Good Feelings, Jacksonian Democracy, and Manifest Destiny

2. • The period 1817 to 1825 is known as
the Era of Good Feelings. What did
Americans have to feel good about?
• Consider recent events from the
period 1783-1815. Identify specific
events/people/etc.

3. POTUS No. 5:
James Monroe,
1817-1825 in
co-starring John Quincy Adams as Sec State

6. The West & the NW: 1818-1824

7. The Convention of 1818

8. Adams-Onis Treaty, 1819

9. Latin
American
Independence

10. The Monroe Doctrine, 1823
“… the American
continents, by the
free and independent
condition which they
have assumed and
maintain, are
henceforth not to be
considered as
subjects for future
colonization by any
European powers …”

11. The American System
North: Tariff of 1816
and Second Bank of
US
West: roads and
canals at fed expense
South: ???
Henry Clay,
“The Great Compromiser”

12. Missouri Compromise, 1820

14. The Election of 1824:
The “Corrupt Bargain”
Candidate
Popular
Vote
Electoral
Vote
Andrew Jackson 43% 38%
J.Q. Adams 31% 32%
William Crawford 13% 16%
Henry Clay 13% 14%

15. POTUS No. 6:
John Q Adams,
1825-1829 in
co-starring
Henry Clay
as Sec State

16. Democratic-Republican Split
Jackson & Van Buren: → Dem-Reps →
Dems (1828)
Adams, Clay, Webster: → Natl Reps (1828)
→ Whigs (1832) → Reps (1854)

17. 1828 Election
Jackson campaign managed by
Sen. Martin Van Buren (NY)
• Jeffersonian: farmers,
artisans, planters
• Nat’l committee over local
party units
• Mass meetings, parades,
picnics
• Political mudslinging

18. Campaigning “on the stump”

19. Voting Requirements in Early 19c

20. Voter
Turnout:
1820 - 1860

23. POTUS No. 7:
Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
King Andrew I

25. Spoils System =
“to the victor go
the spoils of war”

26. Issue
Political Appointments
Cause
• Jackson needed to appoint cabinet members.
• Jackson wanted to reward his new Democratic Party political
supporters.

27. Issue
Political Appointments
Jackson’s Actions
• Jackson began the “spoils system” by firing political enemies in the
federal government (around 10% of government employees) and
giving their jobs to supporters.
• Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet” were informal advisors not approved by
the U.S. Senate.

28. Issue
Political Appointments
Effect
• Political appointees were not necessarily qualified for their federal
jobs.
• Government efficiency declined.
• Government corruption increased.
• The spoils system remained in place until 1883.

29. Jackson as Satan dangling the
spoils over his supporters

30. Use of Veto
Washington thru
JQ Adams = 10
Jackson = 12
Executive power
grab vs. legislature?

31. Issue
Presidential Veto Power
Cause
• Previous presidents had only vetoed bills they considered
unconstitutional (only 10 total vetoes between 1789 and 1829).

32. Issue
Presidential Veto Power
Jackson’s Actions
• Jackson vetoed bills he simply did not like or helped people he did
not like.
• Example: Maysville Road, a new stretch of the National Road in
Kentucky, would have benefited Jackson’s nemesis, Henry Clay.

33. Issue
Presidential Veto Power
Effect
• Jackson vetoed 12 bills in eight years.
• Presidents will now veto bills that they do not like increasing
executive power.

34. The Cherokee Nation
After 1820

35. Indian Removal Act

36. Trail of Tears (1838-1839)

37. Issue
Native American Removal
Cause
• White settlers wanted Native American lands in the Southeast.
• Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to forcibly relocate
the “Five Civilized Tribes” (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and
Seminole) west of the Mississippi River to Oklahoma.

38. Issue
Native American Removal
Jackson’s Actions
• The Cherokee sued and won the Supreme Court case of Worcester v.
Georgia (1832).
• Jackson ignored the Supreme Court ruling and forced the Cherokee to
move.

39. Issue
Native American Removal
Effect
• One-fourth of the Cherokee nation died of starvation, exposure, and
disease en route to Oklahoma.
• Congress also dislikes the Cherokee and chose not to impeach
Jackson.

40. “Tariff of Abominations”
Tariff of 1816 → textiles
Tariff of 1824 → iron goods
Tariff of 1828 → up to 45% on some imports!
• Supported by Jackson to gain votes from
frontier farmers in NY, OH, KY.
• South = against

41. Tarriff of
Abominations 
Nullification Crisis
• VP Calhoun resigns
• SC threatens secession
• Force Act of 1833
“ … gallows ought to be
the fate of all such
ambitious men who
would involve their
country in civil wars …”

42. Issue
Nullification Crisis
Cause
• The South found tariffs (taxes on imports) unfair because many of
their manufactured goods were imported from Europe.
• South Carolina threatened to nullify the Tariff of 1828 (or Tariff of
Abominations).

43. Issue
Nullification Crisis
Jackson’s Actions
• Jackson threatens to hang critic of the tariff Vice President John C.
Calhoun and march troops into South Carolina because federal laws
cannot be nullified.
• Congress passed the Force Act of 1833 allowing Jackson to deploy the
U.S. Army to South Carolina to enforce tariff collection.

44. Issue
Nullification Crisis
Effect
• John C. Calhoun of South Carolina resigned from the vice-presidency.
• Henry Clay saved the day by negotiating a compromise. Tariff tax
rates were lowered over the next ten years.
• South Carolina did not secede in 1833 but eventually did in 1860 in
the lead-up to the Civil War.

45. The Bank War
Federal deposits ➔ state “pet” banks

46. Issue
The Bank War
Cause
• The charter of the Second Bank of the United States was set to
expire.

47. Issue
The Bank War
Jackson’s Actions
• After learning that Henry Clay supported the bank, Jackson decided
not to renew its charter.
• Jackson distributed federal deposits throughout various state “pet”
banks (owned by his friends).

48. Issue
The Bank War
Effect
• State banks printed too much paper money contributing to the
financial Panic of 1837 which triggered a severe decade-long
economic depression that began just after Jackson left office.

50. starring POTUS No. 8:
Martin Van Buren,
1837-1841

51. Van Buren Taking the Blame for
Jackson's Monetary Policies

52. Election of 1840
William Henry
Harrison
John Tyler
Whig Challengers:
“Tippecanoe, and Tyler, Too!”
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too - They Might Be Giants (official song)

53. “Log Cabin & Hard Cider”

54. “Log Cabin and Hard Cider”
Campaign Pin, 1840

56. “Stop That Barrel”

58. POTUS No. 9:
William Henry
Harrison,
Mar 4 - Apr 4, 1841

59. POTUS No. 10:
John Tyler, 1841-1845
His Accidency

60. U.S.Westward Expansion
to 1853

62. 1767: Daniel Boone explored Kentucky.

63. 1803: President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory.

64. 1805: Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean.

65. Cumberland “National Road,” 1811

66. 1825:The Erie Canal linked NewYork City to the Great Lakes.

67. Republic of Texas,
1836-1845
Sam Houston
(1793-1863)
Steven Austin
(1793-1836)

68. 1836: Mexico won the Battle of the Alamo but lost Texas.

69. Remember the Alamo!

70. Trails
West

71. 1841: People begin to travel west in wagon trains on the Oregon Trail.
Around 300,000 people took the trail over 20 years.
Settlers on the Oregon Trail, Albert Bierstadt (1869)

73. James K. Polk,
Dem
Election of 1844
Henry Clay,
Whig
VS.
They Might Be Giants - James K. Polk

74. “JAMES K. POLK”
by They Might Be Giants
In 1844 the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and
an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Lewis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump!

75. Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our Manifest Destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mr. James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump!

76. (I will return to this slide after the song!)
1. Lower tariff.
2. Resolve Oregon dispute.
3. Restore independent treasury.
4. Acquire California.
Goals of Polk’s Administration

77. In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tariffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon Territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mr. James K. Polk, our eleventh president
“Young Hickory,” Napoleon of the Stump!

79. POTUS No. 11:
James K. Polk,
1845-1849
Manifest
Destiny
starring

80. 1845: Journalist John O'Sullivan used the term Manifest Destiny to
describe U.S. westward expansion.

81. 1846: Brigham Young led 5,000 Mormons to Utah.

82. Oregon:
54º 40’,
or Fight!

83. 1846: Britain turned over the Oregon Territory to the U.S.The Donner
Party was trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and
resorted to cannibalism.

84. “Texas Coming In”

85. Mexican-American War, 1846-1848

86. 1846-1848:The U.S. won the Mexican-American War.The Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded California,Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and
parts of several other states.

87. Gen. Zachary Taylor at Palo Alto
“Old Rough and Ready”

88. Gen. Winfield Scott
Enters Mexico City
Gen. Winfield Scott, “Old Fuss and Feathers”

89. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1848
• Mexico ceded 1/2 of territory: TX, NM, AZ, NV,
CA
• U. S. paid $15 M and American citizens’ claims
against Mexico ($3.5 M)

90. Mexican-American War Results
1. New territory = slave or free? Slavery question
dominates national politics
2. partial Manifest Destiny
3. Taylor and Scott  Whig presidential candidates
4. Lee, Grant, Sherman, and other Civil War
generation officers gain war experience

91. √

92. 1848: James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in California.
Around 90,000 Forty-niners rushed to strike it rich.

93. California Gold Rush, 1849
49er’s

94. Digging for Gold in California

95. 1853:The U.S. completed the Gadsen Purchase from Mexico of land in
southern Arizona and New Mexico to construct a railroad.This
completed acquisition of all the territory that is the present-day lower
48 states.

96. Expansionist Young America in the 1850s
Attempts to complete
Manifest Destiny
William Walker