Andrew Jackson

Everything you need to know.

Andrew Jackson

• Born into a poor frontier family.

• Orphaned at 15.• Practiced law.• Became famous

because of his service in the War of 1812; at the Battle of New Orleans.

• A “self-made” man.

Average Andrew Jackson Supporter

Most likely lived in the South, West, or in rural areas. Was most likely to be a modest farmer with little formal education. Probably did not like Indians very much. Unless he was very religious, What free time he had was probably spent shooting dice, playing cards or at the local tavern having whiskey with his buddies.

Why Jackson’s supporters liked him.

• He was a poor man who “made it.”• He was a war hero. • He stood up against the same people they

were against (Indians, big business, banks, rich people).

• He was their idea of what the U.S. was all about (being able to be successful despite being born poor).

Why his opponents didn’t like him.

• Thought he acted like a king by vetoing what Congress passed.

 • Accused him of corruption

because of his use of the spoils system and the "kitchen cabinet."

 • Didn’t like him trying to do away

with the Bank of the United States or his anti-business and industry policies.

 • Many Indians didn’t like his

policy of removal. 

TWO MAIN CRISES

• Nullification

• Bank of the United States Charter

Crisis 1: Nullification

• 1828 – Congress passes a protective tariff to protect Northern manufacturers. Southern planters, who traded cotton for European manufactured goods, would have to pay more for those goods. I have sauerkraut in my lederhosen.

• 1832 – Congress slightly lowers the tariff. Unsatisfied, South Carolina passes the Nullification Act, declaring the tariff illegal.

Jackson’s response

• Jackson asked Congress to pass the Force Bill, giving him permission to use the Army to enforce the tariff.

 • Faced with Jackson, and lacking the support of any

other states, South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun accepted an even lower compromise tariff, sponsored by Henry Clay. 

 • …but this is not the end of states’ rights issues

Crisis #2: The Bank War• The Bank of the United States was up for

renewal in 1836. • Clay, and Daniel Webster, two of Jackson’s

opponents, wanted to make the Bank an issue in the 1832 election and pushed an early renewal bill through Congress.

 • Jackson vetoed the bill and Nicholas

Biddle, the Bank president, raised interest rates and began rejecting loans.

Jackson’s response:

• After winning reelection in a landslide, Jackson withdrew all government funds from the Bank of the United States, which killed the Bank.  He then deposited the funds in certain state banks that Jackson's opponents called "Pet Banks.“

Jackson's aftermath.

Jackson's Vice-President, Martin Van Buren, rode Jackson's popularity and was elected in 1836. Van Buren inherited a bad economy, brought on by the final collapse of the Bank of the United States. The Whigs exploited Van Buren's weaknesses in the 1840 election and ran their own war hero, William Henry Harrison, who won in a landslide. 

Jackson's legacy

    Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee all have cities, counties or geographic features of some sort named after Andrew Jackson.