Andrew Jackson's inauguration was perhaps one of the purest momentsof American democracy. As Jackson had run for president as a candidatefor the ordinary man, ordinary men from across the country traveledto Washington to see their candidate elected president. They crowdedthe capital unlike any inauguration before. Fifteen thousand watchedas Jackson received the oath of office, and then most observerscrammed into the White House to observe their house of government.Jackson, with the help of Revolutionary War veterans, had to fight his way through the crowd to get to his carriage after the ceremony.While he had originally planned to greet the well-wishers informally,the throngs grew too large and Jackson fled from the White Houseto Gadsby's Hotel, where he spent the night. The celebration lastedwell into the night at the White House, where Presidential servantshad to carry ice cream and tubs of wine onto the lawn to attractpeople out of the mansion.
When Jackson arrived at the trashed White House the next morning,he set about furthering his agenda. He selected Martin Van Burenas Secretary of State, Samuel D. Ingham as Treasury Secretary,John Eaton as head of the War Department, and John Branch as headof the Navy Department. With the exception of Van Buren, Jackson'scabinet officers were not, to put it mildly, first- ratelikelyan intentional move designed to ensure Jackson's dominance overhis advisors. Jackson also kept an unofficial group of advisors,nicknamed the "Kitchen Cabinet," composed of friends from Tennessee,newspaper editors, and other supporters.
Jackson set about dismantling the patronage system, asystem aptly summarized by one of its supporters as "to the victorgoes the spoils." Many government positions were appointed by thePresident or other public officials as a way to reward loyal partysupporters. Jackson believed that such a system opened up the governmentto "incompetent hands." The alternate system he supported, though, did not go so far as to grant tenure to civil service employeesasfuture Presidents wouldbut instead advocated rotation of the jobsso that no one person would hold a position forever. Unfortunately,despite the high promises Jackson made early on, he only replacednine percent of federal employees during his eight years as Presidentafigure that included retirements, deaths, and transfers.
In his first message to Congress, Jackson laid out anambitious set of goals: eliminating the national debt, rotatinggovernment jobs, evening out tariffs, removing Indians west ofthe Mississippi, and reforming the Second Bank of the United States.All seemed simple tasks on the surface but contained issues fraughtwith pitfalls. Jackson felt that eliminating the debt would allowthe government to distribute the budget surplus to the States andbolster businesses across the country. As for the tariff, Jacksonhad to walk delicately. The Tariff of 1828, passed by Jackson supporters,had divided the nation: Northerners felt tariffs were necessaryto protect their manufacturing, but Southerners saw them as anunfair subsidy to the North at the South's expense. Jackson, atthis point, was unwilling to weigh in one way or the other, and merely referred the issue to Congress for further study.
Perhaps the strangest element of Jackson's platform washis stance on Indian removal. Considering that his national famecame largely from his own Indian fighting, Jackson's desire tosave what remained of the Indian culture and move them west toa permanent area beyond the Mississippi struck many as strange.He claimed such a move would be voluntary he said, but would allowthe Indians to reestablish their nations out on the frontier.
The prime issue for Jackson remained the Second Bank ofthe United States, although he tried to bury it in his message,referring to it only for seventeen lines. Given Jackson's previousfinancial problems with credit, he distrusted banks and especiallydisliked the Second Bank's vast influence on financial policy eversince it helped start the Panic of 1819. The Bank's charter wouldhave to be renewed by Congress in 1836, and Jackson had seriousconcerns about the constitutionality of some of the provisionsin the charter.
Jackson's first major dispute revolved around the tariffissue. South Carolina, the home state of Jackson's vice president,John C. Calhoun, had adopted Calhoun's opinion that a state hadthe right under the Constitution to nullify a treaty or tariffmade by the federal government if the federal policy caused damageto that state. South Carolina had only resisted nullifying the tariff because state officials believed Jackson would remedy it. Othergreat minds of the period, however, disagreed with the interpretation:Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Hayne of South Carolinahad a heated debate about the subject on the Senate floor. Jackson believedin states' rights up to a point, but did not believe that states shouldjeopardize the Union. At a party to honor Thomas Jefferson's birthday,both sides stood ready. Looking straight at Calhoun, Jackson raiseda toast to "Our Federal Union, It Must be Preserved." Calhoun shotback a rambling toast to states' rights. The dispute proved to be the beginning of the end for the President and Vice President.
Jackson had long suspected that Calhoun had supportedthe drive in James Monroe's cabinet to censure Jackson for hisactions in Florida. However, he had never acted on his suspicionbecause he had needed Calhoun's support to win the White House.After his election, Jackson sent Calhoun a copy of a letter the Vice President had earlier written supporting the censure alongwith a note asking for an explanation. Calhoun responded with afifty-two-page letter that left no doubt in Jackson's mind thatCalhoun was a "villain."
As Vice President Calhoun had a habit of saying too muchand running his mouth, President Jackson figured Calhoun wouldeventually do something self-destructive himself. Indeed, it didnot take long. On February 17, 1831, Calhoun published a pamphletof the correspondence between the two men over Jackson's censureenragingDemocrats across the capital. Calhoun had publicly embarrassedthe President, the leader of the party, and in doing so, Calhoun signed his own political execution order. Jackson wanted to respondto the attack, but his advisors stopped him: let Calhoun hang outto dry.
Van Buren offered Jackson a way out: the Secretary wouldtender his resignation and Jackson would appoint Van Buren ministerto England, making it seem like a promotion. Eaton would also resign andJackson would ask everyone else to resign as well. Calhoun's supporterscould thus be removed from the Cabinet in one fell swoop. Eatonsubmitted his resignation first, Van Buren second, and then Jackson demanded the same from the rest of his Cabinet. Calhoun and hisfriends were gone from the Democratic Party, and Jackson couldturn his attention to more important matters.
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