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The Missouri Compromise
Ever since 1791-1792, when Vermont entered the Union as a free state and Kentucky entered as a slave state, politicians in Congress had attempted to preserve a sectional balance between the North and the South. Keeping a balance in the House of Representatives was difficult because population in the North was growing more rapidly than in the South. -
Election of 1812
A similar division of opinion was seen in the presidential
election of 1812, in which Democratic-Republican strength in the South and West overcame Federalist and anti war Democratic Republican opposition to war in the North. Madison won reelection, defeating De Witt Clinton of New York, the candidate of the Federalists and antiwar Democratic-Republicans. -
Jefferson's Presidency
During his first term, Jefferson attempted to win the allegiance and trust of Federalist opponents by maintaining the national bank and debt-repayment plan of Hamilton. In foreign policy, he carried on the neutrality policies of Washington and Adams. At the same time, Jefferson retained the loyalty of Democratic-Republican supporters by adhering to his party's guiding principle of limited central government. -
The Panic of 1819
In 1819, the Bank of the United States foreclosed on large amounts of western farmland. As a result of the bank panic and depression, nationalistic beliefs were shaken. In the West, the economic crisis changed many voters' political outlook. Westerners began calling for land reform and expressing strong opposition to both the national bank and debtors' prisons. -
Immigration
In 1820, about 8,000 immigrants arrived from Europe, but beginning in 1832, there was a sudden increase. After that year, the number of new arrivals never fell below 50,000 a year and in one year, 1854, climbed as high as 428,000. From
the 1830s through the 1850s, nearly 4 million people from northern Europe crossed the Atlantic to seek a new life in the United States. -
The Revolution of 1828
Adams sought reelection in 1828. But the Jacksonians were now ready to use the discontent of southerners and westerners and the new campaign tactics of party organization to sweep "Old Hickory" (Jackson) into office. Goingbeyond parades and barbecues, Jackson's party resorted to smearing the president and accusing Adams' wife of being born out of wedlock.