Essay About Andrew Jackson And Henry Clay

Jacksons Presidency
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After the War of 1812 was over a major battle in New Orleans occurred. This battle
should never have taken place, however this event made Andrew Jackson famous for an
astonishing victory over the British. In 1824 Jackson runs for president against John Quincy
Adams. The war hero, Jackson, clearly won the campaign by popular vote. But he did not
receive two thirds of the total electoral vote. Since Jackson and Adams were both so close in the
election the House of Representatives had to choose the top three candidates. Henry Clay was
the candidate which was left out, but, he was a speaker of the House and therefore had the power
to have the election won by his favorite candidate. Clay only saw Adams as a correct choice as
the new president. So Clay strikes up a deal with Adams, if Adams makes him the Secretary of
State Clay will make Adams president. As shady as this seems it was not illegal. This event was
the Corrupt Bargain of 1824. Adams won the election, but his presidency for the next four years
was a failure.
Andrew Jackson began his campaign for the election of 1828 right after Adams won in
1825. During the election of 1828 Jackson and Adams attack each others character and previous
wrong doings. Both sides had brought mudslinging to a new low. However Jackson became the
president during this election. Like most presidents before him, Jackson gave his friends jobs,
spoils system was in effect. Jackson defended the spoils system by saying people in office
should have the same ideas and thoughts so he Adams men had to go. Samuel Swartwout, one of
Jacksons cronies, was a risky person to put into office. Jackson still put him into office as a sort
of tax collector, Swartwout nine years later had stolen around 1 million dollars from the
government. Adams felt the pain from tariffs and now Jackson felt it. Jacksonites had tried to
pass a high tariff bill for Adams to deal with but the bill was not passed until 1828, and it landed
right on Jacksons lap. This tariff was known as The Tariff of Abominations and the south hated
it. South Carolinians took the lead in protesting against the tariff of 1828. In the same year John
C. Calhoun, the vice president, secretly wrote a pamphlet entitled The South Carolina
Exposition. The pamphlet stated that the tariff was unconstitutional. Also it purposed that the
states should nullify the tariff. A group of South Carolinians known as the “nullies” tried to get a
two thirds vote to rid the 1828 tariff, but then the tariff of 1832 is passed by Congress in
Washington, and the South still does not like this tariff. The tariff of 1832 pared away some of
the worst abominations of 1828, it was still protective and did not meet the southerners demands.
South Carolina has enough votes to get the tariff of 1832 null in void in their state, and even
threatens to leave the union if attempts to collect the customs duties by force are made. Jackson
was not scared and retaliates, the lines had been drawn. For a civil war to be avoided, one side
had to give up, or both had to compromise. Henry Clay comes up with a compromise bill which
Calhoun and the South favored, so Jackson did not need to resort to guns. At the same time
Congress passed the Force Bill, which authorized the president the use of army and navy to