1. The Jacksonian Era 1824–1840 Chapter 12 The American Nation
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

2. Chapter 12: The Jacksonian Era 1824–1840
The American Nation
Chapter 12: The Jacksonian Era 1824–1840
Section 1: A New Era in Politics
Section 2: Jackson in the White House
Section 3: A New Crisis
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

3. A New Era in Politics
Chapter 12, Section 1
How did the growing spirit of equality change voting rights in the 1820s?
Why was there a dispute over the election of 1824?
Why was John Quincy Adams an unpopular President?
What new political parties developed?

4. The Growing Spirit of Equality Affected Voting Rights
Chapter 12, Section 1
The United States was growing rapidly.
Many new states were in the west, between the Appalachians and the Mississippi.
Frontier life encouraged a democratic spirit.
This democratic spirit was reflected in the voting laws.
More people gained suffrage, or the right to vote. In western states, any white man over age 21 could vote.
In eastern states, reformers worked to expand suffrage. By the 1830s, most eastern states had dropped the requirement that voters own land.

5. The Growing Spirit of Equality Affected Voting Rights
Chapter 12, Section 1
Growing Spirit of Equality
Suffrage Expands
Political Parties Change
The “Common Man” Rises
More white men are eligible to vote
Property qualifications for voters end
Voter turnout is nearly 80 percent in 1840 election
The caucus system ends
Nominating conventions are held to choose presidential candidates
The spoils system lets ordinary citizens participate in government
Ideas about social classes change

6. The Dispute Over the Election of 1824
Chapter 12, Section 1
The Candidates
John Quincy Adams, with support in New England
Henry Clay, with support in the West
Andrew Jackson, with support in the West
William Crawford, with support in the South
The Election
William Crawford became too ill to campaign.
Andrew Jackson won the popular vote.
No candidate won a majority, or more than half, of the electoral vote. The election went to the House of Representatives.
The House named John Quincy Adams President.
Hard feelings
In the electoral vote, Henry Clay had finished last, so he was out of the running when the election went to the House. He was Speaker of the House. He urged House members to vote for Adams. Later, Adams named Clay his Secretary of State. Jackson and his supporters said that Adams and Clay had worked together to steal the election.

7. John Quincy Adams Was an Unpopular President
Chapter 12, Section 1
Adam’s Plan
How Most Americans Reacted
The federal government should promote economic growth. It should pay for roads and canals to help farmers transport goods to market.
The government should promote the arts and sciences by building a national university and an observatory.
These programs cost too much money.
These programs would make the federal government too powerful.
What Jackson Supporters Said
What Adams Supporters Said
Adams had made a “corrupt bargain” in the 1824 election.
Adams was a member of the upper class, not a common person like farmers of the South and West.
Jackson was a dangerous “military chieftain.”
If Jackson won the election, he could become a dictator like Napoleon.

8. John Quincy Adams Was an Unpopular President
Chapter 12, Section 1

9. New Political Parties National Republicans, known as Whigs
Chapter 12, Section 1
National Republicans, known as Whigs
People who supported Adams and his programs for national growth became known as Whigs.
Wanted the federal government to spur the economy.
Supporters included eastern business people, some southern planters, and former Federalists.
Democrats
Jackson and his supporters called themselves Democrats.
Supporters included the common people—frontier farmers and eastern factory workers.
The two new political parties developed more democratic ways for choosing candidates for President.
They got rid of the caucus, or private meeting, for choosing candidates.
Instead, each party began to hold a nominating convention, where delegates from the states chose the party’s candidate.

10. Section 1 Assessment
Chapter 12, Section 1
Voting laws in the western states reflected the new democratic spirit. They gave suffrage to
a) any white man who owned property.
b) all free men except Native Americans.
c) any white man over age 21.
d) white men, African American men, and Native American men.
Andrew Jackson’s election represented the spread of democracy because his support came from
a) eastern business people.
b) frontier farmers and eastern factory workers.
c) southern planters.
d) military officers.
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11. Section 1 Assessment
Chapter 12, Section 1
Voting laws in the western states reflected the new democratic spirit. They gave suffrage to
a) any white man who owned property.
b) all free men except Native Americans.
c) any white man over age 21.
d) white men, African American men, and Native American men.
Andrew Jackson’s election represented the spread of democracy because his support came from
a) eastern business people.
b) frontier farmers and eastern factory workers.
c) southern planters.
d) military officers.
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12. Jackson in the White House
Chapter 12, Section 2
What qualities helped Andrew Jackson succeed?
What was the spoils system?
Why did President Jackson fight the Bank of the United States?

13. Andrew Jackson Strong-willed Tough
Chapter 12, Section 2
Strong-willed
Tough
Studied law and set up a successful law practice
Became wealthy buying and selling land
While still in his twenties, was elected to Congress
Won national fame for his achievements in the War of 1812
Complex
Quick temper
Ability to inspire and lead others
A man of his word
A champion of the common people

14. The Spoils System
Chapter 12, Section 2
When he took office, Jackson fired many government employees and replaced them with his supporters.
Critics accused Jackson of rewarding Democrats for helping to elect him instead of choosing men who were qualified.
Jackson said he was serving democracy by letting more citizens take part in government. He felt that ordinary Americans were capable of doing government jobs.
A Jackson supporter explained, “To the victor belong the spoils.”
The practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs became known as the spoils system.
Jackson rewarded a number of supporters with Cabinet jobs. Few of them were qualified, however. So Jackson relied on unofficial advisers. He met with them in the White House kitchen. The group became known as the “kitchen cabinet.”

15. President Jackson vs. the Bank of the United States
Chapter 12, Section 2
The Bank of the United States had great power because it controlled the loans made by state banks. President Jackson thought the Bank was undemocratic. He felt that Bank president Nicholas Biddle used the Bank to benefit the rich.
Whigs persuaded Biddle to try to renew the Bank’s charter before the 1832 election. They thought that if Jackson vetoed the bill to renew the charter, he would anger voters and lose the election.
When the bill to renew the Bank’s charter reached the President, he vetoed it. First, he said the Bank was unconstitutional. Second, he felt that the Bank helped aristocrats at the expense of the common people.
The Whigs brought up the Bank issue in the election of 1832, but Jackson won a stunning election victory anyway.
Jackson ordered the Secretary of the Treasury to stop putting federal money in the Bank of the United States. The bank closed.

16. Section 2 Assessment
Chapter 12, Section 2
Which statement best describes President Jackson’s attitude toward filling government jobs?
a) Ordinary Americans are capable of filling government jobs.
b) Wealthy people are used to running things, so it is best to choose them for government jobs.
c) People who have been to law school are best suited for government jobs.
d) Frontier farmers have good common sense, so they should have all the government jobs.
Jackson worked to end the Bank of the United States because he thought
a) the Bank was too weak.
b) the voters had voted against it.
c) the Bank benefited only the rich.
d) most Americans supported the Bank.
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17. Section 2 Assessment
Chapter 12, Section 2
Which statement best describes President Jackson’s attitude toward filling government jobs?
a) Ordinary Americans are capable of filling government jobs.
b) Wealthy people are used to running things, so it is best to choose them for government jobs.
c) People who have been to law school are best suited for government jobs.
d) Frontier farmers have good common sense, so they should have all the government jobs.
Jackson worked to end the Bank of the United States because he thought
a) the Bank was too weak.
b) the voters had voted against it.
c) the Bank benefited only the rich.
d) most Americans supported the Bank.
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18. A New Crisis How did the tariff crisis lead to the Nullification Act?
Chapter 12, Section 3
How did the tariff crisis lead to the Nullification Act?
Why were Native Americans forced off their land?
What economic problems did Martin Van Buren face?
How did the Whigs and the Democrats campaign in 1840?

19. The Tariff Crisis and the Nullification Act
Chapter 12, Section 3
In 1828, Congress passed the highest tariff in the history of the nation. Southerners called it the Tariff of Abominations.
Northern manufacturers favored the tariff, which protected them from foreign competition.
Southern planters were against the tariff. It raised the cost of the manufactured goods they bought from Europe.
Vice President John C. Calhoun fought against the tariff by introducing the idea of nullification.
Calhoun claimed that a state had the right to nullify, or cancel, a federal law that it considered unconstitutional.
Daniel Webster attacked the idea of nullification. He said that the Constitution united the American people, not just the states. If the states could nullify federal laws, the nation would fall apart.

20. The Tariff Crisis and the Nullification Act
Chapter 12, Section 3
Congress passed a lower tariff in 1832, but South Carolina was not satisfied. The state passed the Nullification Act, declaring the new tariff illegal.
South Carolina also threatened to secede, or withdraw, from the Union.
Jackson asked Congress to pass the Force Bill. It allowed the President to use the army to enforce the tariff. South Carolina reacted by repealing the Nullification Act.
The Nullification Crisis had been a quarrel over states’ rights, or the right of states to limit the power of the federal government.

21. Native Americans Are Forced From Their Homeland
Chapter 12, Section 3
The Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole nations lived in the Southeast. Settlers wanted the Indian’s land for growing cotton.
President Jackson sided with the settlers. The federal government set aside lands beyond the Mississippi and had begun to persuade or force Indians to move to land that had been set aside.
Georgia claimed the right to make laws for the Cherokee nation. The Cherokees went to court, arguing that their treaties with the federal government protected their rights and their property. When the case reached the Supreme Court, the Court agreed that the Constitution protected the Cherokees.
President Jackson refused to enforce the Court’s decision. In the Cherokee case, he backed states’ rights.
Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in It forced many Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi.
The United States Army drove more than 15,000 Cherokees westward. Thousands perished during the march. The long, sad journey west became known as the Trail of Tears.

22. Native Americans Are Forced From Their Homeland
Chapter 12, Section 3
In Florida, the Seminole Indians resisted removal. From 1817 to 1818, they fought the United States Army in a conflict known as the first Seminole War.
The second Seminole War lasted from 1835 to 1842.
The third Seminole War ended in The Seminoles were finally defeated. The federal government forced most Seminoles to leave Florida.

23. Martin Van Buren and Hard Times
Chapter 12, Section 3
Martin Van Buren faced the worst economic crisis the nation had known—the Panic of 1837.
The federal government sold off millions of acres of land in the West. Speculators borrowed money from state banks to buy up the land. To make the loans, state banks printed a lot of paper money. To slow down the wild buying, Jackson ordered that anyone buying public land had to pay with gold or silver. Buyers rushed to the banks to exchange paper money for gold and silver, but many banks did not have enough and had to close down.
The panic became worse when cotton prices fell.
Cotton planters had borrowed money to plant crops. When prices fell, they could not repay their loans. As a result, more banks failed.
The nation plunged into a deep economic depression, a period when business declines and many people lose their jobs. Many people blamed Van Buren.

24. The Campaigns of 1840
Chapter 12, Section 3
The Democrats and Martin Van Buren vs. the Whigs and William Henry Harrison
Harrison traveled across the land, making speeches and greeting voters.
Both parties held rallies, banquets, and entertainment.
Both parties engaged in mudslinging, or the use of insults to attack an opponent’s reputation.
In the campaign, both parties used name-calling, half-truths, and lies.
Harrison won the election. However, soon after taking office, he died of pneumonia. John Tyler became President.

25. Section 3 Assessment
Chapter 12, Section 3
When Congress passed a high tariff that hurt southerners, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina said that
a) southerners would be glad to pay the tariff if it would keep the nation together.
b) a state had a right to nullify a federal law that the state considered unconstitutional.
c) the army should be called out to enforce the tariff.
d) our Federal Union must be preserved.
Shortly after Martin Van Buren became President, the nation faced a severe economic depression. One cause of the depression was that
a) thousands of people had broken into warehouses to steal food.
b) many banks failed when cotton prices fell and cotton planters could not repay their bank loans.
c) speculators could not get any more paper money and stopped buying land.
d) Van Buren tried to set up a more stable banking system.
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26. Section 3 Assessment
Chapter 12, Section 3
When Congress passed a high tariff that hurt southerners, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina said that
a) southerners would be glad to pay the tariff if it would keep the nation together.
b) a state had a right to nullify a federal law that the state considered unconstitutional.
c) the army should be called out to enforce the tariff.
d) our Federal Union must be preserved.
Shortly after Martin Van Buren became President, the nation faced a severe economic depression. One cause of the depression was that
a) thousands of people had broken into warehouses to steal food.
b) many banks failed when cotton prices fell and cotton planters could not repay their bank loans.
c) speculators could not get any more paper money and stopped buying land.
d) Van Buren tried to set up a more stable banking system.
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