American Society Between 1820-1848 - Ap United States History

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The destruction of the National Bank was not the end of Jackson’s economic changes. While Secretary of the Treasury John Taney maintained Jackson’s pet banks, other state banks offered easy credit fueled by gold and silver from cotton trade with the English (Garraty, 253). This credit took the form of banknote. These banknotes primarily flowed into land speculation. Investors mortgaged their lands, then bought more land, and borrowed more money. This created an endless cycle of federal income, and had many supporters. Michael Chevalier argued that despite small losses, there is more to gain from speculation. However, Andrew Jackson, alarmed by the “speculation mania,” passed the Specie Circular in 1836. This forced land speculation to be payed for with gold and silver, halting speculation, and the banks. What followed was the Panic of 1837, a major depression, as well as serious economic swings. (Doc 3).

With the industrial revolution came a whole list of problems, one of the most prevalent is the treatment of factory workers. As manufacturing operations grew, they needed more workers, and more people moved to the city to get work. The factory system caused the entire social structure in the cities; families became smaller, raised fewer children, and women gained more power in the home. However, workers experienced very poor and oppressive conditions for very little money. When attacked over the issue of slavery and when the north wanted to introduce the protective tariff, the south used the conditions of domestic industry in retaliation. (Doc 5)

Politics made a huge leap forward in regards to the public’s involvement. First, in the election of 1824, the candidates included John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun and William Crawford. Given the dispute over the protective tariffs, the election was fought over personal issues. Before long, Calhoun withdrew from the election, and when the electoral votes resulted with no candidate possessing the majority, the election went to the House of Representatives. Jackson however, possessed the most votes. Using his own power as speaker of the house, Clay swayed the house to support Adams, and would become Adams’s Secretary of State. One of Clay’s motivations for this was that he did not want a fellow westerner earning the presidency and its resulting powers. Though both Adams and Clay denied any bargain, theses events would become what Jackson called the “corrupt bargain.” This would fuel Jackson’s 1828 campaign against Adams, ended the caucus system of choosing presidential candidates with the start of the two party system and inspired many of the principles of Jackson’s leadership (Nash 327). During the election, Jackson and Adams avoided the actual issues at hand, and instead their campaigns focused on destroying their competitor’s ethos. Regardless, the election resulted in four times the number of voters in 1824 and this number would only increase in elections moving forward. Also, the election of 1828 marked the beginning of Democrat’s long line of presidents. The undemocratic nature of the 1824 election also ended. (Doc 6)

As the industrial revolution came to an end another era began, the Reform Era. Inspired by the evangelist beliefs of the Second Great Awakening, the Reform Era sought to improve various social institutions. Some reform groups were religious and formed isolated communities. Others however, less drastic were focused on reforming education, and medicine. One of the largest reform movements however was the fight for women’s rights. The women’s rights movement found its origin with the abolitionists. When female abolitionists such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, were not allowed to speak at conventions, they turned their sights towards their own rights. They organized the the Seneca Falls Convention in July 1848, and over time the convention gained more and more followers. At the Seneca Falls Convention, the Stanton, Mott, and many others created the Declaration of Sentiments. It was a copy of the Declaration of Independence, but this document was written to include women as equals to men (Doc 7).

Looking at the time period between 1820 and 1848, America was going through a period of national growth. First, the nation’s politics were turned on their head as politician parties disolved into power struggle between the north and south. Also the industrial revolution took grip of the nation resulting in major economic and social changes. The rise ofAndrew Jackson started the nation on its path to becoming a democratic nation. His actions would revitalize the presidential election, and establish the Democratic Party. However, his actions would also lead to the destruction of the bank with major economic consequences. Consequence that would continue long after his presidency up to the Panic of 1837. Finally, society began to want to maje a change in American Society, they began reforms over various issues, especially women’s rights.

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