Unit 6 – Jackson Era
Introduction to Jackson 9-1
Name ____________________________________Date ___________________Period _____________
Assignments are listed below please follow the directions at each step.
1. Read pages 322-325 in your textbook
2. Identify the vocabulary listed below in complete sentences.
a. Nominating conventions – public meetings where party members choose the party’s
candidate instead of the party leaders deciding
b. Jacksonian Democracy – period of expanding democracy from the 1820s to the 1830s
c. Democratic Party – the political party formed by Jackson’s supporters in the election of
1828
d. John C. Calhoun – he was Andrew Jackson’s pick for the position of vice president in the
election of 1828
e. Spoils system – the practice of giving government jobs to political supporters or financial
backers
f. Martin Van Buren – Jackson’s Secretary of State and one of his strongest allies in his
official cabinet
g. Kitchen Cabinet – Jackson relied on a group of informal advisors who met in the White
House Kitchen instead of his official cabinet
3. Answer the following questions based on the reading of pages 322-324. Please use complete
sentences.
a. What were the differences in the North and South in the early 1800s?
i. North = large scale factories replaced small owner-operator shops
ii. South = small family farms were replaced by large plantations with wealthy
owners and slave labor
b. Who ran the government in the 1700s?
i. Wealthy, property owning men
c. Why did democracy expand in the 1800s?
i. People believed that the wealthy property owning men were only making
decisions to benefit themselves and controlling the government
d. What changes did the new western states make that allowed more people to vote?
i. Loosened voting requirements to let more white men vote; gave people the
right to nominate their electors
e. How did nominating conventions allow the people more say in politics?
i. By giving people more of a say in deciding a political parties candidates
f. How might changes to the voting process brought about by Jacksonian Democracy
affect politics in the future?
i. Expansion in voting might lead to a greater representation of the common
peoples point of view
g. What two political parties faced off in the election of 1828? Which candidate did each
party support?
i. Democrats – Andrew Jackson and National Republicans – John Quincy Adams
h. Describe the two candidates that faced each other in the election of 1828.
i. Jackson – war hero, born poor and rose to success, hardworking, hot tempered,
crude, and ill-equipped to be president
ii. Adams – Harvard grad, father was a president, out of touch with the everyday
person, cold,
i. Why did Andrew Jackson have more popular support than did Adams?
i. Jackson was a popular war hero and seen as a self-made man while Adams was
seen as elite and out of touch with the everyday person
j. Do you think that the spoils system was an acceptable practice? Explain your answer.
i. Yes – just a reward for hard work
ii. No – could lead to corruption
4. Answer the following questions based on your reading of page 325. Please use complete
sentences.
a. When did Andrew Jackson live?
i. 1767-1845
b. Where did Andrew Jackson live?
i. Born in Waxhaw on the border of North and South Carolina
ii. Moved to Nashville, Tennessee
c. What did Andrew Jackson do?
i. Self-taught Lawyer
ii. 1st rep to congress for Tennessee
iii. Senator for Tennessee
iv. Military commander
v. 7th President of the United States
d. Why is Andrew Jackson so important?
i. Believed in a strong presidency
ii. Believed in a strong Union