Jackson’s Administration

Sectional troubles during Jackson’s Administration

• Land sales– The North wanted to pass a law limiting the sale of

Western land so that immigrants could not move west (wanted to keep immigrant labor force in the East)

• There was much conflict over this issue

• Maysville Road Bill– Congress passed a law to build a road in Kentucky.

Jackson vetoed it, arguing that national funds should not be spent on a project that was entirely in one state. Made the South and West angry. They both wanted federal money spent on internal improvements.

Cont’d• Tariffs

– The South was angry because tariff rates were increased in 1816, 1824, and 1828. The south called the tariff of 1828 the “tariff of abominations”- flew flags at half mast in protest

• South Carolina Exposition– Response to a tariff passed in 1828. Called it the tariff of

abominations (unconstitutional and unendurable)– John C. Calhoun thought that threatening to nullify the law

would pressure the gov’t to reduce tariff rates

• The Force Bill (1833)– Jackson’s response to South Carolina’s defiance– Authorized the President to use military to force states to obey

acts of Congress– Could use the army and navy to compel obedience

• This action resolves the struggle for now, but nullification will continue to plague relations between the North and South

Jackson and Indian Removal

• Andrew Jackson stressed the importance for the “common man”, but he clearly did not include Indians

• Decided to send Native Americans to the “Great American Desert”- the land between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains- to establish a permanent Native American reservation

Cont’d• Jackson justified this by arguing that it

protected Native Americans from land fraud.

• Cherokee Indians sued for their rights to keep their land in Georgia. John Marshall and the Supreme Court maintained their land rights. Jackson said that if John Marshall wanted that to happen then “let him enforce it”

Cont’d• Jackson used the military to force Cherokee

Indians off their land- 4,000 Georgia Cherokees died of starvation, disease and exposure on the “Trail of Tears” to Oklahoma

• The Sac and Fox people were led out of Illinois to Oklahoma. Their leader, Black Hawk, tried to lead them back home and they were all killed.

• Many people, like Henry Clay and some churches, spoke out against this treatment of the Indians, but they were definitely in the minority

The Bank of the US• The Bank of the US was originally commissioned in

1816• Who opposed the bank and why…..

– Smaller banks in the individual states opposed it because they could not compete

– Farmers wanted only hard money (gold and silver) NO CREDIT

– People opposed the monopolies felt that the bank was a monopoly- bank had a monopoly over all government business

– Jackson (b/c he was a farmer) felt that the banks were controlled by wealthy people from the Northeast. Did not feel that it represented the interests of the common people

• Whether the Bank of the US should be re-chartered became the biggest issue in the Election of 1832