Timeline
1832 Little Rock and National Politics
President Jackson, ignoring protests against Governor Pope, reappointed him in March. Congress then transferred authority to select and sell the 10 sections of land for the State House from the General Assembly to the territorial governor. Congress also appropriated $15,000 to maintain the Arkansas River Channel.
Dr. Matthew Cunningham became the first mayor of Little Rock and his stepson, Charles Bertrand, was chosen town printer. Woodruff, formerly both town printer and town trustee, served on a Board of Health created by the new Town Council in response to a cholera epidemic brought by migrating Indians.
The illustrious Washington Irving passed through Little Rock, returning from a visit to Indian Territory and spent the night at the Woodruff home.
The Second Bank of the United States had become, to some people in the nation, a symbol of "money power" and aristocracy against common productive citizens. As states were carved out of the wilderness, citizens of the west and south wanted easier credit and more money in circulation to finance improvements. President Jackson led the battle against the Second Bank, and on July 10 vetoed a bill to recharter it. Jackson won his political victory over the bank and reelection over Henry Clay. His actions, however, later contributed to the Panic of 1837.
South Carolina declared the "Tariff of Abominations" and the new, milder Tariff of 1832 null and void. The State further authorized the raising of a military force to enforce this ordinance of nullification. President Jackson asserted an individual state could not choose which of the nation's laws it wanted to follow. He warned, "Disunion by armed force is treason."
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