The Age of Jackson
1824-1840
Democracy and the
Common Man
Do you think Jackson personifies
Jeffersonian ideals?
America after the War of 1812
• Internal Migration to South and West
• Suffrage—right to vote
• Popular vote and the electoral college
• campaigns
Women During the Age of Jackson
Republicanism and Family
• John Adams said lamented in 1776 that the
republican idea of equality had “spread
where it was not intended,” encouraging
women to demand legal and financial rights.
• Mary Wollstonecraft published
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792
• Rise of sentimentalism (natural affection as
pre-requisite) and companionate marriages
(not arranged) marriages
• Women’s religious activism
• Founding of female academies
• Women became school teachers (1820s)
Republican Motherhood
Cult of Domesticity
Rise of Middle Class
• See page 304 in
textbook
Godey’s Ladies Book
Clothes for women of all
stations in society
Social Practice
“Ladies Receiving”
“Domestic Tranquility…”
•
Women had no legal rights in most states
•
Women could not own property in most states
•
Divorce was rare—women would lose custody of children and their good
name
•
To preserve the family, a good wife would never be seen in the company of
a woman with a compromised reputation
•
Women did not live as long as men
•
Women did not have education or career opportunities outside of
traditional roles—all options for these was limited
•
Women were expected to be submissive to husbands
•
As internal migration led to men moving westward, there was a notable
demographic transition of women marrying later and having fewer
children
•
See p. 259-262
The European actress,
Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923)
“Alexis De Tocqueville…
…a French civil servant, traveled to this
country in the early 1830s to study the
American prison system, which was one
of the more innovative systems in the
world. His book, Democracy in America,
published in 1835, was the result of his
observations, and it reflected a broad
interest in the entire spectrum of the
American democratic process and the
society in which it had developed.
His insightful commentary on the American
way of life has proven to be almost
prophetic in many respects, and provides
the modern reader with an outsider’s
objective view of what this country was
like in the Age of Jackson.”
(from Research and Education Association,
Advanced Placement: U.S. History, 2003)
Notably:
• Informal manner
• “American Plan” dining habit in hotels and rooming
houses—all people of all classes ate together at
common tables
• No separate areas on stagecoaches, steamships or
railroads for people of different classes
• Men all dressed in simple dark trousers and jackets
• Women were guided in fashion by Godey’s Ladies
Book
• Equality was a governing principle of society (for
white males)
Election of 1824
• What are qualities that you look for in a
leader?
• What qualities does the average American
want in a leader?
• In recent years, a test has been, who
would you want to go bowling with or
share a meal with?
Is that a valid test? Why or why not?
2016 Candidates
• Does a candidate’s background influence
you?
• Does a candidate’s family? Religion? Part of
the country?
• Does the personality influence you?
• His/Her experience or profession?
• Why or why not?
Who do you like for 2016?
• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/spc/vot
e2012/quiz/
• Take the Political Party Test
Jackson
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Early years—Revolution
Family
Education
Move to Tennessee
Jobs
Boarding house
Politics
Election of 1828
Jackson Prepares His Presidency
• The Democratic Party and The
“Good Ol’ Boys”
• The spoils system
• Inauguration Night
• How would Jackson govern without his
First Lady?
Rachel and Peggy—c. 1828
Jackson Administration
• Secretary of Defense Eaton
• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
• Worcester v. Georgia
• Jackson’s Executive order
• South Carolina’s threat to secede
Second Term
• Biddle’s Bank
• Vetoed renewal of the
charter of the
National Bank
• Specie circular vs.
currency
• Andrew as King
Elections of 1836 and 1840
• Martin Van Buren
• William Henry Harrison--Whigs
• John Tyler
Photograph of an
1845
daguerreotype of
Andrew Jackson
Small Group Assignment
Hand in one paper per group—write names!
• Choose one aspect of Jackson’s life and write
out a brief scenario on how you would make
it into a movie script.
1. Event(s) Emphasized:
2. Setting (time and place):
3. Plot Details (three or more)
4. Cast (six or more):
5. Other information as needed (stage or
screen, where to film, release dates,
promotional ideas, movie poster design,
specific makeup, costumes, music, sets, etc.
You must have 3 or more)