Andrew Jackson’s Presidency

Aim: Did Jackson limit or expand democracy?

Common Man?

Monarch?

A New Era of PoliticsA. Ordinary citizens became a greater political

force1. States lowered or eliminated property requirements

for voting (Universal White Male Suffrage)2. Nominating Conventions allowed delegates to

chose candidatesB. New Political Parties: Democrats vs. WhigsC. Spoils System

1. Appointed people to government jobs on basis of party loyalty, not experience or intelligence

2. Opened government offices to more ordinary citizens

Jackson Battles the National BankA. Jackson regarded the Bank of the United

States as a monopoly that benefited only the wealthy

B. Jackson vetoed the Bank’s renewal, ordered the money to be placed in unsupervised “pet banks”

1. Led to the Panic of 1837

Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears Jackson signed the

Indian Removal Act, forcing Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi River

Trail of Tears

The Tariff and Nullification ControversiesA. Because it had few industries, South Carolina

purchased many of its good from EnglandB. Tariff of 1828 made these imported goods very

expensive1. South was forced to purchase manufactured goods

from the North at a higher priceC. South Carolina native and Vice President John C.

Calhoun supported the idea of nullification of the tariff, since it hurt the South and helped the North

A. Supported states’ rights