The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

262 Chapter 9 Jacksonian Democracy

approach economic problems from a broadly national
perspective also joined in large numbers. Those who
found the coarseness and “pushiness” of the Jacksonians
offensive were another element in the new party. The
anti-intellectual and antiscientific bias of the administra-
tion (Jackson rejected proposals for a national university,
an observatory, and a scientific and literary institute)
drove many ministers, lawyers, doctors, and other well-
educated people into the Whig fold.
The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson was no
doubt thinking of these types when he described the
Whigs as “the enterprizing, intelligent, well-meaning
& wealthy part of the people,” but Whig arguments
also appealed to ordinary voters who were predis-
posed to favor strong governments that would check
the “excesses” of unrestricted individualism.
The Whigs were slow to develop effective party
organization. They had too many generals and not
enough troops. The issues that defined the Whigs var-
ied from one state to another. For the most part, the
sole unifying principle was opposition to Jackson.
Furthermore, they stood in conflict with the major
trend of the age: the glorification of the common man.
Lacking a dominant leader in 1836, the Whigs
relied on “favorite sons,” hoping to throw the presi-
dential election into the House of Representatives.
Daniel Webster ran in New England. For the West and
South, Hugh Lawson White of Tennessee, a former
friend who had broken with Jackson, was counted on
to carry the fight. General William Henry Harrison
was supposed to win in the Northwest and to draw
support everywhere from those who liked to vote for
military heroes. This sorry strategy failed; Jackson’s
handpicked candidate, Martin Van Buren, won a
majority of both the popular and the electoral votes.

Martin Van Buren: Jacksonianism without Jackson

Van Buren’s brilliance as a political manipulator—
the Red Fox, the Little Magician—has tended to
obscure his statesmanlike qualities and his engaging

personality. He made a powerful argument, for

example, that political parties were a force for unity,

not for partisan bickering. In addition, high office

sobered him, and improved his judgment. He

fought the Bank of the United States as a monopoly,

but he also opposed irresponsible state banks. New

York’s Safety Fund System (requiring all banks to

contribute to a fund) supervised by the state (to be

used to redeem the notes of any member bank that

failed) was established largely through his efforts.

Van Buren believed in public construction of inter-

nal improvements, but he favored state rather than

national programs, and he urged a rational

approach: Each project must stand on its own as a

useful and profitable public utility.

He continued to equivocate spectacularly on the

tariff—in hisAutobiographyhe described two of his

supporters walking home after listening to him talk on

the tariff, each convinced that it had been a brilliant

speech, but neither having obtained the slightest idea as

to where Van Buren stood on the subject—but he was

never in the pocket of any special interest group or tar-

iff lobbyist. He accounted himself a good Jeffersonian,

tending to prefer state action to federal, but he was by

no means doctrinaire. Basically he approached most

questions rationally and pragmatically.

Van Buren had outmaneuvered Calhoun easily in

the struggle to succeed Jackson, winning the old hero’s

confidence and serving him well. In 1832 he was elected

vice president and thereafter was conceded to be the

“heir apparent.” In 1835 the Democratic National

Convention unanimously nominated him for president.

Van Buren took office just as the Panic of 1837

struck the country. Its effects were frightening but

short-lived. When the banks stopped converting

paper money into gold and silver, they outraged con-

servatives but in effect eased the pressure on the

money market: Interest rates declined and business

loans again became relatively easy to obtain. In 1836,

at the height of the boom in land sales, Congress had

voted to “distribute” the new treasury surplus to the

states, and this flow of money, which the states

Table 9.1 Second American Party System: Democrats and Whigs, 1828–1850s

Democrats Whigs

Leaders Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, John

Calhoun, James Polk

Henry Clay, Daniel Webster

Key issue For: “the common man” Against: “King Andrew” (Jackson)

Bank of United States Oppose Favor

Federal support for internal improve-

ments (roads, canals)

Oppose Favor

Removal of Indians Favor Oppose

Tariffs Favor low Favor high

States’ rights vs. strong central government Endorse states’ rights Endorse strong federal government