The Eaton Affair • Peggy Eaton

Jackson in the White House Chapter 9, Section 2

– Wife of Jackson’s sec. of war – Accused of having had an affair w/ John Eaton while still married to someone else – Snubbed by the Calhouns and most of the official cabinet

• Except Van Buren – Supported by Jackson

• Whose own wife had been

slandered w/ such allegations

• Led to a split btw. Jackson and Calhoun

– Who resigned as vice pres. and became a senator

Nullification Crisis • Tariff of 1832 – Lowered the Tariff of 1828 (Abominations) • But not as much as the S. wanted – Led to renewed threats of nullification

• S. Carolina called a special convention.

– Declared the tariff null and void – Called for the state to undertake military preparations

• Jackson threatened the “nullies” of S. Carolina.

– “If one drop of blood be shed there in defiance of the laws of the U.S., I will hang the 1st man of them I can get my hands on to the 1st tree I can find.” – Begins military preparations of his own

Nullification Crisis

Cherokee Indian Removal

• Congress tried to compromise.

• Cherokee

– Passed a compromise tariff • Proposed by Clay and supported by Jackson and Calhoun – Passed the Force Bill • Authorized the pres. to use military force to collect taxes • Passed to save face

• S. Carolina called a new convention. – Repealed the nullification of the Tariff of 1832 – Voted to nullify the Force Bill • To save face • Had become obsolete

– Indian tribe in N.W. Georgia – Had began process of assimilation

• To remain on their native lands

• Indian Removal Act (1830)

– Allowed Indians to be forced off their land and move them to the Indian Territory

• W. of the Miss. R. in the present-day state of Oklahoma • Land that was seen as a vast desert

– Justified as helping to protect the Indians from discrimination

• Georgia

– Sought to evict the Cherokee using the Indian Removal Act – Reasons

• Cherokee were exempt from Georgia laws. • Lands were good for farming and deposits of gold were recently found.

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The Supreme Court and the Cherokee • Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)

– Ruled that Indians were “domestic dependent nations”

• Indians were neither a foreign nation nor U.S. citizens. • Indians cannot sue in federal court, but must follow federal laws.

• Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

– Ruled that Indians were “a distinct community occupying its own territory . . . in which the laws of Georgia can have no force.” – Meant that only the fed. gov’t had the authority over Indians

• Not the states • Making Georgia’s actions unconstitutional

• Jackson refused to enforce the Court’s decision.

– “Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it!” – Allowed Georgia to move the Cherokee to the Indian Territory. – Violated Jackson’s oath to uphold the laws of the U.S.

Trail of Tears (1838-1839) • Jackson’s forced removal of the Cherokee to the Indian Territory

• Over 800 miles • Permitted only the aged, the sick, and the young to ride in wagons

– Everyone else had to walk!

• Began at the onset of winter

• Resulted in the death of 4,000 of the 16,000 Cherokee

• Could have led to impeachment • But supported by Congress and the general public

The Bank War • Bank of the United States (BUS) – Closed when charter expired in 1811

• 2nd Bank of the United States – Created in 1816 – Poorly managed at first

• Easy-credit policies led to land speculation – Value of land plummeted after Napoleonic Wars

• Led to the Panic of 1819

– Resulted in many foreclosures – Increased hatred of banks in the W.

– Ruled constitutional in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Nicholas Biddle

– Became pres. of the BUS in 1823 – Effectively regulated the amt. of paper currency in circulation

• To curb land speculation and inflation

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Jackson’s Veto • Henry Clay and Daniel Webster – Sought to make BUS an issue in Election of 1832

• To defeat Jackson • Believing most people supported the BUS

– Encouraged Biddle to apply for early renewal of the BUS’s charter

• Not set to expire until 1836

– Helped guide the renewal bill thru Congress

• Jackson promptly vetoed the bill.

– “The Bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it!” – Became immensely popular

• Election of 1832

– Clay was easily defeated by Jackson. – Jackson saw the election as a mandate to destroy the BUS.

• Authorization or directive

Death of the BUS • Roger B. Taney – Appted. sec. of the treasury to destroy the BUS – Ordered to w/draw gov’t funds from BUS

• “Pet” Banks – State banks into which fed. funds were deposited – Began offering easy-credit

• Expanded the money supply, causing inflation

• Led to more land speculation

Specie Circular • Issued by Jackson in 1836 • Required all public lands be purchased w/ “hard specie” – Gold and silver

• Ruined the credibility of paper currency – Even in non-gov’tal transactions

• Led to the Panic of 1837 – – – – –

Land couldn’t be sold, causing problems for speculators. Banks foreclosed when speculators couldn’t pay mortgages. Land unable to be sold for value in which it was mortgaged. People exchanged bank notes for hard specie. Banks couldn’t cover all w/draws and many closed.

• Depositors lost their money when a bank closed.

– Runs on banks became widespread.

• People wanted to get their money before the bank closed.

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