King Andrew vs. the Republic: The Bank War and Beyond

Two toasts, one dinner, and the Union trembled. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson declared, “Our Federal Union—it must be preserved.” His vice president, John C. Calhoun, shot back, “The Union—next to our liberty most dear.” That duel of words captured the central tension of Jacksonian America: how far federal power should reach. In this episode, we unravel four dramas—the Nullification Crisis, Indian Removal, the Bank War, and the rise of the Whigs and Democrats—to trace a single argument about power, democracy, and dissent. It’s the story of “King Andrew,” rebellion, removal, and the republic that survived them both.