Andrew Jackson

A

Inauguration

Thousands of people thronged the capital for the inauguration. Some came seeking jobs and favors; most came to cheer their president. In his inaugural message, Jackson said:

After the speech the crowd swarmed into the White House (the presidential mansion) for a reception. They mixed freely with government officials, broke china and glass, and roamed through the mansion as if it were their own home. Jackson had to flee through a rear door, and the crowd left only when the refreshments were placed on the lawn outside. Justice Joseph Story, an Adams supporter, noted later that “the reign of King Mob seemed triumphant.” However, a Jacksonian newspaper reported that “it was a proud day for the people. General Jackson is their own President.”

B

Cabinet

Jackson rewarded his political supporters with Cabinet positions. Martin Van Buren of New York became secretary of state, and Senator Eaton of the Nashville Junto became secretary of war. Three backers of Vice President Calhoun were also given Cabinet posts. Senator John Branch of North Carolina was named secretary of the navy; Senator John M. Berrien of Georgia, attorney general; and Samuel D. Ingham of Pennsylvania, secretary of the treasury. John McLean was retained as postmaster general and given Cabinet rank. However, after four days he was appointed to the Supreme Court, and William T. Barry of Kentucky was appointed in his place.

Jackson relied less on his official Cabinet in forming policy than he did on a group of close friends who became known as the Kitchen Cabinet. Van Buren was the only Cabinet officer who belonged to the informal group. Others included editors and journalists of influential pro-Jackson newspapers.

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C

Rotation in Office

The custom of rewarding political supporters with public office had existed since the founding of the republic. Jackson was more open in his use of the system and, in fact, made it a policy of his administration. Besides providing jobs for friends and supporters, Jackson used it to prevent the growth of an entrenched bureaucracy. He replaced a number of political veterans with younger men who approved of his policies. However, this “rotation in office,” as Jackson called it, affected only about 20 percent of the government employees.

Most of Jackson’s appointees were competent and honest. An outstanding exception was Samuel Swartwout, a loyal Jacksonian who was appointed New York collector of customs. Within a few months of his appointment, Swartwout had appropriated more than a million dollars of public funds. Rotation in office gained a far more sinister name in 1832, when Senator William L. Marcy of New York defended the rule that “to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.” Henceforth rotation in office was called the spoils system.

D

Van Buren-Calhoun Rivalry

Both Martin Van Buren and Vice President Calhoun wanted to succeed Jackson as president. The conflict between them crystallized over Margaret (Peggy O’Neill) Eaton, the wife of Senator Eaton. Peggy was the daughter of a popular Washington innkeeper, with whom Eaton and Jackson had boarded on earlier trips to Washington. At that time, Peggy was married to a naval officer, John B. Timberlake. The gossip of Washington was that her relationship with Eaton had begun before Timberlake died in 1828. After his death, she and Eaton were quickly married.

The Cabinet members’ wives, led by Mrs. Calhoun, snubbed Mrs. Eaton in society. Jackson, who himself had once been the victim of gossip, defended Mrs. Eaton’s reputation. However, of the entire Cabinet only Martin Van Buren came to the Eatons’ defense.

Jackson and Calhoun also disagreed on the legality of state nullification of federal laws. In his 1828 essay called South Carolina Exposition and Protest, Calhoun had stated his belief that the 1828 Tariff of Abominations, which placed high import taxes on both manufactured goods and raw materials, was unconstitutional. He also affirmed the doctrine of nullification, which said that a state had the right to nullify any federal legislation it deemed oppressive. In 1830 Robert Hayne of South Carolina defended nullification in a famous Senate debate with Daniel Webster of Massachusetts.

The entire nation waited expectantly for President Jackson to take a stand for or against nullification. The Southerners, confident of Jackson’s views on states’ rights, invited him to a Jefferson’s birthday dinner. This gave Jackson the opportunity to take a public stand. He did. Looking directly at Calhoun, he proposed the toast “Our Federal Union! It must be preserved!” Calhoun’s reply was: “The Union, next to our liberty, most dear.”

E

Cabinet Reorganization

The rift with Calhoun became complete when the Kitchen Cabinet told Jackson that Calhoun, as secretary of war in 1818, had favored his arrest for his activities in Florida. Van Buren, whose political shrewdness had earned him the nickname “Little Magician,” helped work out a scheme to end Calhoun’s influence in the administration. First, Van Buren and Eaton resigned from the Cabinet in 1831. This gave the president an excuse to ask the rest of the Cabinet to resign for purposes of reorganization. Once the Calhoun men, Ingham, Branch, and Berrien, were gone, Jackson named a new Cabinet composed entirely of his own supporters.