Jacksonian Democracy

Nominating conventions contributed to the expansion of democracy in the United States in the 1820's by...

• drawing media attention to the election.

• allowing people to become more active in politics.

• granting women and African Americans the vote.

• increasing the presidential candidate’s popularity.

Which of the following statements is an example of how voting rights were expanded in the early 1800's?

• Maryland set religious qualifications for voters.

• Some states extended suffrage rights to more white males.

• Party leaders began to nominate their parties’ candidates.

• Massachusetts granted one-half of a vote to each literate freedman.

Which of the following statements describes the social situation of the United States before Jacksonian Democracy?

• Hundreds of craftspeople were opening shops in the cities.

• Small farmers were profiting from new technologies.

• Power was in the hands of a few wealthy individuals.

• Ordinary Americans were gaining a voice in government.

What was the “spoils system” practiced by newly-elected president Andrew Jackson?

• damaging the reputations of one’s political opponents

• celebrating one’s victory over a period of months

• raising the wages of one’s staff after a victory

• rewarding supporters by giving them government jobs

What was the main Democratic criticism of John Quincy Adams’s candidacy for the presidency?

• He was crude and hot-tempered.

• He was out of touch with everyday people.

• He was a veteran too invested in the military.

• He was a bad judge of character.

Who was one of Andrew Jackson’s strongest allies in his official cabinet?

• John C. Calhoun

• Daniel Webster

• Martin Van Buren

• William Henry Harrison

“What a scene did we witness! … a rabble, a mob, of boys … women, children, scrambling, fighting, romping … But it was the people’s day, and the people’s President, and the people would rule.”

—Margaret Bayard Smith

This eyewitness account describes the...

• rebellion of common people against a privileged president.

• excitement surrounding a popular new president’s inauguration.

• mad dash of presidential supporters scrambling for government jobs.

• somber occasion of a lame duck president’s last day in office.

Andrew Jackson won many votes at the 1828 presidential election because he was Harvard-educated and his father had been the second president of the United States.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Some white voters benefited from the expansion of voting rights in the 1820's.

• TRUE

• FALSE

One group of trusted advisers to President Jackson called the _______ was an informal group that sometimes met in the White House

• Nominating Convention

• Spoils System

• Kitchen Cabinet

• Democratic Party