The Age of Jackson

Flashcards for reviewing The Age of Jackson lecture notes.

The Industrial Revolution

The time between 1790-1860 when the process of creating manufactured goods changed from artisans using hand tools in home workshops to unskilled labor in factories using complex machines in the United States.

American free enterprise system

Free to seek profit without strict government control, fostered creativity and innovation, and allowed companies to become corporations that could raise additional capital by issuing stock.

Eli Whitney

Developed the cotton gin and interchangeable parts.

Artisan republicanism

An ideology that celebrated the independence of small scale producers.

Urbanization

Cities grew due to the influx of people moving to find work in factories or associated businesses.

The Market Revolution

Using new transportation and communication technology, factories and farmers produced goods for distant markets, manufactured goods were now cheaper and readily available, and businesses and farms grew larger and more efficient, moving to a more commercial economy.

Cotton Gin

Combed seeds out of raw cotton bolls and enabled planters to plant and process significantly more cotton.

Planter Elite

Small in number, owned 20 or more slaves, large plantations in the tidewater or along rivers inland, wealthy, produced 50% of the region’s cotton, dominated politics (republican aristocracy).

Slaves

Subject to slave codes (forbidden from owning property, literacy, filing lawsuits, legally and socially treated as property).

Populism

A political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. It promotes the interests of “the people” which are seen as a morally good force against “the elite” which are seen as self-serving and corrupt.

Political patronage

Rewarding government positions to individuals for loyalty and electoral support.

The American System

Program of national economic development that called for a strengthening of the Second Bank of the US, high tariffs that would protect northern industry but also use the revenue to fund internal improvements like roads and canals.

Republican caucus

A meeting of party leaders.

Mudslinging

Criticizing each other’s personality and morals.

Kitchen Cabinet

An informal group of political allies and newspaper editors that Jackson relied on for advice.

Ordinance of Nullification

South Carolina argued states had the right to void Federal laws and would refuse to collect the duties on the tariff.

Nullification Doctrine

Sovereign states had a compact which established the Constitution and had the right to nullify Federal laws that act unequally on various states.

Force Bill in 1833

Allowed the use of the military to collect tariff duties.

Cautious monetary policy

Promised to redeem paper money on demand with gold and silver.

Pet banks

State banks which Jackson transferred the nation’s gold and silver to.

Specie Circular in 1836

Requiring public lands be purchased with gold and silver (hard money).

Nominating conventions

A meeting of party members from across the country to pick presidential candidates.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

Creates Indian Territory in what is today Oklahoma and promises money and reserved land to Native Americans that would give up their land east of the Mississippi River and move to the new territory.

Trail of Tears

A 4 month journey in which 3,000 died of starvation and exposure in which 14,000 Cherokee were forcibly moved.

Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. (1837)

A legislative charter did not bestow a monopoly and a competing bridge may be built to promote the general welfare.

Briscoe v. Bank of Kentucky (1837)

A bank owned by the state of Kentucky can issue currency despite the Constitution stating that states cannot issue “bills of credit”.

Panic of 1837

A financial crisis that led to a major economic depression that would last through the 1840s.