Chapter 11 – The Jackson Era
Section 1: Jacksonian Democracy
Define these terms:
1. favorite son: candidate who receives the backing of his home state rather
than the national party
2. majority: more than half
3. plurality: larges single share, but not the majority
4. mudslinging: attempting to ruin an opponents reputation with insults
5. landslide: an overwhelming victory
6. suffrage: right to vote
7. bureaucracy: system in which non-elected officials carry out laws and policies
8. spoilssystem: practice of handing out government jobs to supporters; replacing government
employees with the winning candidate’s supporters
9. caucus: meeting held by a political party to choose their party’s candidate for president or
decide policy
10. nominatingconvention: system in which delegates from the states selected the party’s
presidential candidate
11. tariff: a tax on imports
12. nullify: to cancel or make ineffective
13. secede: to leave or withdraw
1. From 1816 to 1824, the United States had only one political party , the Jeffersonian
Republicans. Within this party, differences arose among the groups that had their own views
and interests.
2. List the 4 Republican Party candidates who ran for President in 1824.
- William Crawford
- Andrew Jackson
- Henry Clay
- John Quincy Adams
3. Which of the candidates was not a favorite son?William H. Crawford
4. Who won the most Electoral College votes? Why was he not elected to the office of President?
Andrew Jackson – he did not receive a majority of the votes
5. Since Jackson won a plurality and not a majority the House of Representatives selected the
President.
6. Why did Andrew Jackson accuse Clay & John Quincy Adams of making a “corrupt bargain”?
Henry Clay helped John Q. Adams get elected; J.Q. Adams then made Clay his secretary of state
7. What policies did John Quincy Adams support?stronger navy, government funds for
scientific expeditions, wanted the federal government to direct economic growth
8.By the Election of 1828, the party had divided into two separate parties: the Democratic - Republicans who supported Jackson and the National Republicanswho supported John Q. Adams.
9. Describe the beliefs and members of each party.
Democratic-Republicans / National Republicans- states’ rights
- mistrusted strong central government
- favored by frontiersmen, immigrants, laborers in cities
- strong central government
- internal improvements - road building
- Bank of the US
- wanted government policy to shape nation’s economy
- favored by merchants or farmers
10.During the campaign, both parties resorted to mudslinging , attempts to ruin their opponent’s
reputation with insults .
11. Who won the presidential election of 1828? Who was vice president?Pres. Andrew Jackson, VP John C. Calhoun
12.Jackson’s parents had died by the time he was 15 . As a teenager, he ad fought in the American Revolution.
When he commanded his troops in the Battle ofNew Orleans, they gave him the nickname “Old Hickory” .
13.What kind of people loved Jackson, and why do you think they felt that way about him?
small farmers, craft workers and others who felt left out of American democracy – people who did not havemuch money could
identify with him; Jackson was seen as a “commonman” –
thus this period became known as the age of “Jacksonian Democracy – the Rise of the Common Man”
14.With Jackson, there was the promise of “equal protection and equal benefits” for all. Who was
brought into the political process for the first time? Who was still being left out?
- the end of the property requirement meant more people could vote – white, adult, males including sharecroppers and factory workers who did not own property or have much money (80% of adult, white, males voted in 1840 election)
- women, African American, and Native Americans still could not vote
15.Jackson began the spoils system. What does this mean? How did it change government?
he replaced government workers with his supporters – he said that ordinary citizens could handle any government job – this took
bureaucratic jobs out of the hand of the old “elite” and brought many morepeople into areas of political power. Jackson believed it
would be good for democracy; unfortunately,not all of the people he placed in office were suited for the work.
16.Jackson’s supporters worked to make the political system more democratic . They abandoned the caucus system
where candidates were chosen by committees made up ofmembers of Congress . They were replaced by
nominating conventions .
17.The Democrats held their first convention in 1832 in Baltimore, Maryland. Who won the nomination for president?
Andrew Jackson
18.A tariff was a fee paid by merchants who imported goods. Tariffs made European goods more expensive so
Americans were more likely to buy American - made goods.
19.Southerners called the new tariff the Tariff of Abominations - something hateful .
Critics said the tariff forced Americans to pay higher prices .
20.Problems like the tariff prompted Vice President John C. Calhoun to argue that a state could
nullify a federal law. What does that mean? Is it constitutional?
- a state could cancel a federal law if it felt the law was against the state’s interests
- according to the Marbury v. Madison decision, this view would not be constitutional
22.What did some Southerners want the Southern States to do?secede from the US and form their owngovernment
This led to the Hayne-Webster Debate:
Robert Hayne from South Carolina defended nullification in the Senate.
Daniel Webster argued against nullification, in favor of national interests over sectional interests.
John C. Calhoun resigned as Vice President over the Nullification Crisis and was elected to the Senate
23.Even though Congress lowered the tariff, South Carolina’s state legislature passed the
Nullification Act and refused to pay the tariff. They also threatened to secede from the Union
if the federal government tried to interfere .
24.What was the Force Bill?
Jackson got Congress to pass a bill that allowed the president to use the US military to enforce acts of
Congress – like the tariff
This event became known as The Nullification Crisis.
Henry Clay created a compromise lowering the tariff even more. For a while South Carolina would accept the compromise and stay in the Union. They even claimed a victory because the tariff was lowered. As for the federal government, by creating the Force Bill they demonstrated that states would not be able to go their own way without a fight.