Download Chapter 13: The Rise of Mass Democracy (1824

AP U.S. History – Unit 5 – Westward Expansion: Jacksonian Politics (1824-1840)
Chapter 13: The Rise of Mass Democracy (1824-1840)
Enduring Understanding: Social, political, religious, international, technological, and economic issues contributed
to the growth of the United States in the early 1800s. While there was conflict abroad, political partisanship,
economic growth, and social and religious movements at home developed the American character.
Concepts: Partisanship, Judicial Review, Internationalism, Isolationism, the Second Great Awakening,
Abolitionism, Feminism, Industrialization, Expansionism, Nationalism, Nativism, Universal Male Suffrage,
Women’s Suffrage
Topic/Take-Away: The election to the presidency of the frontier aristocrat and common persons hero, Andrew
Jackson, signaled the end of the older elitist political leadership represented by John Quincy Adams. A new spirit of
mass democracy and popular involvement swept through American society, bringing new energy as well as conflict
and corruption to public life.
Topic/Take-Away: Jackson successfully mobilized the techniques of the New Democracy and presidential power to
win a series of dramatic political battles against his enemies. But by the late 1830s, his Whig opponents had learned
to use the same popular political weapons against the Democrats, signaling the emergence of the second American
party system.
Topic/Take-Away: Amidst the whirl of democratic politics, issues of tariffs, financial instability, Indian policy, and
possible expansion in Texas indicated that difficult sectional and economic problems were festering beneath the
surface and not being very successfully addressed.
Academic Terms to Know
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“Era of Good Feelings”
1824 election (Jackson, Clay, Adams,
Crawford)
“Corrupt Bargain”
John Quincy Adams
1828 election
“Old Hickory”
spoils system
1828 “Tariff of Abominations”
Denmark Vesey/slave rebellion (1822)
John C. Calhoun
South Carolina Exposition (1828)
Nullification
Clay’s compromise tariff of 1833
Force Bill (1833)
Cherokee Nation/Sequoyah
“Five Civilized Tribes”
Supreme Court - support of Indian rights
Indian Removal Act (1830)
“Trail of Tears”
Bureau of Indian Affairs (1836)
Black Hawk War (1832)
Seminole War (1835-1842)
Bank of the U.S.
Nicholas Biddle
Webster/Clay and Recharter Bill (1832)
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Election of 1832
Anti-Masonic Party
National nominating conventions
“Biddle’s Panic”
“Pet” banks
“Wildcat” banks
Specie Circular (1836)
“King Andrew the First”
Whig Party
Martin Van Buren
Panic of 1837
“Divorce Bill”
Independent Treasury Bill (1840)
Texas
Stephen Austin (1823)
Davy Crockett/James Bowie
Sam Houston
Santa Anna
Texas Republic (1836)
“Remember the Alamo”
Battle of San Jacinto (1836)
William Henry Harrison (Whig, 1840)
“Tippecanoe and Tyler too”
Mr. M.A. Rivera
Unit 5 – Chapter 13 –Introduction
Page 1 of 2
AP U.S. History – Unit 5 – Westward Expansion: Jacksonian Politics (1824-1840)
Guided Reading Questions
1. Who were the four candidates for the election of 1824, what were the results, and why was the alliance
between Clay and Adams considered a “Corrupt Bargain” according to Andrew Jackson and his
followers?
2. What were Adams’ ideas regarding roads and canals, a national university, an astronomical
observatory, over-speculation of land, and the Cherokee Indians?
3. What were the arguments Andrew Jackson and John Q. Adams made against each other during the
election of 1828?
4. What are some of the biographical details in Andrew Jackson’s life that earned him the nickname of
“Old Hickory” and why was he thought of as the “common man’s” president?
5. What was the Spoils System, why did Andrew Jackson believe it was necessary to enhance the spoils
system, and how was Samuel Swartwout an example of why the spoils system was weak?
6. What were the causes and effects of the “Tariff of Abominations” (1828), how did it affect the
economy specifically, and how did it lead to “The South Carolina Exposition” in 1828?
7. How did Henry Clay play a key role in keeping South Carolina from secession and Andrew Jackson
from crushing South Carolina with the Tariff of 1833 proposal?
8. Who were the “Five Civilized Tribes,” in what way were they assimilated, and what law led to the
“Trail of Tears” and how?
9. Why were westerners and southerners opposed to the Bank of the United States, why did Andrew
Jackson crush Henry Clay’s attempt to get it re-chartered in 1832, why does the Bank of the United States
eventually close in 1836, and how does this lead to a depression?
10. What are the issues of the election of 1832, who won, and how does this election affect Clay’s record
in his run for the White House?
11. What did the Whigs believe and what factors led to their loss of the White House in 1836?
12. What were the six factors that contributed to the Panic of 1837 and what were the effects of the Panic?
13. What were the stipulations that allowed Americans into Texas and how does this influx eventually
lead to Texan independence?
14. Why was the advent of universal male suffrage and the time period between the 1820’s and the 1840’s
known as the New Democracy and how did it ultimately affect government elections?
15. What were characteristics of Democrats and Whigs under the two-party system that emerged in the
mid-1830s?
Mr. M.A. Rivera
Unit 5 – Chapter 13 –Introduction
Page 2 of 2