Jacksonian Democracy Flashcards
Who were the 4 candidates in The Election of 1824 and where were they from?
- Andrew Jackson-Tennessee
- John Quincy Adams-Massachusetts
- Henry Clay-Kentucky
- William Crawford-Georgia
What are “Favorite Sons?”
A candidate who was favored by voters who lived in the same section of the country that they came from.
What were the results of The Election of 1824?
Jackson: 99 Electoral Votes
Adams: 84 Electoral Votes
Clay: 37 Electoral Votes
Crawford: 41 Electoral Votes
How many Electoral Votes do you have to receive to get the majority?
131 Electoral Votes
Why did the election have to go to the House of Representatives?
Nobody received the majority of Electoral Votes (131).
Because of this, the House gets to decide. Only the Top 3 candidates go to the House so Clay was out of the running because he got the lowest amount of Electoral Votes.
Who had a stroke before the House of Representatives voted the winning candidate?
William Crawford
What were the results from the House of Rep’s voting?
Adams-13 votes
Jackson-11 votes
Crawford-0 votes
Who influenced the election and how?
Clay influenced the election because he was Speaker of the House and he gave his support to Adams.
Who was Adams’s Vice President and Secretary of State?
Vice President: John C. Calhoun
Sec. Of State: Henry Clay
What was the “Corrupt Bargain?”
It was something that Jackson and his followers believed happened between Adams and Clay.
Jackson and his followers believed that Clay gave his support to Adams because Clay was promised Sec. Of State if Adams won.
What emerged due to the “Corrupt Bargain?”
Two political parties emerged
Democrats: Followers of Jackson
National Republicans: Followers of Adams
Who was John Adams’s son?
John Quincy Adams
Characteristics of John Quincy Adams?
- Extremely Intelligent- Harvard Graduate at age 20, spoke 5 languages
- Raised in the presence of politics
- Experience- Ambassador to England, Sec. Of State under Monroe
- Great Negotiator- Adams-Onis Treaty, Monroe Doctrine
- Very Hard Worker- got up every morning at 5am, read the bible, wrote in his diary, and went to work.
What were John Quincy Adams’s long term visions for the U.S?
He saw us expanding all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
He wanted to have a national, public university to keep tuition down.
He was also the driving force behind the Smithsonian Institute (alongside James Smithson)
Where did John Quincy Adams serve after his Presidency?
He served in Congress.
Was also the 1st member of Congress to speak out against slavery.
What was placed on John Quincy Adams because of him speaking out against slavery in Congress?
“Gag Rule”
Because of his childhood, What did John Quincy Adams support?
Protective Tariffs-Product of New England
National Bank-Father was a Federalist
These beliefs were not popular in the West and South
What section of the country did the South feel that Adams only cared about? Why?
The Northeast.
The South was spoiled by Southern Presidents for 24 years (Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe).
What was John Quincy Adams accused of?
He was accused of over-spending by the Democrats.
Ex: Bought a pool and chess table for the White House. Democrats thought this was wasteful spending and brought gambling into the White House
What else did the Democrats accuse John Quincy Adams of doing?
They accused him of trying to take over the government and the country.
Ex: Ideas of national university and museum. These were not needed and not in the Constitution
Who was the 7th President?
Andrew Jackson
Describe Andrew Jackson’s childhood.
- He was the youngest of 3 boys.
- His dad died a few days before he was born.
- His older brother died in 1780 in the Revolutionary War
- His other brother died in 1781 of small pox.
- His mother also catches small pox and dies a few days later.
- He is an orphan by age 14
- Grew up West of the Appalachian Mountains
- Grew up very poor
What was Andrew Jackson’s educational background?
He spent 2 years in grammar school, but left at age 13 to fight in the Revolutionary War
What happened to Jackson in the Revolutionary War?
He was captured by the British and became a Prisoner of War.
While a POW a British officer asked Jackson to clean his boots. Jackson refused and the officer swung his sword at Jackson, catching his hand and head and leaving scars for life.
What was Jackson’s background in politics?
He became the Attorney General of the Tennessee territory in 1788. His job was to make sure that settlers paid for the land they settled in. This allowed Jackson to use his aggressiveness against people who didn’t pay.
Because of his job as Attorney General, how much money did he make and what was he able to do with his money?
His salary was a percentage of the money he collected. He built his own personal wealth and was able to but a large plantation outside of Nashville called the Hermitage.
Who was Jackson’s wife? What happened to their marriage?
Rachel Donelson Robards.
She had been previously married but it ended in divorce. Once her and Jackson were married, they discovered that the divorce was not legal which made their marriage nullified.
When was Jackson’s and Rachel’s marriage legalized and what issues did this cause?
They were legally married in 1794 and the incident would cause a great deal of controversy when Jackson ran for President
How many duels was Jackson involved in?
He was involved in 5 duels during his life. One duel involved him killing a man.
Who was Charles Dickinson and how was he involved in Jackson’s life?
He was a lawyer and he called Jackson a coward. Jackson went ahead with that duel and Dickinson was the faster draw, shooting Jackson in the rib. Jackson carried the bullet in him the rest of his life. While Jackson was falling he shot and killed Dickinson.
Who was the candidate for the Republican Party in The Election of 1828? The Democratic Party?
John Quincy Adams (Republican)
Similar to the old Federalist Party, supported by Northeast, seemed to favor wealthy.
Andrew Jackson (Democrats) Became the party of the common people like farmers and middle class.
What is Mudslinging?
When a campaign is centered around name calling and personal attacks.
What was said about Jackson during The Election of 1828? What was said about Adams?
Jackson: Called ignorant (lack of education), murderer (duel with Dickinson), and a wife stealer (complications with wife’s divorce).
Adams: Blamed for overspending (purchase of pool and chess table), only caring about the Northeast, and trying to take over the Government.
What were the results of The Election of 1828?
Jackson: 178 Electoral Votes
Adams: 83 Electoral Votes
What was special about Jackson becoming President?
He was the 1st President to be elected from West of the Appalachians. He was the 1st President to ever come from lower class and he was the 1st President to not have a prominent place in society.
Who was Jackson’s Vice President and Sec. Of State?
Vice President: John C. Calhoun S.C
Sec. Of State: Martin Van Buren N.Y
What was Jackson the 1st President to use?
Spoils System
When an elected official give appointed positions to friends or people who helped get them elected.
What are the pros of the Spoil System?
Creates a great deal of loyalty to elected officials and to the political party.
What are the cons of the Spoil System?
Appointed officials could be unqualified, corruption, fairness - are the best candidates being chosen?
What was the Kitchen Cabinet?
A group of politicians and newspaper writers that Jackson met with in the Kitchen of he White House.
He met with these people because he stopped trusting his cabinet members (Eaton Affair, ECT.) and Jackson felt much closer to these other people.
What was Jackson the 1st President to use?
The Pocket Veto. When you leave a bill on your desk for 10 days. If Congress is in session at the end of the 10 days, the bill becomes a law. If Congress is not in session, the bill is vetoed.
This is an example of Jackson using his full powers as President.
What was the Eaton Affair?
John Eaton’s (Sec. Of State) wife Peggy was considered to be an outcast to the other cabinet members’ wives because she did not come from the same social background. She grew up poor and the other wives would not treat her equally because of this.
Who’s dad owned a bar where they worked at while they grew up?
Peggy Eaton.
What was Jackson’s response to the Eaton affair?
Jackson sided with Peggy because he came from poverty himself. He also had experience with his own wife being criticized during his campaign and dying from it. He also threatened to fire all the other cabinet members if their wives would not treat Peggy equally.
What was the Webster-Hayne Debate?
It was a debate about the tariff and how the South had become enslaved by the factories in the Northeast. It also turned into a debate about States’ Rights (whether a state can nullify a federal law because it doesn’t benefit that particular state)
What is the definition of Nullify?
To ignore or pretend it does not exist.
Who was Robert Hayne?
Webster-Hayne Debate
He was the man that argued the Southern viewpoint in the Webster-Hayne Debate, saying that the South had been hurt by the high tariff and had seen very few benefits. It had been taken advantage of by the federal gov. and should be able to “stop this abuse.”
He was from South Carolina.
Who was Daniel Webster?
Webster-Hayne Debate
He was the man that argued that all states must obey federal laws because the federal gov. must do what is best for the entire country, in the Webster-Hayne Debate.
He was from Massachusetts and was considered to be the best speaker in the U.S at this time because of his powerful voice and his sense for the dramatic.
How long did the Webster-Hayne Debate last?
3 days. It defined the differences between the North and South. It was hard to pick who won the debate, but it had a lasting impact on the friction between the North and South.
What did Hayne represent in the Webster-Hayne Debate?
States’ Rights and Nullification.
What did Webster represent in the Webster-Hayne Debate?
Nationalism.
Who read Webster’s speech out loud and where?
School children in the North read his speech out loud in School.
What was the South Carolina Exposition and what did it lead to?
South Caroline felt that the Tariff of 1828 and 1832 were too high and that they would not be collected. It also stated that if the Federal Gov. tried to force S.C to enforce the tariff, they would secede!
This was a practice of Nullification and led to the Nullification Crisis.
Who was the South Carolina movement led by?
South Carolina Exposition
John C. Calhoun. The Vice President who was informed that he would not be nominated for Jackson’s second term because he was showing his loyalty to South Carolina over the U.S.
What was Jackson’s reaction to the S.C Exposition?
He was furious, claiming that S.C was violating “the letter of the Constitution” and he would use force he stop them.