Chapter 8: The Spirit of Reform, 1828-1845

THE AGE OF JACKSON

Section One:

Flashback to Chapter 7…

John Q. Adams “stole” the election of 1824 from Jackson Adams

accomplishes little because Congress is upset by his victory

Jackson gets revenge by winning the election of 1828

The Age of Jackson

His inauguration was a first- page 266

A New Type of President

In the election of 1828- more people had voted than ever before

Everyday citizens connected with Jackson He was an orphan,

received little formal education, hard worker

How does he compare to previous presidents?

The Spoils System

The practice of appointing people to government jobs based on their party loyalty, friends and connections.

It rewarded those who supported him

Jackson thought it was more democratic- get more “everyday” people into government

What would be the pros and cons of this system?

Early Threats of Secession

South Carolina thought new tariffs were hindering the economy of the South

South Carolina threatened to secede (break away)

Solution: Federal government started to lower tariff rates, South Carolina does not secede

What would have happened if they did secede in 1833?

Westward Expansion

Slowly, the white people had been moving West

During this process, they encountered different native tribes

As more and more move west, what is the government to do with the natives?!?!

Even though Jackson wanted more involved in government, his thoughts did not expand to natives

Policies towards Native Americans

Early plans since the Louisiana Purchase was the move natives westMost Americans at this time never

thought the US would be coast to coast

Jackson created Indian Removal Act of 1830****See activity for information on this!

A New Political Party- the Whigs

Took their name from the Whig party in England

Supported:Larger federal

governmentIndustrial

development

Jackson’s Democrats Are Opposite

Democrats wanted:Less federal

governmentMore power to

statesMore power to

everyday people

The Election of 1836

Van Buren- a Democrat won

The Whigs were not organized enough to win

Van Buren accomplished little He did little to fix

The Economic Panic of 1837

We Have a Whig!!!

Whigs nominated William H. Harrison in the election of 1840

Slogan was “Tippecanoe and Tyler too!” after Harrison’s victory at Tippecanoe (War of 1812)

President of 32 Days

Harrison contracted pneumonia and died

Succession made John Tyler President Not a true Whig-

he was chosen to get Southern votes

He tended to lean Democrat

More on Tyler later on….

A CHANGING CULTURE

Section Two:

Change is Coming...

By mid-1800s, Americans began examining their

cultureChanges started

happening, politically, economically, socially

A New Wave of Immigrants

Coming from?

Why?

Impact on America?

Emergence of Nativism-

Religious Revival

The Great Awakening summary: pg. 108-109

Ideas of Second Great Awakening:

Impact on religion in America:

New Religions Emerge

Examples:

New Concepts in Literature

Romanticism:

Transcendentalism:

American Authors and their Works

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Henry David Thoreau:

James Fennimore Cooper:

Nathaniel Hawthorne:

Edgar Allen Poe:

Emily Dickinson:

REFORMING SOCIETY

Section 3:

What Was Life Like in the 1800s?

Life in

1800s

Changes in…

TOPIC PEOPLE CHANGESDorothea Dix

TemperancePrison Reform

Horace Mann, Calvin WileyEmma Willard, Mary Lyon, Elizabeth Blackwell

True Womenhood

Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton

THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT

Section 4:

Definitions:

Gradualism: belief that slavery would slowly end on its own

Abolitionism: opposition to slavery

Early Opposition

By 1830s, a growing majority in the North supported the idea of gradualism

Felt country could not reach its potential if slavery existed

Early Antislavery Societies

American Colonization Society Bought land in West

Africa Created Liberia

(capital was Monrovia)

Only 12,000 free slaves moved there

Why would so few move?

Emergence of Abolitionists

Different from gradualists

Thought slaves should be freed immediately

Second Great Awakening supported it- thought slavery was an evil sin

Early Abolitionists

Several living in the North started to speak out against slaveryDavid WalkerWilliam Lloyd

Garrison

The Liberator

Garrison created a newspaper, called The Liberator

Harsh attacks on slaveryCalled for emancipation of all

enslaved peopleThis idea leads to creation of

American Antislavery SocietyBy mid 1830s- they had over 250,000

members

Frederick Douglass

Escaped slaveBrilliant

speaker- gave a public voice to the movement

Sojourner Truth

Gained freedom legally

Powerful public speaker

Response to Absolutism-In the North….

Some viewed abolitionism as a threat to the existing social structure

Some thought it would provoke a war between North and South

Some thought it would lead to a loss of jobs for whites

Some feared the collapse of the South’s economy and what that would mean for the North

Response to Absolutism-In the South….

Some thought it was vital to their way of life

Some felt that slavery made the economy thrive

Some thought that slave-owners were helping slaves have a better life

Some refused to have abolitionists’ voices heard

What Does All This Mean?

The country is splitting further and further apart on several major issues