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Whigs
They became the Whig party during Jackson's second term. John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay guided this party in the 1830s. Believed that the national government should advocate economic development. -
Election of 1832
Jackson, a strong defender of states' rights and Unionism won the presidency. The National Republicans ran Henry Clay whose platform consisted of his American System. The Anti-Masonic Party ran William Wirt who received 7 electoral votes. -
Bank War
Some disputed its constitutionality. Jackson tried to destroy the Bank by vetoing a bill to recharter the Bank. He removed the federal government's deposits from the Bank and put them into various state and local banks or "pet banks." -
Pet Banks
Pet banks is a pejorative term for state banks selected by the U.S. Department of Treasury to receive surplus government funds in 1833. -
Specie Circular
The Specie Circular (Coinage Act) was an executive order issued by U.S. President Andrew Jackson in 1836 and carried out by succeeding President Martin Van Buren. It required payment for government land to be in gold and silver. -
Panic of 1837
Was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices and wages went down while unemployment went up. The panic had both domestic and foreign origins. Speculative lending practices in western states, a sharp decline in cotton prices, a collapsing land bubble, international specie flows, and restrictive lending policies in Great Britain were all to blame