Today in class we watched the other half of the documentary on Andrew Jackson. We picked up with the nullification crisis, where South Carolina, led by John C. Calhoun, decided to nullify a government-imposed tariff. This greatly upset Jackson, who threatened to send the army to reinforce the tariff. South Carolina eventually backed down, but the concept of a strong state sovereignty was created, and the idea of the states having the ability to defy the national government soon lead to thoughts of secession. Later on in his time in office, Jackson refused to renew the Bank of the United States' charter. He believed that the bank was a way for the elite to take power from the people, and it was better if it no longer existed. He let the bank's charter expire, and put all of the federal government's money into state banks. He also passed the Species Circular Act (land from the federal government could only be payed for with silver and gold), and made bank notes invalid. This combination of things, along with the over-speculation of land in the west, sent the United States into a recession. Banks and factories closed, unemployment and inflation were very high, and many people ended up on the streets. Jackson also issued the Removal Act of 1830, which called for a removal of all the Native Americans from U.S. territory. While most tribes gave up or fought and quickly lost, the Cherokee people tried hard to adapt to American society to be allowed to stay. They adopted a constitution of their own, as well as an alphabet. Eventually they took their case to the Supreme Court, in Worcester vs. Georgia. The Cherokee won, and the Judiciary Branch said that they had rights of U.S. citizens. Jackson, however, ignored this, and turned a blind eye to Georgia when it continued to kick Native Americans out anyways. This large forced migration of all Native Americans is know as the Trail of Tears, due to the harsh circumstances and journey that they were forced into. Overall, Jackson's time as president was a very good time for the democracy of white men. Slaves, women, and Native Americans, however, lost quite a bit of power, as the newly strengthened democracy excluded them. Historians' opinions on Jackson vary quite a bit, as some champion him for committing himself to democracy for white men, while others condemn him for his mistreatment of slaves, Native Americans, and women to some extent.
That was the end of the documentary. Again, please feel free to edit/correct as you see fit, I want to make sure all information in this is as accurate as possible.
I would just like to be a little more specific on the "other things" that you mentioned as a cause for the recession. (Most of these I got from chapter 14 so its not like you missed them). There was a crop failure in the US, as well as some economic distress in Europe. Apparently two key British banks failed at approximately the same time. These two events are further causes of the recession, though probably not as important as the reasons you listed.
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