Chapter 13: the Rise of a Mass Democracy: 1824-1840

AP U.S. History Chapter 13: The Rise of a Mass Democracy: 1824-1840

Focus Question

The Jacksonian Period (1824-1848) has been celebrated as the era of the "common man." To what extent did the period live up to its characterization? Consider TWO of the following in your response: Economic development Politics Reform movements

Learning Objectives

 Describe and explain the growth of Mass Democracy in the 1820s.  Indicate how the alleged corrupt bargain of 1824 and Adams’ unpopular presidency set the stage for Jackson’s election in 1828.  Analyze the celebration of Jackson’s victory in 1828 as a triumph of the New Democracy over the more restrictive and elitist politics of the early Republic.  Describe the political innovations of the 1830s, especially the rise of mass parties, Jackson’s use of the presidency to stir up public opinion, and indicate their significance for American politics and society.  Describe Jackson’s policies of westward expansion, his relations with the new Republic of Texas, and his harsh removal of the southeastern Indian nations on the Trail of Tears.  Explain Jackson’s economic and political motives for waging the bitter Bank War, and show how Jacksonian economics crippled his successor Van Buren after the Panic of 1837.  Describe the different ways that each of the new mass political parties, Democrats and Whigs, promoted the democratic ideals of liberty and equality among their constituencies.

Questions

1. What events shattered even the illusion of national consensus during the so-called Era of Good Feelings? What issues greatly raised the political stakes in the 1820s and 1830s? 2. How did the public's attitude regarding political parties change in the 1820s and 1830s? How did the new two-party political system that emerged become an important part of the nation's checks and balances? How high did voter participation in the presidential election reach by the 1840s?

The "Corrupt Bargain" of 1824 (246) 3. Why did people in the West tend to prefer Andrew Jackson in the 1824 election? 4. How was the presidential election of 1824 a "first" in American history? Why did the election go to the House of Representatives for decision? 5. Why was John Quincy Adams charged by his political opponents with having struck a "corrupt bargain"?

A Yankee Misfit in the White House (248) 6. What political skills did John Quincy Adams bring to the presidency? What were his weaknesses as president? Why was he so much less successful as president than he had been as secretary of state? Going "Whole Hog" for Jackson in 1828 (249) 7. What were the dirty tactics that Adams's political supporters used against Andrew Jackson in 1828?

"Old Hickory" as President (250) 8. What did Jackson's inauguration as president symbolize?

The Spoils System (251) 9. Jackson's Democratic political philosophy was based on what belief about the federal government? 10. Why did Jackson and his party introduce the spoils system to the federal government on a large scale? What were the results of the spoils system Jackson installed?

The Tricky "Tariff of Abominations" (251) 11. Why did ardent supporters of Andrew Jackson propose the exceptionally high rates of the Tariff of 1828? Why did Southerners so greatly hate and fear this tariff? Why did they label it a "Yankee Tariff"? What role did slavery play in Southern considerations of the tariff? 12. What was the main argument in John C. Calhoun's South Carolina Exposition?

Thinking Globally (252) 13. What about America and Americans most struck the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville as he traveled across the United States?

"Nullies" in South Carolina (255) 14. What factors led to the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833? 15. The South Carolina state legislature called a special convention after the election of 1832. What actions did this convention take? 16. What actions did Jackson take in response to South Carolina? Why did the South strongly support the compromise Tariff of 1833? 17. Why did Congress pass the Force Bill of 1833, and what were its provisions? 18. Who was the person most responsible for defusing the Nullification Crisis? Who were the winners and losers in the settlement of this crisis? What issues did the peaceful resolution of the crisis leave unresolved?

The Trail of Tears (256) 19. Why did the Jackson administration supported the removal of Native Americans from the eastern states 20. What were the various methods white Americans used in trying to resolve their issues with the Indians? What The policy of the Jackson administration toward the eastern Indian tribes? 21. What steps did the Cherokees take in their efforts to assimilate themselves into white society? 22. What were the experiences of the Cherokees on the march from their Georgia homeland to Oklahoma known as the Trail of Tears?

The Bank War (259) 23. Why did Andrew Jackson and his supporters dislike the Bank of the United States? What charges did Jackson make against the Bank? 24. What were the functions of of the Bank of the United States, and what were the positive aspects of its functions? 25. How did Andrew Jackson's veto of the recharter bill for the Bank of the United States assert a major expansion of presidential power? On what grounds did Jackson base his veto?

"Old Hickory" Wallops Clay in 1832 (260) 26. To what elements did the Anti-Masonic party of 1832 appeal? Besides the appearance of a third party, what other innovations did the election of 1832 include? 27. What factors characterized Henry Clay's election campaign of 1832?

Burying Biddle's Bank (262) 28. Why did Jackson decide to weaken the Bank of the United States after the 1832 election?

The Birth of the Whigs (262) 29. Who were the supporters of the Whig party, and what beliefs did they share? What "cement" held the Whig party together in its formative days?

The Election of 1836 (262) 30. How did the Whigs hope to win the 1836 election by nominating multiple "favorite son" candidates?

Big Woes for the "Little Magician" (263) 31. Under what handicaps did Martin Van Buren labor in assuming the presidency?

Depression Doldrums and the Independent Treasury (264) 32. What were the major causes of the Panic of 1837? 33. What proposals did the Whigs offer in response to the economic ills facing America in 1837?

Gone to Texas (265) 34. How were Americans first allowed to move into Texas? Why did Spanish authorities allow Moses Austin to settle in Texas? 35. Over what issues did the government of Mexico and the Americans who settled in Mexican-controlled Texas clash?

The Lone Star Rebellion (266) 36. What were the major reasons for the Anglo-Texan rebellion against Mexican rule? 37. How did help from Americans help Texas gain its independence? 38. How did Texans win their independence at the Battle of San Jacinto? 39. Why did Presidents Jackson and Van Buren hesitate first to extend recognition to the new Texas Republic, and later to annex it? 40. Why did antislavery crusaders in the North charge that the Texas annexation issue was a "slavery plot"?

Makers of America (268) 41. How was the Texas revolution a struggle for local rights as much as it was a fight between Anglo and Mexican cultures?

Log Cabins and Hard Cider of 1840 (270) 42. Why did the Whigs nominate "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" for the 1840 presidential campaign? How did the Whigs misrepresent their candidate?

Politics for the People (271) 43. How had politics changed by the 1840 presidential campaign? Why did politicians try to claim humble origins?

The Two-Party System (272) 44. In what ways did the Democrats and the Whigs represent change in the American political system? What were the implications of the social and geographic diversity of both parties?

Varying Viewpoints (273) 45. How have the views of "Jacksonian Democracy" changed over time? Do the changed interpretations say more about Jackson or about the issues of the times in which they appeared?