Jacksonian
Democracy
What have historians called
the period in American history
from 1824 to 1850?
• The “Age of the Common
Man”
• The Jacksonian Era
What change occurred in the
political life of the American
nation during the Age of
Jackson?
• Popular participation in
state and national politics
increased.
What three factors contributed to
increased political participation
after the War of 1812?
• More people got the right to
vote
• Westward expansion
• The rise of sectional interests
What are two other terms
that mean the right to vote?
• The franchise
• Suffrage
How did Andrew Jackson
represent this new
“democratic spirit”?
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Moved West
Worked hard and became rich
Fought Indians
Was a self-made man
Entered politics and became
president
What four things
characterized the
changing nature of
American politics during
the Age of Jackson?
• Political equality for adult
white males
• Increased voter participation
• A different style of
campaigning
• Rise of interest group
politics and sectional
politics
Define suffrage.
•The right to vote
What was universal white
manhood suffrage?
•All adult white males
could vote.
What two voting requirements
were eliminated during the
Age of Jackson?
• Religious qualification
• Property qualification
What kinds of campaign
techniques did both
political parties begin to
use during the
Jacksonian period?
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Party newspapers
Campaign songs
Political clubs
Speeches
Campaign rallies
Parades
Picnics
Banquets
What political party
disappeared in the
1820s?
•Federalist Party
Into what two political
parties did the DemocraticRepublican Party split during
the 1820s?
•The Democrats
•The Whigs
Who led the
Whig Party?
•Henry Clay
What nativist third party
was organized in the
early 1850s?
• The Know-Nothings
Define nativism.
•Hostility to
immigrants
What pledge did the
Know-Nothings take?
• Would not support any
Roman Catholics or
immigrants who ran for
office
In which states did the KnowNothing Party win the most
elections?
• States with large Irish
Catholic and German
immigrant populations
What did President
Jackson use to reward his
political supporters?
•The spoils system
What was the
spoils system?
• The practice of an elected
official giving government
jobs to his political
supporters
What was the major
criticism of the
spoils system?
• It failed to give
government jobs to the
most qualified people.
Was President Andrew
Jackson for or against
the Second Bank of the
United States?
•Against the BUS
What action did President
Jackson take in 1832 on
the bill to recharter
the BUS?
• Vetoed the bank recharter
bill
What is a
presidential veto?
• The power given to the
President by the
Constitution to reject a bill
passed by Congress
How did Jackson’s veto
of the bank recharter bill
differ from all previous
presidential vetoes?
• It was the first presidential
veto NOT based solely on
constitutional grounds.
• Previous presidents had
only vetoed bills that they
thought were
unconstitutional.
A presidential veto is part of
what constitutional system?
• Checks and Balances
System
What precedent was set
by Jackson’s bank veto?
• A president can veto
any bill he does not
like.
What institution’s power
did President Jackson
destroy during his
second term?
• The Second Bank of the
United States
What was the most
important sectional
incident during
Jackson’s
administration?
• The Nullification Crisis
What is a tariff?
•A tax on imports
What did the Tariff of
1832 do?
• Set high taxes on
imported goods
What did it mean for a
state to nullify a
federal law?
• Void it
• Wipe it out
• The federal law would no
longer exist In that state.
What actions did South
Carolina take to oppose the
Tariff of 1832?
• Nullified the Tariff of 1832
• Threatened to secede
from the Union
How did nullification threaten
the power of the federal
government?
• If state governments could
nullify any federal law they
disliked, the U.S. government
would be unable to enforce its
laws throughout the entire
nation.
How did President Jackson
view South Carolina’s
nullification of the
Tariff of 1832?
• As a threat to the future of
the federal government
• Placed the future of the U.S.
government in danger
What action did President
Jackson threaten to take in
response to South Carolina’s
nullification of the tariff?
• Send federal troops to
South Carolina to
collect the tariff
During the Nullification
Crisis, what position did
President Jackson take?
• Stood firmly for federal
authority over the
states
During the Nullification
Crisis, what position did
South Carolina take?
•Stood firmly for
states’ rights
How was the
Nullification Crisis
resolved (ended)?
• Congress passed a
compromise tariff bill
What group of Americans
was hurt by the reforms of
Jacksonian democracy?
• American Indians
What president
proposed the Indian
Removal Act?
•Andrew Jackson
What did the Indian
Removal Act do?
• Moved Southeastern
Indians to a new Indian
Territory in Oklahoma
What Indian tribes did the
Indian Removal Act move
west?
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Cherokees
Creeks
Choctaws
Chickasaws
Seminoles
What does one call the forced
journey of Cherokee Indians
from their homes in Georgia to
a new Indian Territory in what
is now Oklahoma?
• The Trail of Tears
What happened to nearly
one-fourth of the
Cherokees on the
Trail of Tears?
•They died.
During what historical
period did the women’s
rights movement start?
•The Jacksonian
Era
What was the main goal
of the women’s rights
movement?
• Equal rights
• Especially the right to
vote
Where did the women’s
rights movement begin?
• Seneca Falls, New York
What right for women did
the Seneca Falls
Declaration support?
• Women’s suffrage (the
right to vote)
Who were two of the most
important leaders of the
women’s suffrage
movement?
•Susan B. Anthony
•Elizabeth Cady
Stanton