democracy in America

What major change expanded democracy in the 1820s-1830s?

The expansion of white male suffrage.

What legal barrier to voting was eliminated for white men?

Property requirements.

How did the market revolution affect suffrage?

It created many wage-earning but landless men, who demanded political rights.

How did white male voter eligibility change between 1800 and 1840?

From 30% to 80% of white men.

What happened to voter turnout in this period?

Turnout skyrocketed.

How did the U.S. compare to Europe regarding suffrage?

The U.S. was a pioneer in extending voting rights to most white men, before Britain and France.

Which president symbolized this new populist democracy?

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837).

What was the First Party System?

Democratic-Republicans vs. Federalists (1790s-1820s).

What caused the rise of the Second Party System?

Expansion of suffrage + the election crisis of 1824.

Which party emerged under Andrew Jackson?

The Democratic Party.

Which party opposed the Democrats?

The Whig Party.

What was the Democratic vision of government?

Limited federal power, states' rights.

What was the Whig vision of government?

Stronger federal government.

What was the Democratic economic vision?

Agriculture, small farmers, westward expansion.

What was the Whig economic vision?

Commercial and industrial development, modernization.

Who supported the Democrats?

Southern planters, Western farmers, urban workers, some immigrants.

Who supported the Whigs?

Northern industrialists, merchants, border-state elites.

What was the Democratic position on internal improvements?

Opposed federal funding for roads and canals.

What was the Whig position on internal improvements?

Supported federal funding.

What was the Democratic position on tariffs?

Low tariffs (to help Southern farmers).

What was the Whig position on tariffs?

High protective tariffs (to help industry).

What was the Democratic position on slavery?

Increasingly pro-slavery.

What was the Whig position on slavery?

Divided, many Northern Whigs opposed its expansion.

What new political trend appeared in the 1830s?

Third parties, such as the Anti-Masonic Party.

What was nativism?

Hostility toward immigrants and Catholics.

What is an example of anti-Catholic violence?

Burning of a Catholic convent near Boston (1834).

What was the Nullification Crisis (1832-1833)?

South Carolina claimed it could nullify federal laws.

Who defended federal supremacy during the Nullification Crisis?

Andrew Jackson.

What discovery intensified conflict with the Cherokee?

Gold discovered in Georgia in the late 1820s.

What did the Supreme Court decide about Cherokee land?

It recognized Cherokee sovereignty, but the decision was ignored.

What law authorized Indian removals?

Indian Removal Act (1830).

What was the Trail of Tears?

The forced deportation of the Cherokees (1835).

What are other examples of Indian removal?

Potawatomi Trail of Death, Seminole Wars (1835-1842).

How should Indian removals be characterized?

Ethnic cleansing / forced deportation.

Why were Indian removals economically significant?

They enabled the expansion of cotton and slavery.

What is the 'tyranny of the majority'?

Majority rule used to oppress minorities.

How did voting rights change for free Black men?

They were restricted or eliminated.

What is an example of voting restrictions on Black men?

Property requirements in New York.

Which states disenfranchised Black men outright?

New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Which states banned Black immigration?

Indiana and Illinois.

Which state banned interracial marriage?

Rhode Island.

What forms of segregation existed in the North?

Segregated schools, restaurants, public facilities.

How many race riots occurred in the North before the Civil War?

Nearly 40 (e.g. Philadelphia, 1834).

What was 'Jim Crow' originally?

A racist minstrel character performed in blackface by white actors.

Who popularized the Jim Crow minstrel act?

Thomas D. Rice in the 1830s.

Who analyzed American democracy in this era?

Alexis de Tocqueville.

What book did Alexis de Tocqueville write?

Democracy in America (1835).

What expanded in the 1830s-1840s?

Democracy for white men.

What defined the Second Party System?

Conflict between Democrats and Whigs over federal power, economy, and modernization.

Why was American democracy exclusionary?

Black Americans were disenfranchised, Native Americans deported, and women excluded.