Social Studies: M10 - The Age of Jackson

Nominating Conventions

a meeting at which a political party selects its presidential and vice-presidential candidate; first held in the 1820s

Jacksonian Democracy

an expansion of voting rights during the popular Andrew Jackson administration; occurred because of Andrew Jackson's influence

Democratic Party

a political party formed by supporters of Andrew Jackson after the presidential election of 1824

Spoils System

a politician’s practice of giving government jobs to his or her political supporters

Kitchen Cabinet

President Andrew Jackson’s group of informal trusted advisers; so called because they often met in the White House kitchen

Tariff of Abominations

the nickname given to a tariff by southerners who opposed it

States’ Rights Doctrine

the belief that the power of the states should be greater than the power of the federal government

Nullification Crisis

a dispute led by John C. Calhoun that said that states could ignore federal laws if they believed those laws violated the Constitution; the dispute over whether states had the right to nullify (disobey) any federal law with which they disagreed

Whig Party

a political party formed in 1834 by opponents of Andrew Jackson and who supported a strong legislature

Panic of 1837

a financial crisis in the United States that led to a severe economic depression

Indian Removal Act

a congressional act that authorized the removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River

Indian Territory

an area covering most of present-day Oklahoma to which most Native Americans in the Southeast were forced to move in the 1830s

Bureau of Indian Affairs

a government agency created in the 1800s to oversee federal policy toward Native Americans

Trail of Tears

an 800-mile forced march made by the Cherokee from their homeland in Georgia to Indian Territory; resulted in the deaths of almost one-fourth of the 18,00 Cherokee people

John C. Calhoun

American politician and supporter of slavery and states’ rights, he served as vice-president to Andrew Jackson and was instrumental in the South Carolina nullification crisis; Jackson's vice presidential running mate

Martin Van Buren

American politician and secretary of state under Andrew Jackson, he later became the eighth president of the United States

Daniel Webster

American lawyer and statesman, he spoke out against nullification and states’ rights, believing that the country should stay united

William Henry Harrison

American politician, he served as the governor of Indian Territory and fought Tecumseh in the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was the ninth president of the United States; a general and the Whig presidential candidate in 1840

Sequoya

American Indian scholar and craftsman, he created a writing system for the Cherokee language and taught literacy to many Cherokees; used 86 characters to represent Cherokee syllables to create a written language

Black Hawk

Native American leader of Fox and Sauk Indians, he resisted the U.S.- ordered removal of Indian nations from Illinois and raided settlements and fought the U.S. Army; led his people in a struggle to protect their lands in Illinois

Osceola

Florida Seminole leader, he resisted removal by the U.S. government despite an earlier treaty that Seminole leaders had been forced to sign. He was eventually captured and died in prison; called on Native Americans to resist removal by force

McCullouch v Maryland

U.S. Supreme Court case that declared the Second Bank of the United States was constitutional and that Maryland could not interfere with it

Worcester v Georgia

the Supreme Court ruling the Cherokee nation was a distinct territory over which only the federal government had authority; ignored by both President Andrew Jackson and the state of Georgia; the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Second Bank of the United States was constitutional

How did the Jackson Era expand democracy? 

More white men had the right to vote

What was the topic that caused tension during Jackson’s presidency?

Tariffs

What was the Indian Removal Act?

The forceful removal of Native Americans from their land

What was the reason for the Indian Removal Act?

He thought the Native American land would help the economy; to move Native Americans west of the Mississippi

What happened after Jackson opposed the Second Bank of the United States?

Inflation

Why did Jackson’s supporters question the legitimacy of the 1824 election?

the winner of the popular vote did not become president

What was a common criticism of the Second Bank of the United States?

Small farmers believed it benefited only wealthy businesspeople

In McCulloch v. Maryland, did the U.S. Supreme Court rule that states had the power to tax federal institutions?

No, they ruled that states did NOT have the power to tax federal institutions

What helped cause the Panic of 1837?

Jackson’s banking policies

What method was used to relocate Native Americans in the 1830s?

pressuring tribes to accept unfair treaties

What was the result of the Worcester v. Georgia ruling, and what was Jackson’s response ?

That the Cherokee nation was a distinct community in which the laws of Georgia had no force; Jackson refused to enforce the property rights of the Cherokee and he did not take any action in attempt to make Georgia follow the ruling

What was an outcome of the Seminole and Sauk resistance efforts?

The United States decided to give up the fight against the Seminoles

Who were the backers (supporters) of Andrew Jackson?

mostly farmers, frontier settlers, and southern slaveholders

What was the political party called that supported Andrew Jackson?

the Democratic Party

In the United States in 1828, what was John C. Calhoun elected as?

vice president

What did Congress approve the creation of in order to oversee the federal policy toward Native Americans?

Bureau of Indian Affairs

What happened to the Native Americans at the end of the Second Seminole War?

Most of the Seminoles moved out west

What happened as a result of the First Seminole War?

Spain sold Florida to The United States

What future U.S. president invaded northern Florida during the First Seminole War?

Andrew Jackson

During Jackson’s presidency, what was the main factor in determining whether people supported or opposed political policies?

where they lived as well as the economy of their specific region

Why were northerners and southerners at odds over tariffs? 

Northerners supported tariffs because they helped them to compete with British factories; southerners opposed tariffs because they made imported goods more expensive for southern farmers

Who came up with the term Tariff of Abominations and why did they give it this name? 

angry southerners after Congress placed a high tariff on imports, causing the southern voters to be outraged because they would now have to pay more money

How were Calhoun’s and Jackson’s opinions about states’ rights alike and different? 

they both believed that states should have individual rights but Jackson didn’t think that it should overrule the federal law; John C. Calhoun believed that the powers of the state were greater than the interests of the Union

How did southerners use the states’ rights doctrine to support the idea of nullification? 

by saying that states had greater power and could nullify federal law

How did Webster and Jackson view the nullification crisis?

They both disagreed with it because Webster thought that national unity was more important than individual state rights and Jackson believed that he would use federal troops to enforce federal laws

How did the state of Maryland try to take action against the Second Bank of the United States? 

They attempted to pass a tax which would decrease the Bank’s operations. As a result of this action, many decisions were made by the U.S. Supreme Court that supported capitalism as the dominant economic system in the US. This was after there was a case taken to court between the state of Maryland and a cashier from Maryland who refused to pay the tax

Were Jackson’s actions to weaken the Bank’s power effective? 

Yes, because he moved the Bank’s funds to state banks

What helped Van Buren win the election in 1836?

The Whig Party because the Whigs had selected four different candidates to run against Van Buren. However, due to their indecision and how they were unable to decide on one candidate, Van Buren was able to win the election with the slight help of Andrew Jackson

What role did the economy play in the presidential election of 1840?

Jackson's banking policies and ineffective attempt to reduce inflation (also called the Panic of 1837 which led to an economic depression) contributed to the success of William Henry Harrison, a Whig Party candidate, in the 1840 election. Because Van Buren was blamed for Jackson’s actions, he was voted against and eventually lost during the election

How might the spoils system cause disputes?

the people who were not rewarded may cause harm

How did Andrew Jackson’s supporters describe John Quincy Adams?

hot-tempered, crude, and ill-equipped to be president of the United States

How did John Quincy Adams’s supporters describe Andrew Jackson?

out of touch with everyday people and as cold as a lump of ice

What were some of the causes that led to the election of Andrew Jackson?

hoping for change; small farmers, frontier settlers, and slaveholders rallied behind Jackson in the 1824 election

The Cherokee

For generations, they had called the Southern Appalachian Mountain region home but when they were forced off their land in the Trail of Tears, thousands died

The Creek

They had to leave a land rich in variety; it stretched from the ridges and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains in the north, through a region of low hills and valleys to a flat area of pine forest in the South

The Seminoles

Many refused to leave Florida; they hid in the swamps, battling American soldiers. Many of their descendants still live in Florida today

The Chickasaw

They lived in a land of rich, black prairie soil. They would find the soil west of the Mississippi much less suited for farming. Some were forced to leave behind the low, rolling hills and plains of their homeland. For generations, they had farmed the rich soil there

How effective was Native American resistance to removal?

NOT effective because they had a limited quantity of food and they had all been forced to leave by 1850

What was an easterner’s view of the Indian Removal Act?

They believed that it would open the land to settlement by American farmers and would increase economic development

How did Andrew Jackson impact Florida?

He forced Seminole leaders to sign a removal treaty in which their followers had chosen to ignore

Did Andrew Jackson advance democracy?

No, because he believed that his voice had more power than others and that he could overrule them