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"THE SPOILS SYSTEM."

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istration of John Quincy Adams has not been surpassed. Jackson, however, believed not only that there was corruption among the office-holders, but that it was his duty to reward with offices those who had been active in his behalf. New as this system was in national politics, it was well known in some of the states, notably in New York.

222. "The Spoils System." (1829-1831.) - Previous to Jackson there had been, in all, 74 removals from office by the Presidents, most of them for substantial reasons. Of these removals Washington had made 9; John Adams, 10; Jefferson, 39; Madison, 5; Monroe, 9; J. Q. Adams, 2. Jackson made a clean sweep of all the offices worth anything; it being estimated that during his first year of office, including the changes made by subordinates, about 2000 appointments were made. Since his time the rule has been, to use the phrase of Marcy, then Senator from New York, "to the victors belong the spoils." A bill was passed in 1820 limiting the terms for which many office-holders were appointed to four years. This measure, designed to correct abuses which had crept into the service, brought about the far worse evil of rotation in office. Offices with a few proper exceptions had previously been held during good behavior. Daniel Webster clearly pointed out at the time the evils likely to follow such a method as that adopted in 1820. The Civil Service Bill passed in 1883 is the beginning of a return to the old ways. It is not just to lay all the responsibility of the "spoils system" upon Jackson, but he was the first President who distinctly made public office a reward for party services.

223. Jackson a Self-made Man; the "Kitchen Cabinet." (1829.) Jackson was the first President who was, in the fullest sense of the term, a self-made man. He was possessed

of an unflinching courage, an indomitable will, and wonderful perseverance. He had perfect confidence in his own powers and was regardless of consequences. His abilities were of no low order, and had he possessed opportunities for education and cultivation in his youth, his career would probably have been marked with fewer errors.

As it is, no figure in American history, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln, stands out with more marks of originality than that of Andrew Jackson. His personal manners, particularly towards women, were courteous and dignified, but his previous life had been spent mostly on the frontier, and he had been accustomed to a rough and ready way of deciding matters. In his boyhood during the Revolutionary War, he had been taken prisoner by the British and had been wounded by an officer whose boots, it is said, he had refused to blacken. Before he was thirty-two he had been country storekeeper, lawyer, district attorney, judge, congressman, and senator. Jefferson, who as Vice-President presided over the Senate, relates that in that body Jackson "could never speak on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen him attempt it repeatedly, and as often choke with rage."

It is not surprising that with such a preparation there was a great difference between Jackson's administration and former ones. His first Cabinet, as might have been expected, was weak, Van Buren, Secretary of State, being the only really able man in it. Jackson did not, however, rely upon his Cabinet for advice, but rather on a few of his special favorites, some of whom held positions in the departments. It was not long before it was found that the way to the President's good will lay through these men, and in consequence of their subordinate positions and their influence, they were called the "Kitchen Cabinet."

CALHOUN PROPOSES NULLIFICATION.

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224. The United States Bank. (1816–1832.) — The Bank of the United States had been up to 1829 a non-political institution, its directors giving their attention strictly to the legitimate business of such a corporation, but in the new state of things it was hardly possible to avoid some conflict with the President. It soon came, over an appointment in one of the branches of the Bank. Jackson, though at first he does not seem to have had any special feeling against the institution, became its most determined enemy. Chartered in 1816 for twenty years, in 1832 the directors resolved to ask Congress for a renewal of the charter, though it was four years before the old one expired. Congress after prolonged discussion granted the request, but Jackson vetoed the bill, and it failed to be passed over his veto.

225. Calhoun proposes Nullification. (1831-2.) — A tariff for protection had become year by year more and more objectionable to the people of the southern states, particularly those of South Carolina. Jackson did not like the tariff either, but as long as it was a law of the country he intended to enforce it. It must be remembered that there were a large number of persons at that time who honestly believed that the national government rested upon the consent of the states; in other words, that the Union was a confederacy of states, not a union of the people. The great leader of the southern party, Calhoun, does not seem to have wished the states to secede except as a last resort, and so he supported what is called "Nullification," which was very nearly what had been laid down in the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798– 1799. He claimed that the states had never given Congress the power to pass a law authorizing a protective tariff, and hence the states had a right to pronounce such a law null and void. In 1832 a new protective tariff was adopted.

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