Today In History: March 28, 1834: Congress censures Jackson On this day in 1834, President Andrew Jackson is censured by Congress for refusing to turn over documents. Jackson was the first president to suffer this formal disapproval from Congress. During his first term, Jackson decided to dismantle the Bank of the United States and find a friendlier source of funds for his western expansion plans. Jackson, who embodied the popular image of the Wild West frontiersman, claimed that the bank had too many foreign investors, favored the rich over the poor and resisted lending funds to develop commercial interests in Americas Western territories. When the Senate passed legislation in 1831 to renew the banks charter, Jackson promptly vetoed it. An 1831 meeting with his cabinet generated classified documents regarding Jacksons veto of the bank legislation. Soon after, Congress overruled Jacksons veto. One of the key issues in the election of 1832, between Jackson, a Democrat, and Whig (Republican) Henry Clay, was the banks survival. Jackson easily won reelection, but Clays Whigs took control of the Senate. The largely symbolic censure failed to stop Jackson from revamping the federal banking system. Democrats regained the majority in the Senate in 1837 and had Jacksons censure expunged from the record.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 04:09:25 +0000
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