James Lincoln Collier - Andrew Jacksons America: 1824 - 1850

T HE D RAMA OF A MERICAN H ISTORY

ANDREW JACKSON'S AMERICA

18241850

Christopher Collier

James Lincoln Collier

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The authors wish to thank William E. Gienapp, professor of history, Harvard University, for his careful reading of the text of this volume of The Drama of American History and his thoughtful and useful comments. The work has been much improved by Professor Gienapp's notes. The authors are deeply in his debt but, of course, assume full responsibility for the substance of the work, including any errors.

Photo research by James Lincoln Collier.

COVER PHOTO: Corbis-Bettmann.

PHOTO CREDITS: The photographs in this book are used by permission and through the courtesy of:

Chapter I: Independence National Historic Park: Andrew Jackson, George Washington. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress: families leaving Basel. Joslyn Art Museum: Bethlehem.

Chapter II: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress: slaves using a cotton gin. Joslyn Art Museum: town of New Mexico. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center: slaves sawing a log. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: spinning wheel.

Chapter III: Joslyn Art Museum: steamboat Napoleon. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center: river crossing. Corbis-Bettmann: locks and canals, Erie Canal, locomotive racing a horse.

Chapter IV: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress: shoemaker's shop. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center: middle class family. Corbis-Bettmann: New Orleans, slum apartment, craftsman building a clock, mass production of clocks.

Chapter V: Independence National Historic Park: James Monroe. Corbis-Bettmann: John Quincy Adams, Democratic Whig headquarters, "The log cabin and cider" campaign, William Henry Harrison.

Chapter VI: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress: Andrew Jackson's victory over Nicholas Biddle. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center: slaves being marched to Tennessee. Corbis-Bettmann: 1837 caricature, tariffs & taxes cartoon, John Calhoun.

Chapter VII: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress: American soldiers among the Indians. Joslyn Art Museum: Joseph Reddeford Walker, Tsholocha, Tulope. National Museum of American Art: Choctaws playing a ball game, Chief Collee, Chief Osceola.

1999 Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the copyright holders.

First ebook edition 2012 by AudioGO. All Rights Reserved.

Trade ISBN 978-1-62064-507-9

Library ISBN 978-0-7927-9557-5

ANDREW JACKSON'S AMERICA

18241850

C ONTENTS

P REFACE

OVER MANY YEARS of both teaching and writing for students at all levels, from grammar school to graduate school, it has been borne in on us that many, if not most, American history textbooks suffer from trying to include everything of any moment in the history of the nation. Students become lost in a swamp of factual information, and as a consequence lose track of how those facts fit together and why they are significant and relevant to the world today.

In this series, our effort has been to strip the vast amount of available detail down to a central core. Our aim is to draw in bold strokes, providing enough information, but no more than is necessary, to bring out the basic themes of the American story, and what they mean to us now. We believe that it is surely more important for students to grasp the underlying concepts and ideas that emerge from the movement of history, than to memorize an array of facts and figures.

The difference between this series and many standard texts lies in what has been left out. We are convinced that students will better remember the important themes if they are not buried under a heap of names, dates, and places.

In this sense, our primary goal is what might be called citizenship education. We think it is critically important for America as a nation and Americans as individuals to understand the origins and workings of the public institutions that are central to American society. We have asked ourselves again and again what is most important for citizens of our democracy to know so they can most effectively make the system work for them and the nation. For this reason, we have focused on political and institutional history, leaving social and cultural history less well developed.

This series is divided into volumes that move chronologically through the American story. Each is built around a single topic, such as the Pilgrims, the Constitutional Convention, or immigration. Each volume has been written so that it can stand alone, for students who wish to research a given topic. As a consequence, in many cases material from previous volumes is repeated, usually in abbreviated form, to set the topic in its historical context. That is to say, students of the Constitutional Convention must be given some idea of relations with England, and why the Revolution was fought, even though the material was covered in detail in a previous volume. Readers should find that each volume tells an entire story that can be read with or without reference to other volumes.

Despite our belief that it is of the first importance to outline sharply basic concepts and generalizations, we have not neglected the great dramas of American history. The stories that will hold the attention of students are here, and we believe they will help the concepts they illustrate to stick in their minds. We think, for example, that knowing of Abraham Baldwin's brave and dramatic decision to vote with the small states at the Constitutional Convention will bring alive the Connecticut Compromise, out of which grew the American Senate.

Each of these volumes has been read by esteemed specialists in its particular topic; we have benefited from their comments.

C HAPTER I: A M AN FOR AN A GE

THE PERIOD OF American history from 1820 to around 1845 or 1850 has been called by many historians the Age of Jackson. In fact, Andrew Jackson was president of the United States only from 1829 to 1837, and his influence in politics dwindled after he retired from office. But for some thirty years, he was seen by many Americans as the greatest hero of their times. He had been a victorious general, winning glory in battle. He had been an important figure in politics for many years before he actually became president. He had a commanding personality, a strong belief in his own ideas, and the ability to make things go his way. He seemed to many Americans admirable in all ways.

He seemed so because he matched the spirit of the times. These were new and different times in America, and people were looking for a new and different kind of hero. Only a generation earlier, Americans had admired people like George Washington, a man of shining character who always put the good of the nation ahead of his own; Benjamin Franklin, brilliant scientist, clever writer, astute diplomat; Thomas Jefferson, philosopher and visionary determined to build a great nation on the North American continent.