New York University The Narrative of Nancy A Cherokee Woman Paper —1 What is the tone in Andrew Jackson’s “Presidential Message on Indian Removal (1829),”

New York University The Narrative of Nancy A Cherokee Woman Paper —1 What is the tone in Andrew Jackson’s “Presidential Message on Indian Removal (1829),” John Ross’s “Appeal of the Cherokee Nation” (1830), and Worcester v Georgia (1832)? What arguments stand out to you and why in each document? Taken together what can these documents tell you about Jacksonian America and the expansion of the U.S. to the West? 2 —According to TiyaMiles’ “Narrative of Nancy” how did Nancy identify, versus how did others try to fit her into a specific identification? How does this narrative make us think differently about the emergence of racial ideology, and the relationship between the U.S., Indigenous and enslaved peoples? Use at least 2 examples from Miles’ article. 3 —How does “Ain’tI a Woman” and the “Declaration of Sentiments” demonstrate that ideas about women and womanhood were race and class based? Connect to lecture and use at least 1 example from each of these assigned primary sources. Democracy in Jacksonian
America
Setting the Stage: The 1824 Election
? Throughout the election of 1824 the Missiouri Compromise created a mess- the nation was
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still deeply divided on the issue of slavery, especially after Compromise in 1820.
John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, had been Secretary of State under Monroe and he
was not from a slave state. He was the only non-slave owning option for the presidency in
1824. As Secretary of State he essentially created the Monroe Doctrine- which established
American dominance over the western hemisphere. He was supposed to be the heir of
Monroe and Big Government Republicans. He was the darling of people who wanted a big
army and a big transportation system.
John C Calhoun campaigned for Adams as a big supporter. However, he was convinced
Adams couldn’t win in Pennsylvania, but he believed that he could and that Adams could be
his Vice President so he ran on his own behalf.
So John C Calhoun entered the Presidential race- Pennsylvania was moving away from slavery
and the Quaker influence was growing stronger.
But William Crawford (small government Republican) was the darling of Pennsylvania. He
had been secretary of treasury under Monroe. He had cut back the national budget and cut
the army in half and he was in favor of cutting government spending and lowering taxes with
the financial upheaval after the Panic in 1819. So he was very powerful and popular in
Washington. He was a slave owner from Alabama and a strong candidate from the South.
Henry Clay didn’t stand a chance but he was a shrewd politician from the West. He was not
well known nationally but he was good at manipulating politics and congress. So his whole
campaign was based on denying any candidate an electoral majority so that the election could
be thrown into the House- he thought he could win if the House decided the election.
Enter: Andrew Jackson
? In Tennessee they accidentally “let genie out of the bottle”-
Big government republicans worried that Crawford would
carry Tennessee; People who wanted Adams (Nationalists
Republicans) turned to Andrew Jackson thinking that maybe
he could run in Tennessee and deny it to Crawford.
? And Andrew Jackson didn’t like the Nationalists very muchHe didn’t like the Bank of US and came to despise John Q
Adams later. Jackson Hated banks/taxes and liked simplistic
situations.
? Jackson also hated William Crawford for cutting the Army in
half because Jackson got forced into retirement and as a result
he lost his position as co commander of the Tennessee Militia
and lost his commission. So Jackson’s followers would be
Crawford supporters until Jackson entered the race.
? Jackson was not from the gentry of American leaders and had
no experience compared to the people he ran against but he
decided to run anyway even though he was a political novice
and unknown. No one counted on Jackson’s personal
popularity and all candidates were caught off guard
1824 Election Results
? Calhoun was the first to feel the heat and decided to vote for Jackson to be his VP- Various
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committees decided who would be the VP- Calhoun took himself out of Presidential race
and began to campaign to be the Vice President.
Crawford was finding that he could make little headway against Jackson’s popularity as wellJackson was a king among the common people. Most states did have popular elections but
there were 4 states where state legislators chose the president and Crawford was hoping to
pull ahead with those votes.
So the Election of 1824 turned into a complete mess- Crawford was supposed to win easily
but couldn’t find support from northerners. When votes were all counted Jackson had won
99 electoral votes; Adams won 84; Crawford won 41 (picked up state house of New York);
And Clay won 37
Jackson took 151,271 in popular vote; Adams took 2nd with 113,122; Crawford picked up
40,856; Clay got 47,531 (but Clay got what he wanted to get- election was thrown to house of
representatives).
When no candidate collected the majority of electoral votes (131) then the House had to
decide out of the top 3- they eliminated Henry Clay first and then decided between
Crawford, Adams, and Jackson.
Jackson won the popular vote and more electoral votes than others, but not the majority. So
it seemed like Jackson would win- since he carried 11 states versus Adams’ 7; Now in the 3
states Clay won (Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri) Jackson took 2nd – so since Clay dropped out
Jackson should have won election.
Clay was a strong nationalist republican and afraid that Jackson was the Napoleon of the
back woods and Clay threw his support behind John Q Adams and his friends did too.
1824 Election Map
The Corrupt Bargain, 1824
? John Q Adams was chosen to be president in 1824 and as soon
as he took office the first thing he did was appoint Henry Clay
to be Secretary of State. It’s never been proven, and both
Adams and Clay denied it, but it became known as the
Corrupt Bargain.
? Jackson and his supporters would always claim that Adams
gave Clay Secretary of State in exchange for his electoral
votes. And just like it is today, the position of Secretary of
State was considered a stepping stone to the Presidency.
? John C Calhoun who had flipped flopped all over won the
Vice Presidency.
? And Andrew Jackson was left on the outside looking in, and
he was convinced that the election was stolen from him.
But who was Andrew Jackson? And how did
his life experience influence his career?
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Born March 15 1767
His father was also Andrew Jackson, but he was killed before Jackson was born (his mother was 7 months pregnant when
Andrew Jackson, Senior was killed); His mother was Elizabeth Jackson – Both parents were Scott-Irish
Jackson never knew his father but when he got older he would tell people he died in the war against poverty and want but he
really died chopping down a tree when Elizabeth was pregnant with Andrew
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Jackson would recall that his father: “died like a hero in battle fighting for his wife and babes…”
Andrew was named after his father and Elizabeth moved in with her brother who lived 12 miles away from where the Jacksons
were trying to build their farm; Elizabeth’s brother was fairly wealthy but young Andrew moved into the family and became
the youngest of 11 children in the household ( 3rd child for Elizabeth). Jackson’s Mother always hoped he would go into the
ministry and become a minister because it was a way out of poverty for back country folk.
So Andrew learned how to read and write but not very well- even after he took the Presidency his grammar, spelling, and
sentence construction was very poor – but he had people proof his writing, speeches, and legislation.
Jackson never developed a love of reading, he was not contemplative, and didn’t like deep ideas.
He had a lot of child hood problems- he had a skin condition known as “the big itch” and he was small and thin. His uncle was
fairly wealthy but because his father was dead he had to rely on his uncle for food/shelter. And Jackson had a tendency to drool
when he spoke, which eventually went away, but he was made fun of for slobbering when talking.
And Jackson had a lot of anger built up and rage management issues- he was sensitive to criticism and would take offense at
any insult no matter how slight.
When he was 8 the revolution broke out (1775); By 1781 the Revolution was in South Carolina and one of Jackson’s older
brothers dies of heat exposure. Andrew and his brother Robert were arrested by British forces- both of them would get really
sick- Robert died of a fever. Andrew was rescued from a British prison camp by his mother but she too died of cholera. By 14
his mother, father, and brothers had all died and he was the only survivor
Eventually Jackson essentially became the attorney general in Nashville- it wasn’t hard to become an attorney in the early 19th
century- you just found an attorney that would agree to let you apprentice, and when they finally felt you were ready you were
a lawyer
Rachel Donelson Jackson
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While in Nashville he lived at the home of a widow- Rachel Donelson and she was fairly well off. Her husband had been a
land speculator, who was killed in 1785. So Widow Donelson took on bachelor boarders into their large home for protection
against attacks from local Indians and for extra rent.
While Boarding with the Donelson’s he met a very good friend in 1788- John Overton (who became Jackson’s best friend and
close advisor- Overton was always Jackson’s 2nd whenever Jackson fought duels and Overton would later guide Jackson’s
political career. But when Jackson became president he burned all correspondence between them)- We can’t be completely
sure of the total relationship between them- but they shared a bed together at the Donelson’s.
Jackson felt some affinity for widow Rachel Donelson and she had 11 children and lots of grandchildren trying to make it on
her own (sort of like his mother). And Mrs. Donelson lived with her youngest daughter- who was also named Rachel
Donelson. She had flashing eyes and raven hair and Jackson was smitten by her but she was already married to Lewis
Robards and he was extremely jealous of her beauty and her flirting with boarders. Rachel and her husband were already
having serious problems in their marriage before Jackson.
Rachel flirted with Jackson and scandal brewed in Tennessee. Getting a divorce was a scandal in itself and hard to dorequired state investigation and everyone would find out. So Robards accused Jackson of having an affair with his wife.
Jackson asked him to duel and Robards refused. (A duel would have caused scandal too). Instead Robards decided to go to
Virginia to get a divorce in 1791.
As soon as Jackson learned of the divorce he rushed in to marry her right away- They were married in 1792 and she became
Rachel Jackson- he was 25 years old. Word came December 1793 that Robards had finally obtained divorce. It didn’t go
through when they thought it did- there was a delay.
And this affected her greatly so they hastily had another exchange of vows- She felt a great sense of shame and became
greatly religious. She was never able to get pregnant and she took it as a sign of divine retribution for bigamy.
Jackson tried to make things better and convinced her cousin to give a twin to Rachel to have a baby to raise on her own.
Andrew was not around much because he was pursuing his political career- trying to become a judge. And so she slid into
deep depression. Meanwhile Jackson had come to the attention of Nashville elites since the elder sons of the Donelson
family were wealthy speculators.
After the battle of Talladega during the War of 1812, Jackson found a 3 year old boy laying on the battlefield next to his dead
mother- Jackson scooped up boy and named him Lincoya and sent him home to Rachel to raise as her own – planned to turn
him into a gentlemen and send him to WestPoint. But Lincoya was difficult to raise- and he died in 1818 of a fever (about 8).
Rachel Jackson
Thruxton
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In Tennessee Jackson was made a circuit judge from 1798-1804 and he was making $600 a year- second highest post to governor and
Jackson had a reputation for being a very good judge.
In 1805 he managed to acquire race horse and named it Thruxton- and he dropped everything else to train the horse. He took
Truxton to Charleston, South Carolina and raced against the best horses in the country and Truxton was very successful winning a
lot of races.
But a horse named Greyhound also a successful horse – there was to be a race between Thruxton and Greyhound in 1805.
Jackson put down $5000 on Truxton to win. When Truxton won it made Jackson a permanent fortune and he would never again be
in debt.
Now Charles Dickinson was a young man in Tennessee- he was 26 years old (and known as the best shot in Tennessee). He had a
race horse that was supposed to run against Truxton in 1806 and Jackson brought Truxton to Dickinson’s track but at the last
minute Dickinson backed out of racing. This was not entirely uncommon but Jackson was upset because the pot wasn’t a lot- horse
owners earned money off of side bets. Then, Charles Dickinson took offense to Jackson’s complaints of him pulling out of the race.
Everyone knew Dickinson’s horse didn’t stand a chance against Thruxton, but Dickinson thought he could make a name for
himself by dueling and killing Jackson. So Dickinson got drunk and made cruel remarks about Rachel, and then he sobered up and
apologized. Jackson was 39 at the time and dispute dragged on for a few months and he even wrote to local newspapers about
issues with Dickinson. Dickinson’s people began making fun of Jackson and Jackson agreed to the duel.
May 30, 1806 north of Nashville Jackson and Overton rode out to appointed dueling grounds- Overton was trying to give him
advice but Jackson decided to give Dickinson first shot- So they lined up 24 feet apart and Jackson stood sidewise and wore a big
coat.
Dickinson shot and it hit Jackson in the ribs (the bullet remained there forever) – Dickinson tried to back up and Overton told him
he had to stay on line. Jackson’s gun didn’t go off initially- it was half-cocked and Jackson had to re-cock his gun. Jackson then shot
Dickinson right in stomach causing a slow, painful death.
Jackson stood over Dickinson and told him “I would have shot you if you had shot me in the brains”
The aftermath of the duel didn’t go well for Jackson. He saw it as private affair between 2 gentlemen but the rest of Nashville didn’t
see it that way- he had been a judge, he was older, and he was supposed to represent law and order. So Jackson became known as a
cold hearted killer and he didn’t understand why people were upset.
He would have been a local hero if he had stopped after his gun didn’t go off- Jackson’s honor would have been satisfied at that
point.
Image of the Dickinson Duel
So Now Back to the Election of 1828
? When 1828 rolled around people still talking about the Corrupt Bargain and
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Jackson and Adams only ones running- so Jackson crushed Adams and the
election very dirty
The Adams’ campaign spread rumors that Jackson’s mom was a prostitute and
that his father was an escaped slave.
Jackson’s campaign countered saying that Adams was a pimp who secured
hookers for congressmen and that’s how he got the Monroe Doctrine.
Then, the Adams’ campaign said Rachel was a bigamist and spread the rumor
that Jackson was a murderer! And this was all true, but completely accidental on
the part of the Adams’ campaign.
Jackson married wife before she was completely divorced and the Adams’
campaign accused her of many nasty things. The story goes that the day before
the election Rachel Jackson went shopping and she saw a poster promoting this
Anti-Jackson propaganda- and it shocked and terrified her psychologically
throwing her off. She died the same week that Jackson was elected
This caused Jackson to hate Adams with white hot hatred, and it caused severe
problems on a number of levels for the Jackson administration.
Crowd at First Inauguration,
(March 4, 1829)
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Jackson was America’s first “Frontier President” – the
first president who did not come from the nation’s
east-coast elite (including the wealthy Virginian
planter Presidents). His victory was seen as a
triumph for the common man and for democracy.
The celebration of his inauguration was massive.
Near the end of Jackson’s presidency he was given a
1400 pound wheel of cheese in 1835. Washingtonians
could allegedly smell the cheese from the White
House- one person described the cheese as “an evilsmelling horror,” for several blocks around the
White House.
Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren “had a hard
task to get rid of the smell of cheese, and in the room
where it was cut, he had to air the carpet for many
days; to take away the curtains and to paint and
white-wash before he could get the victory over it.
He has another cheese like that which General
Jackson had cut, and says he knows not what to do
with it. What a foolish thing for a man to have made
such a present to him or anyone else.” Van Buren
was also given about 700 pounds of cheese as a gift
for being Jackson’s Vice President. Needless to say, it
was exceedingly difficult to get rid of more than 2000
pounds of cheese and the accompanying smell that
lingered for years.
Van Buren eventually held a charity auction in 1839
to get rid of the last remnants of Jackson’s old dairy
holdings- a 700-pound wheel of cheddar.
Letter from Margaret Smith describing Jackson’s First Inauguration,
March 11, 1829
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“Ladies fainted, men were seen with bloody noses and such a scene of confusion took place as is impossible to describe.“
“Thursday morning. . . Thousands and thousands of people, without distinction of rank, collected in an immense mass round the
Capitol, silent, orderly and tranquil, with their eyes fixed on the front of that edifice, waiting the appearance of the President in the
portico. The door from the Rotunda opens, preceded by the marshals, surrounded by the Judges of the Supreme Court, the old man
with his grey locks, that crown of glory, advances, bows to the people, who greet him with a shout that rends the air, the Cannons,
from the heights around, from Alexandria and Fort Warburton proclaim the oath he has taken and the hills reverberate the sound.
It was grand, – it was sublime! An almost breathless silence, succeeded and the multitude was still, – listening to catch the sound of
his voice, tho’ it was so low, as to be heard only by those nearest to him. After reading his speech, the oath was administered to him
by the Chief Justice. The Marshal presented the Bible. The President took it from his hands, pressed his lips to it, laid it reverently
down, then bowed again to the people – Yes, to the people in all their majesty. . . The south side of the Capitol was literally alive
with the multitude, who stood ready to receive the hero and the multitude who attended him. . . When the speech was over, and
the President made his parting bow, the barrier that had separated the people from him was broken down and they rushed up the
steps all eager to shake hands with him. It was with difficulty he made his way through the Capitol and down the hill to the
gateway that opens on the avenue. Here for a moment he was stopped. The living mass was impenetrable. After a while a passage
was opened, and he mounted his horse which had been provided for his return (for he had walked to the Capitol) then such a
cortege as followed him! Country men, farmers, gentlemen, mounted and dismounted, boys, women and children, black and white.
Carriages, wagons and carts all pursuing him to the President’s house. . . . [W]e set off to the President’s House, but on a nearer
approach found an entrance impossible, the yard and avenue was compact with living matter.“
“But what a scene did we witness! The Majesty of the People had disappeared, and a rabble, a mob, of boys, negros [sic], women,
children, scrambling fighting, romping. What a pity what a pity! No arrangements had been made no police officers placed on duty
and the whole house had been inundated by the rabble mob. We came too late. The President, after having been literally nearly
pressed to death and almost suffocated and torn to pieces by the people in their eagerness to shake hands with Old Hickory, had
retreated through the back way or south front and had escaped to his lodgings at Gadsby’s. Cut glass and china to the amount of
several thousand dollars had been broken in the struggle to get the refreshments, punch and other articles ha…
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