Summary
Highlights
This lecture covers historical topic 4.8, 'Jackson and Federal Power,' focusing on politics and power. It explains the causes and effects of policy debates about the federal government's role from 1800 to 1848, including the emergence of the Democrats, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whigs, led by Henry Clay. These parties disagreed on issues like the National Bank, tariffs, and federally funded internal improvements.
Andrew Jackson advocated for a limited federal government, often vetoing bills that would increase its size, such as the Maysville Road bill. He redefined the power of the presidential veto, using it more frequently than all previous presidents combined. On slavery, he believed it should be a state issue but intervened when abolitionist literature was sent through the mail to southern states. Jackson himself was an enslaver.
A major conflict between Democrats and Whigs was over the Second Bank of the U.S. Jackson opposed the bank, viewing it as corrupt, a sentiment stemming from the Panic of 1819. The Whigs, believing Jackson was not sincere in his opposition, pushed for an early rechartering of the bank, which Jackson vetoed. His re-election after the veto emboldened him to withdraw federal deposits from the bank, distributing them to 'pet banks' in states. This, along with the 'Specie Circular' policy, led to tight credit and ultimately contributed to the Panic of 1837, which affected his successor, Martin Van Buren.
Tariffs were another point of contention. The Whigs favored them, and the Tariff of 1828, dubbed the 'Tariff of Abominations' by the South, imposed over 60% tax on imports. South Carolina, led by John C. Calhoun, challenged this through the nullification crisis, asserting states' rights to nullify federal laws based on Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions' compact theory. Congress passed the Force Bill, authorizing military action against South Carolina, but Henry Clay negotiated a compromise tariff, resolving the crisis.
The Whigs supported federally funded internal improvements, arguing they would boost economic growth and self-sufficiency. Jackson, however, opposed funding projects solely within one state, as exemplified by his veto of the Maysville Road bill in Henry Clay's home state of Kentucky. Meanwhile, white settlers, exhausted by soil in the southeast, pressed westward, encountering Native American tribes who resisted encroachment, sometimes violently. Early resistance leaders included Tecumseh and his brother.
In the 1820s, Georgia's efforts to remove Cherokee tribes were challenged in *Worcester v. Georgia*, where the Supreme Court ruled that states could not legislate for Native Americans, as they were semi-sovereign. Jackson famously defied this ruling. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 mandated the exchange of lands in the Southeast for territory west of the Mississippi, impacting tribes like the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole. Many were forcibly removed between 1831 and 1842, leading to the 'Trail of Tears,' where about 15,000 of the 60,000 removed died.
Jackson's presidency was marked by significant debates over tariffs, the National Bank, and Indian removal. The coerced removal of southeastern tribes across the Mississippi resulted in the tragic 'Trail of Tears'.