Chapter 10: The Age of Jackson, 1824-1844 Flashcards
Indian Removal Act (1830)
A law signed by Jackson which forced the resettlement of many thousands of American Indians.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
A Supreme Court case that decided Cherokees were not a foreign nation with the right to sue in a federal court.
Worcester v. Georgia
A Supreme Court case that ruled the laws of Georgia had no force within Cherokee territory.
Cherokee trail of tears
In 1838, after Jackson left office, the US Army forced 15,000 Cherokees to leave Georgia, causing the deaths of 4,000 Cherokees.
Bank of the United States
A privately owned bank that received federal deposits and attempted to serve a public purpose by cushioning the ups and downs of the national economy.
Nicholas Biddle
The Bank of the United States’ president.
Roger Taney
Jackson’s Secretary of the Treasury who helped withdraw all federal funds from the Bank of the United States.
“pet banks”
Various state banks that Jackson deposited all federal funds from the Bank of the United States.
Specie Circular
A presidential order that required all future purchases of federal lands be made in specie (gold and silver) rather than paper banknotes.
Panic of 1837
A economic depression that occurred right after Jackson left office when banknotes lost their value and land sales plummeted.
Martin Van Buren
Jackson’s vice president, and 8th president
common man
Between 1824 and 1840, the group of people that politics focused on, characterized by middle and lower class homes.
universal white male suffrage
A movement to eliminate voting restrictions allowing all white males to vote and hold office, regardless of their social class or religion.
party nominating convention
Replacing “King Caucus,” this allowed party politicians and voters to gather in a meeting hall to nominate the party’s candidates.
“King Caucus”
A closed-door meeting of a political party’s leaders in Congress to nominate candidates for office.
popular election of president
A more democratic method of allowing voters to choose a state’s presidential electors.
Anti-Masonic party
A small political party that attacked the secret societies of Masons and accused them of belonging to a privileged, antidemocratic elite.
Workingmen’s party
A small political party that emerged in the Era of the Common Man that reached out to groups of people who previously shown little interest in politics.
popular campaigning
Candidates for office directed their campaigns to the interests and prejudices of the common people, resulting in personal attacks and entertainment.
spoils system
The practice of dispensing government jobs in return for party loyalty.
rotation in office
Jackson believed by limiting a person to one term in office, he could then appoint some other deserving Democrat in his place.
John Quincy Adams
6th president who won the election of 1824 in a bitterly contested decision the House of Representatives made to choose a president from the candidates due to lack of electoral vote majority.
Henry Clay
House of Representatives congressman who used his influence in the House to provide John Quincy Adams enough votes to win the election of 1824, who was then appointed as Adams’ secretary of state.
“corrupt bargain”
Angry Jackson supporters accused Adams and Clay of making this when Clay was appointed secretary of state after using his influence in the House to give Adams the election victory in 1824.
Tariff of 1828; “tariff of abominations”
Congress passed this tariff law to pay for internal improvements and aid manufacturing, that generally satisfied northern manufacturers but alienated southern planters.
Revolution of 1828
Name given to the election of 1828, marked by a new campaign tactic of mudslinging.
Andrew Jackson
7th president, known as a symbol of the emerging working class and middle class (common man).
role of the president
Jackson viewed this as being a representative of all the people and a protector of the common man against abuses of power by the rich and privileged.
Peggy Eaton affair
Wife of Jackson’s secretary of war, she was the target of malicious gossip by other cabinet wives.
states’ rights
Favored by Jackson - though he did not favor disunion.
nullification crisis
Stemming from belief that each state had the right to decide whether to obey federal law or to declare it null and void, marked by tension between South Carolina and the Jackson administration.
Webster-Hayne debate
A debate in 1830 on the nature of the federal Union under the Constitution in which Webster attacked the idea that any state could defy or leave the Union.
John C. Calhoun
Jackson’s first vice president who believed each state had the right to decide whether to obey a federal law or to declare it null and void.
Proclamation to the People of South Carolina
Issued by Jackson, this stated that nullification and disunion were treason.
two-party system
A system that emerged under Jackson - Democrats and Whigs.
Democrats
A political party that harked back to the old Republican party of Jefferson; supporters of Jackson.
Whigs
A political party that resembled the defunct Federalist party of Hamilton; supporters of Henry Clay.
“log cabin and hard cider” campaign
Nickname of the campaign of 1840, centered around William Henry Harrison and his humble origins, using propaganda to win the election.
