Jacksonian Democracy and Indian Removal

Practice vocabulary flashcards covering the presidency of Andrew Jackson, Indian removal policies, the Bank War, and the second two-party system.

Great American Desert

The region west of the Mississippi River where President Andrew Jackson and white settlers sought to relocate Native American tribes.

Indian Removal Act

An 1830 law passed in the Senate by a single vote that authorized the president to force Native Americans west of the Mississippi River.

Cherokee Nation versus Georgia

A Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee had an unquestionable right to their land.

Worcester versus Georgia

An 1832 Supreme Court case ruling that the Cherokee Nation was a distinct political community and was not subject to Georgia law.

Trail Of Tears

The 1838 forced 800-mile westward trek of 17,000 Cherokee to Indian territory in present-day Oklahoma, during which 4,000 died in transit.

Pet banks

The 23 state banks, primarily in the West and run by Jackson's supporters, to which Jackson transferred federal deposits removed from the Bank of the United States.

Nicholas Biddle

The president of the Bank of the United States who enacted deflationary policies, stopped making loans, and demanded state banks exchange paper currency for gold and silver to demonstrate the importance of centralized banking.

Wildcat banks

Unregulated state banks that printed excessive paper currency with minimal capital and often went bankrupt after a few years, ruining depositors.

Distribution Act

Legislation that distributed surplus federal funds from land sales to 81 state banks to be used by states for roads, public schools, bridges, and internal improvements.

King Andrew the first

A derogatory nickname given to Andrew Jackson by the anti-Jackson coalition, who likened his supporters to British Tories.

Whig party

An anti-Jackson political coalition formed by 1834 that pushed for the expansion of federal power, commercial and industrial development, a national bank, and high tariffs.

Jacksonian Democrats

A political party that favored states' rights, limited federal power, and westward expansion while championing farmers, workers, and small businessmen against aristocracy and entrenched wealth.