New+Election+Presidents+and+the+Calm+Before+the+Storm.

The phrase new election presidents is in regards to campaigning. Prior to the election of 1824, there was no real campaigning the way we see today. Most of the presidents before John Quincy Adams were chosen by their parties and voted on by the specific people who were able to. Some originally didn't even want the position until coaxed into it. We don't see the real "voter turnout" until the election of 1824. There are new ideas that are started with the election of John Quincy Adams such as specifically targeting voters with dinners and picnics, something that has not been done prior. Also it is during this time period that tensions begin and continue to escalate towards secession and eventual war.



**__Andrew Jackson (1828-1836)__** Andrew Jackson was a very tough individual. He participated in six duels and had bullets lodged in different areas of his body. He also defended himself from a would be assassin and proceeded to beat him unconscious with his cane. Jackson was a fiscally fixated president. One of his main goals was the clearing of the national debt and ending the charter of the second bank of the United States. There was not much going on in Europe, so through two terms his domestic policies defined his presidency. Unfortunately, Jackson did not have any remorse or respect for Indian culture and he continued and increased Indian removal and resettlement on reservations.



**__Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)__** Van Buren even more than Jackson relied on picnics, parties, and other forms of more modern campaigning. For instance, a whiskey distiller, E.C. Booze packaged whiskey in little log cabins for Van Buren's election. He understood slavery to be morally long, but respected that its legality at the time, within the constitution. His presidency was not one of great times. Van Buren oversaw the trail of tears and had little impact on the panic of 1837 in which the banks collapsed. He was unable to cope with the depression that came about from the bank failure and was also responsible for denying the entrance of Texas as a state.



**__William Henry Harrison (1841)__** Harrison is well known as having the shortest presidency. He was in office for thirty two days, he died from complication of pneumonia. He also has the unique claim to fame of having the longest inaugural address. He made a lot of promises, reestablishing a national bank and extending its credit. Unfortunately, he never saw these through. He died in office and his vice president John Tyler became the next president.

 Tyler took office after the death of William Henry Harrison. During his presidency, Texas was annexed and the continuation of expansion west to the pacific. After a veto of a tariff bill, something that the Whig party abhorred, he became the first president to have impeachment hearings against him. His ties with any political party were cut and he became a president with no party. Much of his presidency was was marred by the fact that most did not feel that he was the rightful heir. Between that issue and the fact that his own party left him, he was unable to accomplish much.
 * __John Tyler (1841-1845)__ **

 Polk had a slightly more productive presidency. He restored the Independent Treasury System and set specific rates on tariffs. He walked a very fine line with slavery. While he was a slave owner, he believed that slavery could not be allowed in territories, but it was widely assumed that he favored the annex of Texas because it would continue slavery in the south. He was a strong advocate of expansionism. Between the Oregon territory and the spoils from the Mexican-American war, the United States increased over a third in size.
 * __James K Polk (1845-1849) __**

**__Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Under his administration, the U.S Department of the Interior was established. Taylor treated his presidency the same way he dealt with Indian problems and refused to be a puppet for the Whig party. He felt the need to have western territories come in immediately as states once their constitutions were submitted in order to avoid lengthy debate in congress over whether or not slavery was allowed. Slavery was the main issue that dominated his short time in office. The Compromise of 1850 was in debate in the house when he died.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> __**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 160%;">Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) **__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Millard Fillmore had a relatively productive presidency, even though it was a shorten one. He admitted California as a free state, he settled the border with Texas, and granted territorial status to New Mexico. Fillmore abolished the slave trade, but not slavery in the District of Colombia. He was very active in foreign affairs. Most of the presidents before him did not have a lot in the way of foreign affairs mainly due to the fact that the U.S had a neutral or isolationist stance. Europe, after the defeat of Napoleon, had quieted down which was another reason for the lack of foreign dealings. Fillmore's specific area of foreign diplomacy was the pacific. He sent Commodore Perry to Japan in hopes of strengthening trade routes, but it wouldn't be until after he left office that Perry reached his destination.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 160%;">**__Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Pierce's presidency was relatively straight forward. The most important accomplishment being the Gadsden purchase which added Arizona and parts of New Mexico. The Compromise of 1850 was signed and there was peace and prosperity in the beginning of his presidency. However when the Kansas-Nebraska act came before Congress and the slavery debate heated up, he didn't do much of anything to quell it or find a solution. The only real major legislation that he signed was the Kansas-Nebraska act. Franklin Pierce is seen by many as ineffective, mainly because of his ambivalence towards the slavery and the growing tensions.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 160%;">**__James Buchanan (1857-1861)__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">James Buchanan was another relatively ineffective president. His hopes for slavery rested on the decision of the supreme court in the Dred Scott case. Buchanan wanted the decision to guide the debate of slavery and allow him to wash his hands of it. Slavery itself had gone beyond the point of compromise and before he would leave office, states would already have begun to secede. The Economy was faltering which led to the panic of 1857, however, Buchanan was a believer in reform and used a mostly hands off policy in hope that the ship would right itself. By the time he left office, the federal deficit was seventeen million.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 160%;">**__Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Abraham Lincoln was given all the problems when he became president. A great orator, he gained much of his fame during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. His presidency was dominated by the American Civil War. At first the war did not go the way of the Union, but once Lincoln removed General McClelland for Grant, things began to change. During the battle at Gettysburg, he spoke to a divided nation through the Gettysburg address and established the foundation of what would become the thirteenth amendment. After his reelection and the subsequent victory for the north, Lincoln began the reconstruction. He made attempts to make the country whole again, but it would be on his terms and those in the south would have to take an oath of allegiance. There are notions that if he had not been assassinated, that reconstruction might have gone differently and more smoothly and perhaps avoided the "Solid South" scenario.