The Jackson Era

Question 1

favorite son

Answer 1

a candidate for national office who has support mostly from his home state

Question 2

plurality

Answer 2

the largest number of something, but less than a majority

Question 3

majority

Answer 3

greater than half of a total number of something

Question 4

mudslinging

Answer 4

a method in election campaigns that uses gossip and lies to make a candidate look bad

Question 5

bueracracy

Answer 5

a system of government in which specialized tasks are carried out by appointed officials rather than by elected ones

Question 6

spoils system

Answer 6

practice of handing out government jobs to supporters; replacing government employees with the winning candidate’s supporters

Question 7

nominating convention

Answer 7

a meeting in which representative members of a political party choose candidates to run for important political offices

Question 8

Presidential Candidates of 1824

Answer 8

William Crawford, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson

Question 9

Democrats platform

Answer 9

favored states rights, opposed national bank, supporters were workers, farmers, immigrants, Andrew Jackson

Question 10

Republican platform

Answer 10

strong federal government, supported national bank, wealthy voters, merchants, John Quincy Adams

Question 11

relocate

Answer 11

to move to another place

Question 12

Five Civilized Tribes

Answer 12

Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw peoples lived in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida

Question 13

Indian Removal Act of 1830

Answer 13

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 allowed the federal government to pay eastern Native Americans to give up their land and move west. Most Native American groups signed treaties and agreed to do so.

Question 14

Worcester v Georgia

Answer 14

The case, called Worcester v. Georgia, went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee owned the land. He said that the state of Georgia could not take control of it. President Jackson disagreed with the Court’s ruling. He refused to prevent Georgia from making the Cherokee move

Question 15

Treaty of Echota

Answer 15

In 1835 the federal government signed a new treaty with a small group of Cherokee. In the Treaty of New Echota, this small group promised that all the Cherokee would move by 1838. However, Cherokee chief John Ross and most of the Cherokee leaders had not signed this treaty. For this reason, Ross did not think the treaty could be enforced. Some members of Congress agreed. But most agreed with President Jackson and the treaty became law

Question 16

Trail of Tears

Answer 16

The Cherokee had to travel from their homes in Georgia to the Indian Territory. Losing their homes and taking this long and difficult journey greatly saddened the Native Americans. Many died waiting for the journey to begin. Many more died along the way. Their journey was later called the Trail of Tears.

Question 17

Seminole Wars

Answer 17

Osceola, a leader of the Seminoles in Florida, refused to move. Instead, he and his followers decided to stay and fight.
From 1832-1858
Neither side won

Question 18

Black Seminoles

Answer 18

Escaped enslaved people who relocated to Florida

Question 19

veto

Answer 19

to reject a bill and prevent it from becoming a law

Question 20

Suffrage

Answer 20

The right to vote

Question 21

Democrats

Answer 21

Most Democrats favored states’ rights and distrusted strong central government.

Question 22

Whigs

Answer 22

Political party in the 1830s-1850s

Question 23

Secede

Answer 23

to break away

Question 24

Reservations

Question 25

Osceola

Answer 25

A leader of the Seminoles in Florida who refused to move and began the Seminole Wars

Question 26

Nullification

Answer 26

Refuse to accept a federal law

Question 27

Explain how Henry Clay helped to get John Quincy Adams elected in 1824.

Answer 27

Clay agreed to use his influence as Speaker to defeat Jackson. With Clay’s help, the House chose Adams for president. Adams quickly named Clay to be secretary of state.

Question 28

Explain the spoils system as it was used in early Jacksonian politics

Answer 28

Soon after taking office in 1829, Jackson fired many federal workers and replaced them with his supporters. The fired employees protested. They charged that the president was acting like a tyrant.
One Jackson supporter said: “To the victors belong the spoils.” In other words, because Jackson had won the election, his supporters had the right to the spoils, or benefits, of victory. This practice of replacing current government employees with supporters of the winner is called the spoils system.

Question 29

Explain the effects of the tariff system in the U.S.

Answer 29

Tariffs made European goods more expensive. This encouraged Americans to buy American-made goods. Southerners disliked the tariff. They had a profitable trade selling their cotton to Europe. They feared that taxing European goods might hurt this trade.

Question 30

Explain the outcome of Worcester v. Georgia and Chief Justice John Marshall’s ruling.

Answer 30

In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Georgia had no right to interfere with the Cherokee. President Jackson, who supported Georgia’s efforts to remove the Cherokee, declared that he would ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Question 31

Identify who supported nullification and why.

Answer 31

Vice President Calhoun claimed that a state had the right to nullify, or refuse to accept, a federal law if it was not in that state’s best interests.

Question 32

Explain how state banks (pet banks) contributed to the Panic of 1837

Answer 32

There was no national bank to support the state banks. Federal government did not accept the bank notes. This set off the panic. People lost their jobs and land.

Question 33

Explain Van Buren’s belief in Laissez faire economics and its role on the panic of 1837

Answer 33

VanBuren believed the government should not do anything to help during the depression.

Question 34

How did the Whigs try to portray William Henry Harrison in the election of 1840 to gain more votes.

Answer 34

painted him as a simple fronteirsman even though he was wealthy

Question 35

Explain why Pres. John Tyler was such a disappointment to his political party

Answer 35

He was not loyal to the Whig party. They threw him out of the party.

Question 36

Explain why Andrew Jackson did not support the Bank of the U.S.

Answer 36

He did not like the wealthy bankowners. He also didn’t like that a national bank made it hard for settlers to get loans for land.

Question 37

Identify the sectional leaders during the Jacksonian Era

Question 38

Explain why Americans wanted to move Native Americans out of the country

Answer 38

They wanted the land for themselves

Question 39

Identify the causes of the Panic of 1837

Answer 39

State banks printed many bank notes that lost their value. the federal government decided to require gold and silver as payment for public land. It would not accept the banknotes. People who had banknotes feared their notes might become worthless. This fear set off an economic panic, called the Panic of 1837.

Question 40

Identify the Webster-Ashburton Treaty

Answer 40

The treaty ended the disagreement over the border between Maine and Canada. It also settled the location of the long U.S.-Canadian border from Maine to Minnesota.