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5.7 Jacksonian Democracy

  1. Identify Cause and Effect: How did the changes in voting rights affect American democracy? The change to popular vote increased representation of the individual voter - each voter would have a greater say in the government. This included the switch from caucuses to public conventions, as well as removal of the requirement to own property. However, African American and women voting rights were reduced drastically.
  2. Draw Conclusions: What political strategies contributed to Andrew Jackson’s success in the election of 1828? Jackson did something new - travelling the country to gather support. Jackson’s campaign manager Martin Van Buren also helped by reviving Jeffersonian partnership of southern planters and northern commoners.
  3. Draw Conclusions: What did the Trail of Tears show about many people’s views about American Indians at the time? People thought that the Indians could never become civilized and that it was all a sham. The Trail of Tears reinforced this idea, devaluing the lives of the Indians, and forcing them to go through disease, death, and other harsh treatments.
  4. Draw Inferences: Why were the southern states opposed to high tariffs? Well naturally, it would impact them negatively. The high tariffs were meant to promote the domestic economy, therefore greatly benefiting the North. However, the South was mainly producing raw materials which had to be sold and used outside of the U.S. Thus, the tariffs were being paid by the South, which is why they opposed them.
  5. Summarize: Explain why Andrew Jackson and many southerners opposed the creation of a national bank. They thought that the creation was towards the special interests that favored investors - ultimately deeming the system to be full of corruption and greed. Because of these factors, they viewed the creation of a national bank to be dangerous to the Americans.

  6. Compare and Contrast: Use the graphic organizer below to show the differences between the beliefs of the Whigs and the Jacksonian Democrats. Also include information about the people who made up each party.

    Whigs Democrats
    Nationalists who wanted strong federal government
    Broad interpretation of the Constitution and favored tariffs, internal improvements, and national bank
    Appealed to northern protestants who wanted the government to have moral reform    		 Wanted a small federal government and more state power
    Strict interpretation of the Constitution

  7. Determine Central Ideas: How did Andrew Jackson exercise the power of the executive branch to a different extent than previous presidents? Cite evidence. Jackson vetoed the renewal of the Bank’s charter, which was shocking to the supporters of the Bank as that power had only been used rarely - nine times in 42 years.

  8. Draw Inferences: What events and strategies contributed to the Whig victory in the Election of 1840? The Panic of 1837 caused *panic* and negatively effected land value and sales, causing widespread bankruptcy - the worst depression so far. The Whigs took advantage of the panic, and began running campaigns that were light on ideas but heavy on theatrics, which became popular for American politics.