Chapter 10 the Jacksonian Era, 1824-1845

Chapter 10

THE JACKSONIAN ERA 1824–1845

Chapter Summary

Chapter 10 introduces the student to the development of democratic ideals during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Topics covered in the chapter include the rise of the second national political party system; the expansion of democratic political rights to white males; the limited meaning of Jacksonian democracy for women and African Americans; the revival of evangelical Christianity with the Second Great Awakening; the growing debate over the issue of slavery; and the rise of the Whig party during the 1840s.

I. The Egalitarian Impulse

A. The Extension of White Male Democracy

1. Extending the suffrage and democratic reform

2. The disenfranchisement of free blacks and women

B. The Popular Religious Revolt

1. Evangelicalism and minority rights

2. The limits of equality

C. The Rise of the Jacksonians

II. Jackson’s Presidency

A. Jackson’s Appeal

B. Indian Removal

C. The Nullification Crisis

D. The Bank War

III. Van Buren and Hard Times

A. The Panic of 1837

B. The Independent Treasury

C. Uproar over Slavery

IV. The Rise of the Whig Party

A. The Party Taking Shape

B. Whig Persuasion

C. The Election of 1840

V. The Whigs in Power

A. Harrison and Tyler

B. The Texas Issue

C. The Election of 1844

VI. Conclusion

Learning Objectives

After a careful examination of Chapter 10, students should be able to answer the following:

1. What factors contributed to the democratization of American politics and religion in the early nineteenth century?

2. How did the Jacksonsonian Democrats capitalize on the new mass politics?

3. What challenges did Van Buren face during his presidency?

4. What was the basis of Whig popularity? What did they claim they stood for?

5. Why was William Henry Harrison’s death such a blow to the Whig agenda?

CHAPTER 10: THE JACKSONIAN ERA, 1824–1845

Multiple Choice

THE EGALITARIAN IMPULSE

1. A major change in American politics by the late 1820s was:

2. After the Salary Act of 1816:

3. By the end of the 1820s, the right to vote:

4. Which group was an active participant in the Second Great Awakening?

5. Early preachers of the Second Great Awakening espoused all of the following ideas EXCEPT:

6. Many evangelical preachers of the Second Great Awakening:

7. The first presidential candidate of the Democratic Party was:

8. All of the following statements are true about Andrew Jackson’s background EXCEPT:

9. An important legacy of the election of 1824 was:

10. Jacksonians portrayed John Quincy Adams as a man who:

11. The Albany Regency, a tightly disciplined political machine, was run by:

12. The election of 1828 revealed that Jackson had a formidable electoral base:

JACKSON’S PRESIDENCY

13. Jackson dominated his presidency with:

14. The spoils system features a strategy in which:

15. Which policy was supported by Andrew Jackson?

16. The Cherokee Indians:

17. The term Trail of Tears refers to the:

18. In the case Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that:

19. Which statement would most likely have been said by a supporter of nullification?

20. The Indian Removal Act:

21. Under the Indian Removal Act, most Indians were sent to:

22. Opponents of the Tariff of 1828 believed all of the following ideas EXCEPT:

23. Around 1830, the only state with a majority population of African Americans was:

24. Which statement best describes Jackson’s view of those who supported nullification?

25. The Force Bill was designed to deal with:

26. The Force Bill gave Jackson the power to:

27. When Henry Clay tried to make the Bank of the United States a key campaign issue in 1832:

28. The person most responsible for the Panic of 1837 was:

29. During his second term, President Jackson:

30. Effects of destroying the Bank of the United States included all of the following EXCEPT:

VAN BUREN AND HARD TIMES

31. The first crisis that besieged the administration of Martin Van Buren was the:

32. The Panic of 1837 was caused by all of the following factors EXCEPT:

33. The Whig Party believed the Panic of 1837 happened for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

34. The Independent Treasury System:

35. William Lloyd Garrison believed that slavery:

36. In the 1830s, abolitionists achieved all of the following things EXCEPT:

37. The gag rule:

THE RISE OF THE WHIG PARTY

38. Anti-Jacksonians called themselves Whigs because:

39. Compared to Democrats, Whigs were more likely to:

40. The Whig Party was:

41. The Anti-Masons called for:

42. The Whigs made political inroads in the presidential election of 1836 when:

43. The first members of the Whig Party believed that:

44. William Henry Harrison won the election of 1840 for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

45. The percentage of eligible voters participating in a presidential election was highest in:

THE WHIGS IN POWER

46. The first president to die in office was:

47. Which statement about John Tyler is true?

48. The dominant issue in the election of 1844 was:

49. In the election of 1844:

50. The winner of the 1844 election was:

51. John Tyler successfully sponsored a joint resolution that:

Chronology

52. What is the correct order of events?

a. Tyler succeeds to presidency, Texas annexed, Polk elected

b. Polk elected, Tyler succeeds to presidency, Texas annexed

c. Tyler succeeds to presidency, Polk elected, Texas annexed

d. Texas annexed, Tyler succeeds to presidency, Polk elected

53. Which is the only event that happened in the 1830s?

a. the removal of Indian tribes from the South

b. annexation of Texas

c. death of President Harrison

54. Which event happened first?

a. Jackson opposes renewal of the charter for the Bank of the United States.

b. The Panic of 1837 illustrates the depth of the country’s depression.

c. Establishment of the Republic of Texas.

d. The first Whig president is elected.

55. Which headline would have appeared in 1844?

a. “Whigs Expel President From Their Party”

b. “Supreme Court Challenges Jackson’s Indian Policy”

c. “Panic in Financial Markets Paralyzes National Economy”

d. “Polk Downs Clay in Close Election”

56. Which is the only event that happened in the 1840s?

a. Polk runs for president on expansionist ideas.

b. Nat Turner leads slave rebellion in Virginia.

c. Whig Party begins to organize.

d. William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing The Liberator.

57. Which of the following happened first?

a. Andrew Jackson elected to first term as president

b. passage of the Indian Removal Act

c. Nat Turner rebellion

d. Passage of the Compromise Tariff

58. Which of the following happened last?

a. Webster-Ashburton Treaty

b. Independent Treasury Act

c. nullification crisis

d. Liberator begins publication

Short Essays

59. What was the base of the strong political coalition developed by Andrew Jackson?

60. Why was Andrew Jackson popular with voters in the South and West?

61. What was the appeal of the Anti-Masons as a third political party?

62. What ideas represented the beliefs of the Whig Party in 1840?

63. What was the philosophy of those who supported nullification and the gag rule?

Extended Essays

64. What is your assessment of the presidency of Andrew Jackson? Do you view his presidency as more of a success or more of a failure?

65. How was it becoming apparent that sectionalism and the issue of slavery were becoming vital and heated political topics in American society?

66. How would you characterize the changes in American politics in the period 1824–1840? What factors accounted for these changes?

67. How did the annexation of Texas emerge as an important political issue? Why were the Democrats more in favor of expansion than the Whigs?

68. Describe three political controversies of the 1830s or 1840s that reveal key divisions among Americans regarding the future of the nation.

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