Economic Fighting In The 1800's

Coby Deitch
Mrs. Eichleay
8th Grade Social Studies
March 11, 2016
Economic fighting in the 1800’s
Historical Context:
President Quincy Adam’s term was over and the election leading to Andrew Jackson’s presidency was heavy with political parties. Quincy Adams served as a diplomat, a senator, and was in the House of Representatives. Andrew Jackson was in the Congress, a senator, a national hero when his forces defeated the Creek and Seminole Indians, and fought in New Orleans during the War of 1812, and was a lawyer. Andrew Jackson believed in a strong presidency and a strong Union. The supporters of Andrew Jackson arose to become the modern Democratic Party. The supporters who backed up Quincy Adams began calling themselves the National Republicans.
“The North had an industrial economy based on manufacturing. They supported tariffs because they wanted american goods to be sold at lower prices than British goods could. The South was an agrarian economy based on agriculture, meaning that they supplied themselves by growing their own food. The South opposed the tariffs because it would destroy their economy because it would increase the cost of imported goods. The West was an emerging economy and supported the internal improvements and the sale of public lands. When Jackson’s vice president John C. Calhoun supported the criteria needed for a strong central government but didn’t support the tariffs of abominations. In response to the tariffs of abomination, he created the South Carolina Expositions and Protest. Then protest advanced to the states’ rights doctrine. He argued that, because the states had formed the national government, state power should be greater than federal power. He believed states had the right to nullify, or reject, any federal law they judged to be unconstitutional”(Deverell, William and Deborah Gray White). This would help in the future because it would allow states to be more
His underestimation of the power of a strong and popular President caused his downfall and the demise of the financial institution he commanded. The bank was given a 20-year charter. The charter allowed it to be exclusively as the federal government’s financial agent. The bank held deposits, made transfers of federal funds between states, and dealt with any payments or receipts involving the federal government. It also issued banknotes, or paper currency. “The present corporate body, denominated the president, directors, and company of the Bank of the United States, will have existed at the time this act is intended to take effect twenty years,”(Primary Sources - The Bank War). Andrew Jackson believed that the bank dominates over the president and the government for as long as the charter is in act. In January 1832, Biddle's supporters in Congress, principally Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, introduced Bank recharter legislation. Even though the charter was not due to expire for four more years, they felt that the current Congress would recharter the Bank. They felt that Jackson would not risk losing votes in Pennsylvania and other commercial states by vetoing it. Jackson reacted by saying to his vice-president, Martin Van Buren, "The Bank is trying to kill me, Sir, but I shall kill it!" The funds were then moved to the state’s banks, these banks used the funds to offer easy