US HISTORY
UNIT 4 – The New Nation
Age of Jackson 1824-1836 : Overview
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In the decades immediately following the War of 1812, the face of America changed. Population grew and
young Americans far outnumbered their parents. For many the West beckoned, and settlers poured into the
region west of the original thirteen colonies until they reached the mighty Mississippi River. Pride, optimism
and a keen nationalism replaced the founding generation’s anxiety about the survival of thirteen separate and
often quarreling states. An American school of art was flourishing; an American dictionary assured citizens
that the English they spoke was not the English of their former masters; roads and canals linked the
backcountry and the coastal towns and cities; and above all, politics had become the domain of the common
man, as universal while male suffrage appeared to triumph over older restrictive rules of citizenship.
To many, the future looked bright. At the same time, a new anxiety crept into the American psyche: slave
states and free states eyed each other warily, political parties fostered professional politicians rather than
disinterested leadership, and the pursuit of profit and material goods appeared to some citizens as a sign of
moral decay and the decline of the republic.
This was the world of Andrew Jackson. In his lifetime the abolitionist and nascent women's rights movements
began to demand a place in the body politic. Old institutions, perceived as elitist by some, would crumble –
the most famous of them, the Bank of the United States, destroyed by the president himself—causing
economic instability. In the aftermath, Americans would discover that the direction of social mobility could
be downward as easily as upward. For many historians, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans is the symbol of
his age: contradictory and controversial, beloved and despised, democrat and, to Native Americans,
oppressor.
Andrew Jackson DBQ: “Was the Age of Jackson an Age of Democracy?”
This question is based on the accompanying documents. It is designed to test your ability to work with
historical documents. As you analyze the documents, take into account the source of each document and any
point of view that may be presented in the document as you answer the guiding questions.
DEMOCRACY DEFINITION: _____________________________________________________________
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DOCUMENT 1 – Jackson’s inauguration
(Washington, DC) March 11th (1829)
Thousands and thousands of people, without distinction or rank, collected in an immense mass round he
Capital, silent, orderly, and tranquil, with their eyes fixed on the front of that edifice (large or impressive
building), waiting the appearance of the President…The door open,… the old man with his grey locks (hair),
that crown of glory advances, bows to the people, who greet him with a shout that rends (splits) the air…It
was grand, it was sublime!
An almost breathless silence…and the multitude (crowd) was still, listening to catch the sound of his voice,
tho’ (though) it was so low, as to be heard only by those nearest to him. After…(he read) his speech, the oath
was administered to him by the Chief Justice.” -Margaret Bayard, Smith, inauguration observer.
US HISTORY
UNIT 4 – The New Nation
1. Describe who was allowed to attend Jackson’s inauguration?
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2. What was the crowd’s reaction to Jackson’s appearance?
3. Why did they respond that way?
DOCUMENT 2 – Jackson’s message explaining his veto of the National Bank, July 10, 1832
“It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish
purposes….Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government….But when the laws
undertake to…. Make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society….have a
right to complain of the injustice of their Government.”
1. According to Jackson, which members of society benefited from the National Bank? (1)
2. Who did Jackson think he was defending when he vetoed the National Bank?
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DOCUMENT 3 - Daniel Webster’s Reply to Jackson’s Bank Veto Message, July 11, 1832
President Jackson’s message extends the grasp of the chief executive over every power of the government….
It sows the seeds of jealousy and ill-will against the government of which its author is the official head. It
raises a cry that liberty is in danger, at the very moment when it puts forth claims to powers heretofore
unknown and unheard of. It manifestly seeks to inflame the poor against the rich, it wantonly attacks whole
classes of people, for the purposes of turning against them the prejudices and resentments of other classes.
1. What did Daniel Webster argue about Jackson’s actions?
2. What does Webster believe his actions will do to the people?
US HISTORY
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UNIT 4 – The New Nation
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DOCUMENT 4 – Anti-Jackson Poster (c.1832) - (Artist Unknown)
1. What is Jackson holding in his hands?
What is under his feet?
2. How is Jackson portrayed in the image?
3.
What argument is the artist making about Jackson and his actions?
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US HISTORY
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UNIT 4 – The New Nation
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DOCUMENT5 – Jackson’s message to Congress concerning the removal of Native Americans
from east of the Appalachian Mountains, December 7, 1835
“All preceding experiments for the improvement of the Indians have failed. It seems now to be an established
fact that they cannot live in contact with a civilized community and prosper….No one can doubt the moral
duty of the Government …. To protect and if possible to preserve and perpetuate the scattered remnants of
this race….”
1. Who is the ‘civilized community’ according to Jackson?
2. Why did Jackson state that relocating the Native Americans was the best policy?
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DOCUMENT 6 - MAP
1. Where were Native Americans relocated?
2. How many tribes were relocated?
US HISTORY
UNIT 4 – The New Nation
DOCUMENT 7 - “South Carolina Exposition” (1828)
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The following is an excerpt from the South Carolinians response to the Federal Tariff passed a year earlier.
[The Federal] Government is one of specific powers, and it can rightfully exercise only the powers expressly
granted, and those that may be "necessary and proper" to carry them into effect; all others being reserved
expressly to the States, or to the people. It results necessarily, that those who claim to exercise a power under
the Constitution, are bound to shew [sic], that it is expressly granted, or that it is necessary and proper, as a
means to some of the granted powers. The advocates of the Tariff have offered no such proof. –“South
Carolina Exposition” 1828
1. Who do the people of South Carolina argue have the right to regulate tariffs?
2. What arguments do they present to support their position?
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DOCUMENT 8 – The following quotations were made by President Andrew Jackson in
reference to the threatened South Carolina secession over the Tariff of 1828.
“…I would hang the first man I could get my hands on.”
Jackson’s remarks to the states threatening secession
“So obvious are the reasons which forbid this secession (withdrawal from the union), that it is necessary only
to mention them. The Union was formed for the benefit of all. It was produced by the sacrifice of interest
and opinions. Can those sacrifices be ignored?... Everyone must see that the other States, in self-defense,
must oppose secession at all costs.”
1. What was Jackson’s opinion of southern secession?
2. Why did Jackson respond this way?