Why was the election of 1844 notable?

Answer 1

The Jackson people, who became the Democratic party, were well organized for the election of 1828. The Democrats appealed to sectional self-interest and pioneered the art of making politics exciting to the average man, but the greatest asset the Democrats had was Jackson himself. Rigid and forceful, Jackson was accepted as a true man of the people, and he defeated Adams easily, especially in the slave holding states. Jackson's triumph was a personal one; he stood on no political platform. As President, he democratized the office by firing at will whatever officeholders he did not like, defending the practice by asserting the right of all men to a government post(*).

Jackson inherited the Indian removal policy from previous administrations but carried it to its harshest conclusion. He urged Congress to speed up the relocation of the Indians living east of the Mississippi, and when the Cherokees resisted, Jackson sent the army in 1830 to evict them from their homes and herd them over the Mississippi. Some 4,000 Cherokees died along that "Trail of Tears."

One of the first major controversies between federal authority and states'' rights came when South Carolina objected to the high tariff of 1828. When in 1832 a new tariff was passed, South Carolina, still unhappy with the rates, nullified it. Jackson responded by threatening to send the army into South Carolina. Both sides eventually retreated; South Carolina got a lower tariff, but Jackson had demonstrated the will of the federal government to rule the states, by force if necessary.

One of the most important actions taken by Jackson was his destruction of the Bank of the United States. "The Bank War" was a symbolic defense of democratic values and led to two important results, economic disruption and a two-party system. Although the Bank of the United States contributed to the economic growth and stability of the United States, it had never been very popular. In a democratic era, it was open to charges of giving special privileges to a few. Its manager, Nicholas Biddle, was a competent man who looked and behaved like an aristocrat. Also, in an era of rising democracy, the Bank possessed great power and privilege without accountability to the public. Jackson came into office suspecting the Bank of the United States and made vague threats against it. Biddle overreacted and asked Congress to recharter the Bank in 1832, four years before the old charter was due to expire. Henry Clay took up the Bank's cause, hoping that congressional approval of the Bank would embarrass Jackson. When Congress passed the new charter, Jackson vetoed it on the grounds that the Bank was unconstitutional, despite a Supreme Court decision to the contrary. Jackson claimed he vetoed the Bank charter because it violated equality of opportunity and Congress upheld the veto.

Jackson showed his opponents no mercy and proceeded to destroy the Bank by withdrawing the government's money and depositing it into selected state banks (the "pet banks"). Jacskon lost support in Congress, especially in the Senate, where fears of a Dictatorship began to emerge.

The Democratic party was also weakened by the defection of working-class spokesmen who criticized Jackson for not destroying all banks. Furthermore, Jackson's financial policies led to a runaway inflation, followed by an abrupt depression.

* Meacham, J. 2009. Andrew Jackson, American Lion in the White House. Random House, NY:NY

Answer 2

The Election of 1824 clearly showed that the "era of good feelings" had come to an end. All the candidates were Democratic-Republicans, but personal and sectional interests outweighed political orthodoxy. The Twelfth Amendment adopted in 1804 following the disputed Election of 1800 provided that elections in which no candidate received a majority should be decided by the House of Representatives from among the top three candidates. Clay was out of contention and Crawford was an unlikely prospect because of a serious illness.

Answer 3

The presidential election of 1844, which had controversial issues of free-soil versus slave-soil, the annexation of Texas, and the US/Britain Oregon territory boundary dispute, held special significance in two ways. It was the last presidential election where the election was held on different days in different states, and it was the only election where the winner lost in both his state of birth as well as his state of residence.

Answer 4

The election of 1800 is important because it created the 12 amendment and replaced Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the U.S constitution. Under the Twelfth Amendment, each elector must cast distinct votes for President and Vice President, instead of two votes for President.

Answer 5

The election of 1800 was a true change in philosophy of government. It is sometimes called the revolution of 1800. John Adams had continued the efforts of Washington to establish a strong federal government and seemed more worried than Washington about seditious people would undermine its power. He got congress to give him power to suppress criticism of the federal government. Jefferson, who was elected in 1800, was more concerned with personal freedom and states rights than in maintaining the power of the federal government. The hated alien and sedition act was promptly allowed to expire.

Answer 6

It was the most controversial election in American History, later quoted by Washington, "the Corrupt Bargain."

Answer 7

The election of 1844 was notable because of the amount of abolitionists and their opposition of slavery. This caused slavery to a major issue in politics.

Answer 8

It exposed one of the flaws in the original Constitution.