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Chapter 13 : The Age of Jackson |
In the early 1800s, white males received the right to vote without restrictions based on wealth, religion, or property. During the same years, the nominating convention replaced the caucus as the most common method of choosing candidates for public office. These changes broadened American democracy. Women, African Americans and Native Americans, however, were still denied suffrage.
Democrat Andrew Jackson won the presidency in 1828 as the hero of the common people. He made wise use of the spoils system and fought the Bank of the United States. Debate over import tariffs brought conflict between the North and South. Led by John C. Calhoun, Southern members of Congress defended the idea of nullification. In 1832, when South Carolina threatened to secede, Jackson opposed the southern states' claims. He sided with the South, however, when he enforced the tragic removal of Native Americans from their homes in the East to reservations in the West.
Democratic Vice President Martin Van Buren easily won the presidency after Jackson's second term. Economic hard times and the Panic of 1837, however, decreased Van Buren's popularity. In 1840, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler swept into office. Vice President Tyler stepped into the presidency after Harrison's death.
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