The Age of Jackson

Presidential Election  John Quincy Adams is elected president over Jackson in 1824  Jackson won the popular vote, but neither candidate received a majority in the electoral vote  Corrupt Bargain – Henry Clay influenced the House of Representatives to elect Adams and was appointed Clay Secretary of State

Voting Requirements  Prior to 1828 majority of Americans were content with allowing the aristocracy to select the President.  Aristocracy – wealthy, educated, privileged class  By 1828 most states got rid of property qualifications for voting, therefore more people could vote

Election of 1828  Adams – characterized as an intellectual elitist  Jackson – characterized as a man of humble origins, “president for the common man” In reality Jackson was a wealthy plantation owner

President Jackson  Presidential veto - the right of a president to reject bills passed by the legislature.  Spoils system – to the victor belongs the spoils Rewarded loyal friends from the campaign with government positions

President Jackson  Indian Removal Act of 1830 Jackson believed assimilation would not work and reservations required too many soldiers to prevent white settlement Indian Removal Act – a series of treaties that moved Native American Tribes west

Trail of Tears  November 1838 – Cherokee made an 800-mile trip west  Government officials stole their money  Outlaws stole their livestock  More than a quarter of the Cherokee died along the way

Don’t Drink the Water Listen to the song and write 5 lines- or references to support what the main message of this song.

Tariff of 1828  Limited exports from Great Britain forcing the South to buy more expensive items from the North  John C. Calhoun – nullification Questioned the legality of applying federal laws in sovereign states U.S. was a compact of sovereign states which could nullify, or reject a law considered unconstitutional

South Carolina Rebels  Tariff of 1832 caused South Carolina to threaten to secede or withdraw from the Union  Jackson threatened military action against South Carolina  Henry Clay proposed a bill that would gradually decrease the taxes of 10 years

The National Bank  Viewed the bank as a “tool of the elite” or “privileged institution”  In 1832, Jackson vetoed the re-chartering of the bank  Jackson began removing government funds and placing them in state banks called “pet banks”

Panic of 1837  A direct result of the closing of the National Bank  “Pet banks” over-speculated and paper money became nearly worthless  People lost their savings, businesses went bankrupt and 1/3 of the population was out of work

Jackson’s Legacy  Increase of respect and power for the common man  Voting rights expanded to all white male adult citizens, rather than only land owners in that group  Increased the strength of the Executive branch at the expense of the Legislative branch

Annotated Illustration Your task: Draw an illustration of a historical figure, item or event. Annotate this with text labels and descriptions of the key points in the picture.  Instructions:  1. Draw a full page picture, in color, of your figure, item or event.  2. Neatly write a title identifying the person, place and year.  3. Write a minimum of 6 annotations at least 2 sentences in length each to describe various parts of your drawing. Number these 1-6 on your paper.