Andrew Jackson

Birth-Death: (1767 - 1845 ) Term: (1829-1837 )

Andrew Jackson was referred to as the "cowboy in the White House." He was the first one to dynamically use the presidential veto. Furthermore, he attacked the bank, disregarded the decisions of the Supreme Court and began widespread use of the spoils system.

Domestic Events of Andrew Jackson

    Jackson ran for the office of the presidency in 1828 and reviewed the "corrupt bargain" during his campaign. John Quincy Adams was running for reelection, but he was defeated by a 178 to 83 electoral vote. Jackson appealed to the common people, and showed that he was one of them. His Jacksonian Democracy made the government system more democratic as he replaced the caucus with the nominating convention, reduced the qualifications for voting by dropping the religious requirements, and advocated the Spoils System - "To the Victor go the Spoils."

    Jackson tried to unite the country by force - when South Carolina nullified the newly passed tariff of 1832, he proclaimed that he "would hang the first man in South Carolina" and flatly rejected any attempt by John C. Calhoun to nullify the law. He passed the force bill, which allowed him to use any power to end the "rebellion" in the Carolinas. Henry Clay made a new tariff, the Compromise Tariff of 1833 which promised to lower the protective tariff for the next few years until it reached the level it had in 1824. In reality, though, it only saved Calhoun from public ridicule.

    The Second Bank of the United States was established in 1816 and its twenty-year charter was about to run out. When the chairman, Nicholas Biddle, suggested to extend the charter, Jackson not only vetoed the bill, but also created pet banks which destroyed the national bank. As a result a depression hit the country at the end of Jackson's term.