Political Developments

With the abolishing of the property requirements and the "corrupt bargain," the common man became outraged at the seeming power of the privileged class to decide political matters against the majority will.  After Jackson's defeat in 1824, his supporters deemed the past history of elitists having the power condemned and joined Jackson's cause that the next president would not be chosen by the few, behind closed doors.

He successfully pushed for a more democratic political process, and he asserted the supremacy of the federal government over the states. Under his administration national political parties controlled the selection of presidential candidates, ending the control of congress over of the process.  The authority of the federal government and the president over the states was also asserted during Jackson's era. South Carolina claimed that states could nullify federal laws at their own discretion, refusing to collect federally mandated tariffs. Fearing for the integrity of the country, Jackson fought their stance, forcing the state to compromise on the tariff and to do away with the nullification doctrine.  In 1832 when Jackson defied an order by the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice  wrote the majority opinion barring Georgia from removing the Cherokee Indians from the state. Jackson supported the state's effort to remove the Indians.  He got congressional funding for the removal program. By doing this, he showed that the Constitution’s formal separation of powers alone would not stop a  president determined to support a state's decisions and wants.

Jackson's economic policies ran against the grain of the status quo in most areas.  He began by working to gain trade that had been cut off with Britain and France years before.  He succeeded on both counts.  He then set his sights on the Second Bank of America.  Stating that national banks should not be held by and run by those who do not have the national interest at heart.  Since the bank appeared to be in business only for itself, Jackson deemed it a threat to political and economic democracy.  During Jackson's second term, he declared that the sale of land be handled only in the currency of gold and silver coin, thus stabilizing the activities in the west with what was in the national interest.

After having lost the election of 1824 and the placing of John Q. Adams as president by the House of Representatives, Andrew Jackson vowed to bring the vote back to the common man and have their voice be heard.   But it was the ignoring the will of the people in the election of 1824 that drew many a common man to Andrew Jackson's cause of making the statement that the common man's voice be heard over that of the will of those in power.  In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected President by popular vote and a clear landslide of the electoral vote.

The thought at the time was that if a poor southerner were to rise in society, becoming a gentleman, with such a view of the world, the direct route would be by going West, where the land was cheap and the elite were absent or less dominant, at least.  This migration led to one of the first major crises of the Union, when Missouri applied to become a new slave state, reversing the disappearance of slavery in the North. This lead, in 1820, to the biggest fight seen in Congress, and threats of succession when the north attempted to block Missouri's statehood.  Over time, northern routes to the West, and trade routes tying the Northeast to the West opened up, and out did the Southerly routes.

The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that occurred in all parts of the United States, but was especially strong in the Northeast and the Midwest.  The revivals encouraged people to return to God.  Americans should dedicate their lives to God and to living in a Godly manner.  A desire to reform America also arose among the people.  Attempts to limit alcohol consumption and to abolish slavery came directly out of the Second Great Awakening and its message.

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