Lesson 2: Political Conflict and Economic Crisis

Key Idea

High federal taxes on imported goods, called tariffs, angered many Southerners. South Carolina was especially furious, arguing the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unfairly helped Northern factories while hurting the Southern economy.

In response, South Carolina passed an ordinance of nullification. This declared the federal tariffs illegal and not binding on the state. The state argued it had the right to reject a federal law it deemed unconstitutional.

Key Idea

Previously, small groups of party leaders chose presidential candidates in private meetings called caucuses. Many Americans criticized this system because it excluded ordinary citizens from the decision-making process.

During the Jacksonian era, this system changed. Political parties began holding large national nominating conventions. At these meetings, delegates from all the states gathered to select the party's candidates, giving more people a voice in national politics. This new method reflected the era's growing democratic spirit.

Key Idea

In 1832, Henry Clay and other opponents attempted to use the Second Bank of the United States to derail Andrew Jackson’s reelection. They pushed a bill through Congress to renew the Bank’s charter early, hoping a veto would cost Jackson popular support.

Jackson did veto the bill, but he successfully framed the Bank as a corrupt institution of privilege that favored the wealthy over the "common man" (the ordinary, non-elite citizens like farmers and laborers).

Key Idea

After Andrew Jackson closed the Second Bank of the United States, the economy grew unstable. Without the national bank's oversight, smaller state banks made risky loans that created a fragile economic situation.

This situation collapsed into the Panic of 1837, a severe depression that began just as Martin Van Buren became president. Banks failed, businesses closed, and many people lost their jobs and savings. Americans blamed Van Buren and his party for the economic crisis, which came to define his presidency.