APUSH 4:9

Andrew Jackson

the seventh U.S. President (1829-1837), a military hero known for his role in the War of 1812, and the namesake of the "Jacksonian Era"

Anti-Masonry

a popular movement and the first American third party that emerged in the 1820s, fueled by public suspicion of the secret and exclusive nature of the Freemasons

Aroostook War

a 1838-1839 border dispute between the U.S. (Maine) and British North America (New Brunswick) that was settled by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842

Bank War

a political struggle during Andrew Jackson's presidency (1829–1837) over the fate of the Second Bank of the United States

Caroline Affair

an 1837 incident where British Canadian militia attacked and burned the American steamship Caroline on the Niagara River, leading to heightened tensions between the U.S. and Great Britain

Daniel Webster

a prominent 19th-century American nationalist, orator, and statesman from New Hampshire who served as a senator and Secretary of State

Democrats

a political party that originated from the Democratic-Republican party of the early 1800s, with Andrew Jackson being its central figure. The party's ideology centered on limited federal government power, states' rights, individual liberty, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution

Dorr Rebellion

a short-lived insurrection in Rhode Island (1841–1842) led by Thomas Dorr to force broader democracy by replacing the state's outdated, landholder-based voting laws

Hard Money

currency like gold and silver coins that is tied to a tangible asset, as opposed to paper currency or "soft money"

Indian Territory

a designated region in the central U.S., largely corresponding to modern-day Oklahoma, established for the forced resettlement of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the eastern U.S.

John C. Calhoun

prominent American statesman from South Carolina who served as Vice President and is known for his staunch advocacy of states' rights, nullification, and the defense of slavery

John Tyler

the 10th President of the United States who became president after William Henry Harrison's death in 1841. A former Democrat who ran as a Whig to attract Southern votes, he was known as a "Democrat in Whig's clothing" and was expelled from the Whig party after vetoing their major legislative initiatives

Martin Van Buren

the eighth U.S. President, a key founder of the Democratic Party, and a successor to Andrew Jackson. His presidency was defined by the economic crisis of the Panic of 1837, and he was the first president born after the U.S. declared independence

Nicholas Biddle

the third and final president of the Second Bank of the United States, serving from 1823 to 1836. He was the chief antagonist of President Andrew Jackson during the Bank War

Nullification

the constitutional theory that individual states have the right to declare a federal law unconstitutional and therefore invalid within their own borders

Panic of 1837

a major U.S. financial crisis and economic depression that caused widespread bank failures, high unemployment, and a collapse of credit, primarily triggered by President Andrew Jackson's policies that led to a speculative bubble

Removal Act

a U.S. law signed by President Andrew Jackson that authorized the president to negotiate with Native American tribes for their removal from ancestral lands in the eastern United States to territory west of the Mississippi River

Roger B. Taney

the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, known for writing the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which declared that African Americans were not citizens and could not sue in federal court. This ruling, which also invalidated the Missouri Compromise, fueled the abolitionist movement and heightened sectional tensions before the Civil War. Before his Supreme Court appointment, he served as Andrew Jackson's Attorney General.

Seminole War

a series of three conflicts in Florida (1817–18, 1835–42, 1855–58) between the U.S. and the Seminole people, driven by U.S. expansionism and the desire to remove Native Americans from their land

Specie Circular

a 1836 executive order by President Andrew Jackson that required all future purchases of federal land to be made in gold or silver coin, not paper money

Spoils System

a practice where a political party, after winning an election, awarded government jobs to its supporters and friends as a reward for their loyalty and help during the campaign

Trail of Tears

the forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation and other "Five Civilized Tribes" from their ancestral lands in the Southeast to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) between the 1830s and 1850s, resulting in thousands of deaths from disease, starvation, and exposure

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

a treaty between the United States and Great Britain that resolved several border disputes, most notably between Maine and New Brunswick, and in the Great Lakes region

Webster-Hayne Debate

an unplanned series of Senate speeches in 1830 between Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Hayne of South Carolina. The debate originated over land policy but evolved into a national argument over states' rights versus national power

Whigs

a political party in the United States, active from 1834 to 1854, formed in opposition to President Andrew Jackson

William Henry Harrison

the 9th U.S. President, a military hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812, known for his short presidency. He was the first president to die in office, serving only 32 days after contracting pneumonia during his inauguration. His brief time in office, coupled with the success of his 1840 "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign, makes him a significant figure in American political and military history.