America: The Last Best Hope, Volume I, Chapter 7—Jackson and Democracy 1829-1849
Chapter Overview Handout for Students
Key Historical Points
1.
2.
Andrew Jackson's elections in 1828 and 1832 led to a dramatic new mass participation in the political process.
Jackson's followers became known as the Democratic Party, while his opponents during the era created a new political
coalition that came to be known as the Whigs.
3. Three major political battles of the Jacksonian era were the nullification crisis, Indian removal, and the battle over the
Bank of the United States.
4. During the nullification crisis, John C. Calhoun clearly articulated a theory of secession that would ultimately lead to the
Civil War.
5. Jackson's Indian removal policy reflected the strong desires of the American people, but led to one of the great tragedies
of our nation's history.
6. Jackson's destruction of the Second Bank of the United States led to a major recession, the Panic of 1837.
7. James K. Polk's election in 1844 led to the annexation of Oregon and Texas.
8. Disputes over the border of Texas led to war with Mexico in 1846, a war that resulted in a major land acquisition for the
United States, the Mexican Cession.
9. Both during and after the war with Mexico, the sectional crisis within America deepened as the question was asked whether
the new lands acquired would be slave or free.
10. Many in the North began to fear a "Slave Power" that sought to expand, while many in the South feared northern
interference with their "peculiar institution."
Timeline of Key Events
1828
1829
1830
1831
Tariff of 1828 passed; Calhoun pens South Carolina Exposition and Protest
Andrew Jackson inaugurated
Nullification Crisis begins
William Lloyd Garrison publishes the first issue of The Liberator; Nat Turner Rebellion in Virginia; Alexis de Tocqueville
begins year long tour of the United States
1832 South Carolina holds Nullification Convention; Worcester v. Georgia states Cherokee nation not governed by state law;
Black Hawk War in Illinois; Jackson vetoes recharter of the Second Bank of the United States
1833 Force Bill authorized President Jackson to use force on South Carolina; Tariff of 1833 ends Nullification Crisis
1835 Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America published
1836 National charter for Second Bank of the United States ends; Battle of the Alamo; Battle of San Jacinto; Houston
declares "Lone Star Republic"
1837 Panic of 1837
1838 Cherokee nation forced to Oklahoma on "Trail of Tears"
1839 Slave ship Amistad lands in New Haven, Connecticut
1841 John Quincy Adams wins Amistad case; William Henry Harrison inaugurated President but dies one month later;
John Tyler inaugurated as President
1842 Webster-Ashburton Treaty between U.S. and England ratified ; "Oregon Fever" strikes Midwest; Oregon Trail formed
1845 James K. Polk inaugurated President; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass published
1846 War with Mexico declared
1847 Brigham Young leads Mormons to Utah
1848 Treaty of Guadelupe-Hidalgo ends Mexican-American War; U.S. gains 525,000 square miles
1849 Henry David Thoreau's Essay on Civil Disobedience published
Historical Questions
1.
2.
3.
Some historians have said the election of 1828 pitted “The Plowman” vs. “The Professor.” What factors led Americans to
choose Andrew Jackson in this race and what changes in the political process did this represent?
Describe key events that led to the removal of the Cherokee Indians from the American South and evaluate what this story
says about the relationships between different levels of government at the time (state, federal, courts).
How are the facts of the nullification crisis of 1832 and 1833 important to an understanding of the growing sectional crisis
that would one day lead to the Civil War?
Key People
Alexis de Tocqueville
Andrew Jackson
Black Hawk
Brigham Young
Captain John Frémont
Cinque
Daniel Webster
David Walker
Davy Crockett
Frederick Douglass
General Santa Anna
General Stephen Kearny
General Winfield Scott
General Zachary Taylor
Key Events
Henry Clay
Henry D. Thoreau
James K. Polk
Jim Bowie
John C. Calhoun
John Quincy Adams
John Slidell
Indian Removal
Jackson's War on the Bank
Mexican War (1846-48)
Nat Turner Rebellion
Nullification Convention
Amistad Trial
Battle of San Jacinto
Battle of the Alamo
Black Hawk War of 1832
Cherokee "Trail of Tears"
Election of 1828
Historical Terms and Places
Halls of Montezuma"
"Oregon Fever"
abolitionists
Albany Regency
Clay's American System
Compact Theory
Deseret
Ebony and Topaz
Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!
King Caucus
Lone Star Republic
Manifest Destiny
Mexican Cession
National Bank
John Tyler
Joseph Smith
Martin Van Buren
Mormons
Nat Turner
Roger B. Taney
Sam Houston
Sarah and Angelina Grimké
Sequoia
Tecumseh
William Henry Harrison
William Lloyd Garrison
Oregon Trail
Panic of 1837
Peggy Eaton Affair
Texas War of Independence (1836)
The Whigs' "Log Cabin Campaign" of 1840
Nullies
Nullification
Peculiar Institution
San Patricios
Secession
Slave Power
spoils system
Tariff of Abominations
tariffs
the Kitchen Cabinet
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too
Whigs
Laws and Legislation
Transcontinental Treaty (1819) granted Florida to the United States
McCullough v. Maryland (1819) confirmed the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States,
Tariff of 1828 raised rates on many imports and was known in the South as the "Tariff of Abominations"
Compromise Tariff of 1833 Congress lowered tariff, thus helping end (but not really resolving) the nullification crisis
South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification state convention that actually voted to not collect the 1832 tariff within the
borders of South Carolina; this led to a showdown with the federal government - the nullification crisis
Worcester v. Georgia (1832) the court ruled Cherokees constituted a distinct nation; state of Georgia had no authority
Cherokee Phoenix newspaper in the Cherokee's native language
Gag Rule (1835-1844) prevented Congress from discussing any anti-slavery petitions
Specie Circular (1836) ordered that all land sales must be paid for with gold or silver (specie)
Democracy in America description of American democracy was written by a French visitor, Alexis de Tocqueville
The Liberator William Lloyd Garrison began printing this newspaper in 1831; became the most strident abolitionist voice
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass written by Frederick Douglass, a slave who had escaped to the North
Webster-Ashburn Treaty (1842) settled unresolved boundary dispute between the U.S. and Canada
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) treaty ending the Mexican War (1846-1848) granted the U.S. the Mexican Cession for a
payment of fifteen million dollars
Wilmot Proviso resolution that any lands won during the war be free from American slavery
Five Themes of Geography
Location Charleston, San Antonio, Mexico City
Place South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Oregon, California
Movement Indian Removal, major trails west, route of Donner Party, Mormon migration
Region Electoral maps of 1828 and 1840, Indian areas of Southeast U.S. (“Five Civilized Tribes”), Mexican Cession
Key Economic Points
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Tariffs lead to higher prices for consumers
South hit harder by high tariffs because they imported more of their luxury goods than did the North; led to nullification
crisis
There was a “War on the Bank” due to its unreliable paper currency; Jackson vetoes re-charter in 1832
When national bank charter expired in 1836, it led to the “Panic of 1837” sending the American economy into a depression
The bad economy led to Martin Van Buren’s ouster as President in the 1840 elections
The Mexican War supported Southern economic interests (land, cotton, and slavery), therefore the war was unpopular in
the North