Struggle for National Government

The bulk of the early westward migration was of home produc tion ; the great immigration from Europe did not begin until about 1847. The West as well as the East thus had its institutions fixed before being called upon to absorb an enormous foreign element.

Industrial Development and Sectional Divergence, 1829-50.—The years 1829-37 have been called "the reign of An drew Jackson"; his popularity, long struggle for the presidency, and his feeling of his official ownership of the subordinate offices gave to his administration at least an appearance of Caesarism. But it was a strictly constitutional Caesarism; the restraints of written law were never violated, though the methods adopted within the law were new to national politics. Since about a800 State politics in New York and Pennsylvania had been noted for the systematic political use of the offices. The presence of New York and Pennsylvania politicians in Jackson's cabinet taught him to use the same system. Removals, except for cause, had been relatively rare before ; but under Jackson men were removed almost exclusively for party purposes and a clean sweep was made in the civil service. Other parties adopted the system, and it remained the rule at a change of administration until near the end of the century.

Parties.

The system brought with it a semi-military reorgani zation of parties. Hitherto nominations for the more important offices had been made mainly by legislative caucuses; candidates for president and vice-president were nominated by caucuses of congressmen, and candidates for the higher State offices by cau cuses of the State legislatures. Late in the preceding period "con ventions" of delegates from the members of the party in the State were held in New York and Pennsylvania; and in 1831-32 this be came the rule for presidential nominations. It rapidly developed into systematic State, county and city "conventions"; and the re sult was the appearance of that complete political machinery, the American political party. The Democratic machinery was the first to appear, in Jackson's second term (1833-37). Its workers were paid in offices, or hopes of office, so that it was said to be built on the "cohesive power of public plunder"; but its success was im mediate and brilliant. The opposing party, the Whig Party, had no chance of victory in 1836; and its complete overthrow drove its leaders into the organization of a similar machinery of their own, which scored its first success in 1840.

Bank of the U.S.

The Bank of the United States had hardly been heard of in politics until the new Democratic organization came into hostile contact with it. A semi-official demand upon it for a political appointment was met by a refusal; and the party managers called Jackson's attention to an institution which he could not but dislike the more he considered it. His first message spoke of it in unfriendly terms, and every succeeding message brought a more open attack. The old party of Adams and Clay

had by this time taken the name of Whigs, probably from the no tion that they were struggling against "the reign of Andrew Jack son," and they adopted the cause of the bank with eagerness. The bank charter did not expire until 1836, but in 1832 Clay brought up a bill for a new charter. It was passed and vetoed; and the Whigs made the veto an important issue of the presidential elec tion of that year. They were beaten; Jackson was re-elected, re ceiving 219 electoral votes, and Clay, his Whig opponent, only 49, and the bank party could never again get a majority in the House of Representatives. But the President could not obtain a majority in the Senate. He determined to take a step which would give him an initiative, and which his opponents could not induce both houses to unite in overriding or punishing. Taking advantage of the provision that the secretary of the Treasury might order the public funds to be deposited elsewhere than in the bank or its branches, he directed the secretary to deposit all the public funds elsewhere. Thus deprived of its great source of dividends, the bank fell into difficulties, became a State bank after 2836, and then went into bankruptcy.

All the political conflicts of Jackson's terms of office were close and bitter. Loose in his ideas before 1829, Jackson showed a steady tendency to adopt the strictest construction of the powers of the Federal Government, except in such official perquisites as the offices. He grew into strong opposition to all traces of the "American system," and vetoed bills for internal improvements unsparingly; his feeling of dislike to all forms of protection is as evident, though he took more care not to make it too public. Nullification. Calhoun and Jackson.—Calhoun and Jack son were of the same stock—Scottish-Irish—much alike in appear ance and characteristics, Calhoun representing the trained and educated logic of the race, Jackson its instincts and passions. Jackson was led to break off his friendly relations with Calhoun in 183o, and he had been led to do so more easily because of the ap pearance of the doctrine of nullification which was generally attrib uted, correctly enough, to Calhoun. Asserting, as the Republican Party of 1798 had done, the sovereign powers of each State, Cal houn held that, as a means of avoiding secession and violent strug gle upon every occasion of the passage of an act of Congress which should seem unconstitutional to any State, the State might prop erly suspend or "nullify" the operation of the law within its juris diction. The passage of the tariff act of 1832, which organized and systematized the protective system, forced his party into action. A State convention in South Carolina on Nov. 24, 1832, declared the tariff act null, and made ready to enforce the declaration.