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Economic Boom
General Info - In the years preceding the Age of Jackson, there was a large
economic boom domestically, resulting from a revolution in transportation,
that included large-scale investments in Railroads, Canals, and Roads, that
helped transport good. Additionally, the government began subsidizing these
projects, and gave land grants that helped to establish these improvements.
Monopolies In cases such as Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Supreme Court
bashed Monopolies, and opened up business opportunities to many who
previously lacked these chances. To meet this need for a larger labor force to
work on these large projects, there be came a marked increase in
immigration during this period.
Immigration Many immigrants came to the United States during this
period of time, especially the German and Irish, who came to escape hard
times in their home countries. Additionally, there was a breakthrough in that
it was not just the men who were undertaking this labor, but also the women
and children of the families, seeing as there were no child labor laws.
system. However, while one may be led to believe that the plantation
owners, the elite of this system, would have possessed massive amounts of
excess cash, they did not. Instead, any extra money they had was
immediately poured back in to the purchase of more slaves, or the purchase
of more lands, as such, most of their wealth was tied in these two
possessions.
White Society In the White society of the South during this time, there
existed four strictly defined classes. At the top, existed the plantation
owners, who, although only being a small percentage of the population,
possessed the most power. Beneath them were the small slave owners, who,
when working to become large plantation owners, put themselves at
significantly more risk, by owning fewer slaves. Below them were the
Yeoman Farmers, who owned small tracts of land, and worked it to farm food.
These people didnt own slaves, however. Lastly, the poor whites who didnt
own land were the lowest on the white social ladder. They didnt have much,
and were barely separated from the slaves in possessions, which made them
very racist in their beliefs as the looked for separation.
Slavery
Demographics - The percentage of people that owned slaves, contrary to
popular belief, was in fact a slim minority, with 64% of the white population
of the South not owning a single slave.
Advantages - Also, while there were many reasons why the masters would
be seen as superior to their slaves, such as skin color, wealth, citizenship,
and legal status, the masters also had some disadvantages to the slaves, as
well. The slaves were greater in numbers, and they themselves were the
objects that held most of their masters wealth. So, if a slave were to revolt,
it would put the master in a very uncomfortable position.
Slave Revolts As such, there were, in fact, many occasions in which the
slaves did revolt, to great effects. Most famous amongst these were Gabriel
Prossers rebellion in 1800 in Richmond, VA, Denmark Veseys rebellion in
1824 in Charleston, SC, and Nat Turners rebellion in Virginia.
Justifications of Slavery During this time, Slavery wasnt thought of as a
bad, thing as was in fact justified under many different lenses, such as the
fact that both the North and the South were economically tied to slavery, the
fact that slavery has been practiced for time immemorial, and the idea of
paternalism, that the whites were actually helping out the blacks by
civilizing them.
Prelude to Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Who Was He?
Andrew Jackson, born in North Carolina but raised in Tennessee, was a War
Hero from the Mexican-American war. Both of his parents died during the
revolution, and he was seen as more of a self-made man. He became a
lawyer, and subsequently a Senator, and then eventually a General in a
Militia. However, despite being portrayed as a common man to many, he was
in fact quite wealthy, and did possess a lot of power.
Beliefs
One of Jacksons chief ideals, worth mentioning here, is his absolute hatred
of banks. Because of the hurt that he felt from the Panic of 1819, where bank
recalled many loans, hurting large landowners such as himself, he felt that
centralized economics were not a good thing at all, and he fought tirelessly
to eradicate their influence in politics.
Election of 1828
Because they were so divided, the Republican party, ran two candidates for
this election. Adams, who ran as a National Republican, and Jackson, who
was a Democratic Republican. Eventually, the National Republican would
merge with the Whig Party, serving to essentially counter all of Jacksons
principles. Jacksons party, on the other hand, would become known as the
Democrats.
proceeded to win the 1832 election, proving that his following wasnt that
deeply effected by this decision.
After Jackson
The Election of 1836
Jacksons successor, Martin van Buren, ran as a Democratic Republican,
soon to simply be known as Democrats. They did not have very unified
opposition, however, and van Buren easily won.
Van Buren as President
During the first year of van Burens tenure, the Panic of 1837 hit, with
Jacksons poor economic decisions hurting the countrys economy
significantly. However, as Jackson was no longer in office, most of the blame
fell to van Buren, who became known as Marin van Ruin, and falling out of
public favor. However, one of the few notable decisions made during his time
was the implementation of the gag rule in Congress, banning the mere
discussion of slavery in Congress, as it had become too polarizing of a topic.
The Election of 1840
At this point, Martin van Buren simply ran for office as a Democrat, as
those who opposed his (and Jacksons) ideals has gravitated away from the
party. This new Democratic Party, with the majority of their base in the South
and West of the country, was seen as the party of the common man, and
nominated van Buren for a second term in this election. The new party that,
formed by those who had split from the Jeffersonian Republicans, became
known as the Whig Party. These men nominated another War Hero from the
Mexican-American War, William Henry Harrison, for President. Harrison
narrowly won, and actually died only months into his presidency.
The Whig Party
This party had much of their support in the Northeast and Northern Midwest
of the country, and believed in a lot of what Jackson opposed. They were proFederal Government, pro-National Bank, pro-Industrialization, and proCompromise, compared to Jacksons refusal to budge on any issue. They also
believed deeply in Henry Clays idea of the American System, promoting
three things: A National Bank, Tariffs, and Internal Improvements. This group,
countered by the democrats, became known as the second party system.
Harrisons Legacy
With this being the first time that a President died in office, a new protocol
was being used for the first time. When his Vice-President, John Tyler,
became President, he showed that he was not as pro-Whig as he had
seemed, vetoing bills that encouraged the American System, as well as a
National Bank, something a Whig would find inconceivable. This actually
resulted in the resignation of his entire cabinet (except Daniel Webster), a
very radical action, cementing Tylers legacy as a very bad President.
Western Expansion
Texas
Independence
In the early 1820s, Texas became a part of the new nation of Mexico,
resulting from Mexican Independence from Spain in 1821. Mexico, as a new
nation, desired rapid economic growth, as well as a buffer from potentially
hostile Native Americans, so they granted large tracts of lands to Americans
in Texas. These men, given this land, began to grow cotton, however there
were other terms to the agreement made with Mexico that were not
necessarily being followed. Under this agreement, these men were allowed
use of New Orleans to export their cotton, but in return for the land, they had
Other States
California
At this point in time, California was mainly occupied by Native Americans,
with Mexican Missions, Mexican Rancheros, and Merchants from New
England, interested in trade, making up the majority of the rest of the
population. This, however, was merely the calm before the storm, as the
Gold Rush was to come in 1849, growing this territory exponentially.
New Mexico
A more barren state that California, this territory was occupied by many of
the same people as California. However, it was more connected to the
eastern economy of the United States through the Santa Fe Trail, which
connected Santa Fe, NM, with Independence, MO, tying these two places
economically.
Utah Mormons
Utah was primarily settled by a group known as Mormons, who originated in
up-state New York, and, led by their Leader Joseph Smith, were supposedly
given a lost book of the bible to worship. This group migrated first to Ohio,
then to Missouri, and Finally to Utah, where they found an area where they
could practice their beliefs freely. Utah is not admitted as a state for a
relatively long time however, because one of the Mormons main tenets is
the practice of polygamy, something which congress simply can not get
behind.
Oregon
As opposed to California, where most travelers were single men, Oregon was
largely settled by families following the famous Oregon Trail. There was lost
of fertile soil in the Pacific Northwest, and these families quickly began to
establish small farms in the area. During the beginning of this time, Oregon
was actually occupied dually by both the United States and Great Britain.
However, in 1846, borders were drawn, establishing the 49th Parallel as the
border between the two country, and giving all of Vancouver Island to Britain.