Jacksonian Democracy, the Second Party System, and 19th-Century Immigration

Vocabulary flashcards covering the presidency of John Quincy Adams, the rise of Jacksonian Democracy, major political crises, the Bank War, and mid-19th-century Irish and German immigration.

American System

A nationalistic economic program supported by Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams that promoted internal improvements such as national roads, canals, and universities.

Tariff of Abominations

An import tax passed in $1828$ that raised duties on British manufactured goods; Southern states strongly opposed it, arguing it exclusively benefited Northern industry while hurting the Southern economy and reducing British cotton imports.

Universal White Male Suffrage

The expansion of voting rights that occurred as individual states eliminated property ownership and taxpaying requirements, allowing all white men to vote regardless of wealth.

Alexis de Tocqueville

A French visitor who traveled across the United States in the $1830\text{s}$ and recorded his observations on American democracy, popular sovereignty, expanded suffrage, and social mobility.

Democracy in America

A book written by Alexis de Tocqueville analyzing the distinct characteristics of the American political system, particularly the growth of widespread political participation contrasted with European aristocracies.

Election of 1828

A fiercely contested presidential election characterized by modern campaigning, mudslinging against Andrew Jackson's wife, high voter turnout among the common man, and the formal collapse of the Democratic-Republican Party.

Whig Party

A political party formed in opposition to Andrew Jackson, led by Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Quincy Adams; it had strong support in the Northeast and favored federal intervention to support and grow the national economy.

John C. Calhoun

A South Carolina political leader and Andrew Jackson's Vice President who championed states' rights, authored the doctrine of nullification, and mentioned secession.

Peggy Eaton Affair

A political scandal involving the social ostracization of the Secretary of War's wife by other cabinet wives, which Andrew Jackson intervened in, resulting in deep cabinet divisions and the resignation of nearly his entire cabinet within two years.

Spoils System

Andrew Jackson's practice of removing existing federal officeholders and appointing political loyalists as a reward for party service, prioritizing loyalty over qualifications.

Samuel Swartwout

The New York City port collector appointed under the spoils system who stole over $\$1\text{ million}$ from the federal government, becoming a national symbol of political corruption.

South Carolina Exposition and Protest

An anonymous essay secretly written by John C. Calhoun asserting that the Tariff of $1828$ was unconstitutional, favored the North, and gave states the authority to nullify federal law.

Webster-Hayne Debate

An $1830$ Senate debate over federal versus state authority, in which Robert Hayne defended state sovereignty and nullification, while Daniel Webster argued for the supremacy of the federal Constitution.

Worcester v. Georgia

A Supreme Court ruling declaring the Cherokee tribe in Georgia an independent, sovereign nation that could not be subjected to Georgia state laws.

Indian Removal Act

An $1830$ law signed by Andrew Jackson authorizing the federal government to forcibly relocate tens of thousands of Native Americans west of the Mississippi River to territory in present-day Oklahoma.

Recharter Bill of 1832

Legislation designed to extend the charter of the Second Bank of the United States for an additional $20$ years past $1836$, which Andrew Jackson vetoed on constitutional and policy grounds.

Pet Banks

State-chartered financial institutions selected by Andrew Jackson to receive transferred federal deposits in order to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States.

Nicholas Biddle

The president of the Second Bank of the United States who attempted to create a financial panic to counteract Andrew Jackson's policies and restore public support for the bank.

Specie Circular

An executive order issued by Andrew Jackson decreeing that the federal government would only accept gold or silver (specie), rather than paper currency, as payment for public lands.

Panic of 1837

A severe economic depression marked by widespread bank collapses, unemployment, and business failures resulting from unregulated state bank loans, land speculation, and the Specie Circular.

Martin Van Buren

The eighth President of the United States, elected in $1836$, who was nicknamed 'Martin Van Ruin' after bearing public blame for the economic depression following the Panic of $1837$.

Irish Immigration

The movement of over $1.5\text{ million}$ mostly poor, Catholic immigrants to the United States during the $1840\text{s}$ and $1850\text{s}$, driven out by the Potato Famine and settling primarily in Northeastern cities to work low-wage jobs.

NINA

An acronym standing for 'No Irish Need Apply,' reflecting widespread anti-Catholic and anti-Irish nativist discrimination in employment.

The Know Nothings

A secretive nativist political party formed in the $1850\text{s}$ that organized against Catholic immigration and advocated for a complete ban on all foreign immigration.

German Immigration

The second-largest wave of $19\text{th}$-century immigrants, who fled autocratic rule and failed revolutions, arriving with more capital than the Irish and often settling as families in the Midwest as farmers and skilled artisans.

German Triangle

The area in the American Midwest where large concentrations of German immigrants settled to purchase farmland, establish businesses, and work as skilled laborers.