In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was passed. This made it so that Missouri would become a slave state, Michigan a free state, and any state south of the southern Missouri border would become a slave state. It was passed because the Southerners felt that the North would have more control of Congress if this wasn't passed. In the same year, there was the election with no competition. The Election of 1820 had 2 Democratic-Republicans running. They were John Quincy Adams and James Monroe. It was made so that James Monroe would win but not completely. This would make it so that Washington was the only President to win unanimously. The Adams-Onis treaty offered Spain $5 million for Florida. The United States gains Florida and Spain got part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1823, a document called the Monroe Doctrine was written by John Quincy Adams. The Monroe Doctrine stated that European countries could not interfere with the Western Hemisphere's political affairs.
The election of 1824 was very controversial. All four candidates, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, and Henry Clay, were from the Democratic - Republican Party. Although Andrew Jackson received the most electoral votes, he didn't get enough required to win the election. The decision went to the House of Representatives to vote on. Henry Clay, the head of the House of Representatives, convinced the House to vote for John Quincy Adams. In return for this, Adams promised the position of Secretary of State to Clay. This deal went through and was referred to as the Corrupt Bargain.
In 1828, the Tariff of 1828, later called the Tariff of Abominations, was passed. The North was protected by this tariff while the South suffered. This was the start of the Nullification Crisis. During this time period John C. Calhoun secretly wrote the South Carolina Exposition. The Election of 1828 now comes up. John Quincy Adams ran for the National Republican party and Jackson ran for the Democratic Party. Jackson won, and this begins a new era of Democracy, called Jacksonian Democracy. He called is victory the Revolution of 1828 because it was a shifting of power from the east to the west. The Webster-Hayne debate started out as a debate over the sale of western lands, and was eventually turned around by Daniel Webster into a debate over nullification. He said how it would break up the Union, and lead to secession and civil war.
South Carolina became very upset over the Tariff of 1828. They held two votes over the issue of nullifying it. Both times it was nullified, and in lieu of this the federal government passes the Tariff of 1832. South Carolina was still upset of this tariff and they nullified this tariff also. Henry Clay made the Compromise Tariff of 1833, which avoids civil war. Clay also convinces Congress to pass the Force Bill. This bill stated that the President could use the military to enforce tariffs.
The issue of rechartering the Bank of the United States came up in 1832. Henry Clay had a plan that would cause Jackson to lose the election of 1832 and make him win. He believed that if Jackson vetoed the BUS, he would lose support in the North, and if he signed it, he would lose support in the South. Just before the Election of 1832, Jackson vetoed the BUS. In the Election of 1832, Jackson ran for the Democrats, Clay ran for the National Republicans with John Floyd, and William Wirt ran for the Anti-Masonic Party. Jackson wins the election and the BUS dies out by 1836. During, Jackson's second term, he sent the Native Americans within the American borders west to current day Oklahoma, by passing the Indian Removal Act. Over 100,000 Indians were moved.
In the Election of 1836, a new party formed, the Whigs. They mainly formed out of the hatred of Andrew Jackson. The Whigs ran William Henry Harrison, a war hero from the War of 1812. For the Democrats, Martin Van Buren ran. Van Buren wins the election. The country went into a panic and they were in a recession. Van Buren was a lame duck president and did not do much to any cause and did not do anything about the antislavery movement.
The Election of 1840 again ran William Henry Harrison as the candidate and Van Buren also ran again. Harrison finally won the election but died a month later. John Tyler then took over the presidency and became the first “accidental president”. Tyler was thrown out of his party and wasn't really affiliated. There were border disputes between Canada and the United States in the Oregon and Maine Territories. Fights between lumberjacks in Maine made the Aroostook War. Britain and the United States settled for a joint occupation in the Oregon and Maine Territories. Then the acquisition of Florida allowed many Americans the chance to move west to the land given by Spain. Americans and their slaves moved into the Mexican lands, and as a result the Mexican government grew angry. Texas then stole the Mexican land and created their own independent nation. In response, the Mexican army attacked the people of Texas and killed them. The Texas-Americans found an obscure situation which allowed them to take total control over the area. Tyler later annexed Texas.
