federal government treasury system. But this system was found to be ineffective. The effects of this depression would last during the entire term of Van Buren as president and it would remain as his major unsolved problem. And it would cause Van Buren to remain a below average rated president.

The election of 1840 would again feature the evolution of modern politics. The elections of 1800 and 1824 are similar because these were the only two elections ever held in the House of Representatives. The elections of 1828 and 1840 were similar in the evolution of modern politics. By the election of 1840 party lines began to disappear; parties would now resort to tactics that would lead to victory. The Whig Party now decided to use the Jackson Formula of the Democratic Party. The Whigs knew that Van Buren was unpopular because of his wealthy man habits and because of the depression. They knew that the Jackson Formula appealed to common people so they nominated William Henry Harrison. He was not born in a log cabin or involved with farming, but he was an Indian fighter and military hero. He had defeated the nation of Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Whigs also decided to create a political slogan that would help win the election: "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." This slogan referred to the victory of Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe and also referred to John Tyler from Virginia who was attempting to get the Southern vote. The Whigs also decided to turn this campaign into the log cabin campaign. They invented log cabins songs and sponsored log cabin parties and men and women wore log cabin clothing and Harrison threw parties in a large log cabin in which hard cider, the log cabin drink was served. The Jackson Formula worked for the Whig party and in 1840 William Henry Harrison became the first Whig president in American History.

William Henry Harrison is the only non-rated early president. He wanted to give the image of toughness, so when he went to his inauguration in weather below zero, he wore little clothing. He also gave one of the longest inauguration speeches in history because he spoke so slowly. He now developed a bad cold which became pneumonia and he died in office after only one month. He had the shortest term in our entire history. The doctors bled him and blistered him and even used opium, but their efforts failed. Harrison is now the first president to die in office and John Tyler of Virginia becomes the first accidental president. Refer to this short biography of the first Whig president Harrison at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/glimpse/presidents/html/wh9.html

Who is this John Tyler? Few Americans knew him. He would become the second Whig president and another below average rated president. John Tyler was a states rights Whig. This means that he stood against most of the major politics of his party such as the restoration of the national bank and national roads and canals. During his three years as president he constantly frustrated the politics of his own party and members of his party even talked seriously in congress of impeachment. The legacy of Tyler is that he weakened and split his party. Some of his speeches clearly indicated his philosophy and policies: http://www.intac.com/~rfrone/history/p10-jt.htm He accomplished little as president and he is to be remembered for few decisions. One of the more interesting facts of the Tyler presidency is that he became the first president to marry in the White House; of course, this marriage raised many questions because he married a woman thirty years younger than he was. There is no question that Tyler hurt his party and caused Henry Clay, the leader of the party, to run for president in 1844. This loss in 1844 would make Clay the only three time loser in our early history.

The Democrats, however, really lacked a leader in 1844 and they now nominated a political unknown called a darkhorse. After many ballots they turned to James Polk from Tennessee. Many Americans had no idea who this Polk was, but they were impressed with the platform of the Democratic Party. The period of the 1840s is known as the era of manifest destiny in our history; this means in simple English that this was a period of land greed, expansion, and imperialism. Americans wanted to expand west and the Democratic platform promised the acquisition of the Pacific Northwest from England the acquisition of the Southwest from Mexico. This popular platform led to the election of darkhorse James Polk; this political unknown became one of our highest presidents in only one term and he is one of the strongest foreign policy presidents in our early history.

Polk is both a land president and a war president. He was a good domestic leader and worked well with congress, but his real accomplishments lay in foreign policy. Polk first tried to get the Pacific Northwest from England. In those days the Pacific Northwest included the present areas of British Colombia, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. In 1818 the United States and England made an agreement of joint occupancy which allowed both countries to occupy this area. England was the country that took this agreement seriously and set up a series of fur trading posts run by the Hudson Bay Company in this region. The United States now had only a minor claim to this region; some Americans lived in the region of Oregon. But this minor claim would not stop aggressive James Polk. Polk let England know that he wanted all the Pacific Northwest and would get it. He created the slogan: "54 40 or fight" which meant that if they did not give us all the Pacific Northwest, we would go to war and get it.

James Polk used the tactic of power diplomacy with England and it worked. Plus he was a very smart negotiator. He knew that England needed American wheat; he knew that the British fur trade in the area was in decline. And he knew that England would not go to war for a region so far removed from England. His power diplomacy worked and led to the Oregon Treaty of 1846. This was one of the most successful treaties in our history. This treaty gave us the present Pacific Northwest. We got much more of this region than we deserved and this is due to the aggressiveness and power diplomacy of Polk.

Polk now turned to the Southwest region owed by Mexico. He thought that power diplomacy would also work with Mexico, but Mexico was still unhappy about losing Texas to the United States. So the Mexican government refused to participate in negotiations. Polk now decided that war with Mexico was necessary. He used the Texas border dispute as an excuse for war and in 1846 he became our second war president and one of our best early war president. This Mexican War can only be explained in terms of land greed and imperialism. We wanted land from Mexico and we felt that their military was weak, so we decided to go to war with Mexico and to take the land. In this period of manifest destiny, Americans supported this war of imperialism.

Polk was correct in his analysis of the Mexican military and after some early defeats of the Mexican army in northern Mexico, Polk now expanded the war goals and tried to get as much of Mexico as possible. We eventually invaded central Mexico and captured their capitol. We had invaded and conquered Mexico and now Polk sent diplomat Nicholas Trist to negotiate for Mexican land. Trist was a realist and he put together the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which we purchased the American Southwest. Polk was not happy with Trist or this treaty. But he supported the treaty, but he did not allow Trist to be paid for his diplomatic services. Years after Trist's death, his widow was sent money and a letter of apology.

James Polk did not run for president in 1848. He had become a very popular and powerful president, but he said that he achieved what he wanted to achieve and he left office. Polk is rated high as president. Many today will question his tactics and even call him unethical. But he lived up to the platform of the Democratic Party and he acquired the west coast of the United States through power diplomacy and war. He was a successful land president and a successful war president. His decision not to run for president hurt the Democratic Party and now they turned to weak candidate Lewis Cass. The Whig Party had won on the Jackson Formula and they nominated another military hero. This time it was the military hero of the Mexican War: Zachary Taylor. Taylor was a Southerner from Louisiana who was also a plantation owner. He had been a career military man and had absolutely no political experience or understanding of politics. He was also very cheap. When a telegram was sent to him collect to inform him that he was the choice of the Whig Party for president, he refused to pay for the telegram. Eventually he read in a newspaper that he had been nominated for president. The Jackson Formula worked again and Taylor would become the third Jackson Formula president. Zachary Taylor became president during the period known as the coming of the Civil War. He is also the first of four president known as the four stooges who as a group make up one of the weakest periods for the American presidency. Taylor will be followed by Fillmore and Pierce and Buchanan and then the Civil War would begin.