Deck 10: Democracy in America, 1815-1840

Question 1

In the wake of the War of 1812, younger Republicans like Henry Clay and John Calhoun:

A) continued to support agrarianism but believed that the nation's economic independence required a manufacturing sector.
B) demanded that the United States scale back its international involvement and depend exclusively on agriculture for its prosperity.
C) believed in the need for national economic development but thought that the federal government should stay out of it and let the states do it.
D) decided that Jeffersonianism was hopelessly out of date when President James Madison opposed their efforts, and they decided to form their own political party.

Answer 1

continued to support agrarianism but believed that the nation's economic independence required a manufacturing sector.

Question 2

The Second Bank of the United States was created:

A) by Congress in 1816, with the support of President Madison.
B) to counterbalance the power of the First Bank of the United States.
C) by President Monroe's executive order in 1820.
D) by a group of New York bankers after the First Bank of the United States failed.

Answer 2

by Congress in 1816, with the support of President Madison.

Question 3

Bank Veto Message (1832)
Andrew Jackson
The bill "to modify and continue" the act entitled "An act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States" was presented to me on the 4th July instant. Having considered it with that solemn regard to the principles of the Constitution which the day was calculated to inspire, and come to the conclusion that it ought not to become a law, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objections . . .
The bank is professedly established as an agent of the executive branch of the Government, and its constitutionality is maintained on that ground. Neither upon the propriety of present action nor upon the provisions of this act was the Executive consulted. It has had no opportunity to say that it neither needs nor wants an agent clothed with such powers and favored by such exemptions. There is nothing in its legitimate functions which makes it necessary or proper.
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society-the farmers, mechanics, and laborers-who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government.
The question of the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States was

A) as yet unresolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.
B) considered by Jackson to be an executive branch matter.
C) cited in the passage as a matter of equal protection under the law.
D) not a crucial issue in Jackson's veto of the Re-charter Bill.

Answer 3

considered by Jackson to be an executive branch matter.

Question 4

What innovation led to mass production of newspapers and pamphlets in the 1820s and 1830s?

A) The invention of the printing press.
B) Noah Webster publishing a dictionary for Americans.
C) The spread of telegraph wires.
D) The use of steam power for presses.

Question 5

Bank Veto Message (1832)
Andrew Jackson
The bill "to modify and continue" the act entitled "An act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States" was presented to me on the 4th July instant. Having considered it with that solemn regard to the principles of the Constitution which the day was calculated to inspire, and come to the conclusion that it ought not to become a law, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objections . . .
The bank is professedly established as an agent of the executive branch of the Government, and its constitutionality is maintained on that ground. Neither upon the propriety of present action nor upon the provisions of this act was the Executive consulted. It has had no opportunity to say that it neither needs nor wants an agent clothed with such powers and favored by such exemptions. There is nothing in its legitimate functions which makes it necessary or proper.
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society-the farmers, mechanics, and laborers-who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government.
The most significant long-term effect of Jackson's veto was

A) widespread western expansion due to greater availability of credit to purchase land.
B) the first and only time the federal government could pay off its debts.
C) the federal government's inability to monitor monetary policy without a central bank.
D) steady and stable growth of state-chartered banks.

Question 6

By 1860, free black men could vote on the same basis as whites only in:

A) Virginia and Maryland.
B) New York and Pennsylvania.
C) the Upper Northwest (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota).
D) five New England states.

Question 7

Bank Veto Message (1832)
Andrew Jackson
The bill "to modify and continue" the act entitled "An act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States" was presented to me on the 4th July instant. Having considered it with that solemn regard to the principles of the Constitution which the day was calculated to inspire, and come to the conclusion that it ought not to become a law, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objections . . .
The bank is professedly established as an agent of the executive branch of the Government, and its constitutionality is maintained on that ground. Neither upon the propriety of present action nor upon the provisions of this act was the Executive consulted. It has had no opportunity to say that it neither needs nor wants an agent clothed with such powers and favored by such exemptions. There is nothing in its legitimate functions which makes it necessary or proper.
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society-the farmers, mechanics, and laborers-who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government.
Jackson's assertion in his veto message was that the Second Bank of the United States was

A) negligently managed.
B) an institution that favored a privileged minority of the population.
C) constitutional, but still bad policy.
D) stifling western expansion.

Question 8

A primary reason that both women and blacks were largely excluded from the expansion of democracy was:

A) the argument that, since they did not have the vote in England, they ought not to have the vote in America.
B) that they were not citizens, so they could not vote.
C) that both groups were viewed as being naturally incapable and thus unfit for suffrage.
D) that members of neither group had asked to be included in politics.

Question 9

What was the biggest change in American society during the Age of Jackson?

A) There was more acceptance of Native American culture.
B) Ex-slaves were gaining more rights.
C) Economic equality was increasing for white males.
D) Sovereignty for white males was more fully realized.

Question 10

In the early to mid-nineteenth century, property qualifications for voting:

A) continued in Virginia because large slaveholders dominated the state's politics.
B) survived in all of the slave states but in none of the free states.
C) died out entirely, allowing all whites to vote in every state.
D) were more popular in newer states than in the original thirteen.

Question 11

The Dorr War:

A) stemmed from a disagreement between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson over internal improvements.
B) refers to fighting that broke out between whites and Cherokees in Georgia.
C) demonstrated the contentiousness of the national bank debate.
D) divided Rhode Islanders over the issue of expanding voting rights for white men.

Question 12

Which statement is true in regard to democracy in the Age of Jackson?

A) Jackson was a typical poor farmer who came to be an accurate symbol of the age.
B) The justification for the disfranchisement of women was similar to that used against blacks.
C) The ideals of the Declaration of Independence expanded beyond white men.
D) Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that democracy in the United States was overrated.

Question 13

By 1840, approximately ________ percent of adult white men were eligible to vote.

A) 90
B) 55
C) 65
D) 75

Question 14

Bank Veto Message (1832)
Andrew Jackson
The bill "to modify and continue" the act entitled "An act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States" was presented to me on the 4th July instant. Having considered it with that solemn regard to the principles of the Constitution which the day was calculated to inspire, and come to the conclusion that it ought not to become a law, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objections . . .
The bank is professedly established as an agent of the executive branch of the Government, and its constitutionality is maintained on that ground. Neither upon the propriety of present action nor upon the provisions of this act was the Executive consulted. It has had no opportunity to say that it neither needs nor wants an agent clothed with such powers and favored by such exemptions. There is nothing in its legitimate functions which makes it necessary or proper.
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society-the farmers, mechanics, and laborers-who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government.
Andrew Jackson's inauguration was:

A) small and dignified.
B) much like the previous presidential inaugurations.
C) limited to only the upper crust of society.
D) a large, rowdy event.

Question 15

The key insight of Alexis de Tocqueville's Tocqueville on Democracy was that:

A) the most important thing about American democracy was that the majority of men could vote.
B) American democracy was really a sham.
C) American democracy really represented an important cultural shift.
D) the ideology of the Whig Party was actually more democratic than that of the Democratic Party.

Question 16

In response to the demand for internal improvements, President James Madison:

A) spoke out vigorously against what Henry Clay called the "American System."
B) approved a law that created the interstate highway system that we have today.
C) called for a constitutional amendment to empower the federal government to build roads and canals.
D) signed into law John Calhoun's bill for federally financed internal improvements.

Question 17

In the first half of the nineteenth century, paper money:

A) could be issued only by the Second Bank of the United States.
B) was illegal.
C) promised to pay the bearer on demand a specific amount of gold or silver.
D) never changed its value because of U.S. government guarantees.

Question 18

By the 1830s, the term "citizen" in America had become synonymous with the right to:

A) accumulate wealth.
B) vote.
C) own property.
D) own slaves.

Question 19

Women writers benefited from:

A) men accepting the idea that they had the right to express their political views, just not vote on them.
B) the increasing popularity of fiction about women workers, based on the Lowell girls.
C) the Lydia Maria Child Publishing House, which emphasized women's literature.
D) the growth of the reading public, part of the democratization of American life.

Question 20

The Panic of 1819:

A) resulted partly from an upsurge in European demand for American farm products that the United States was unprepared to meet.
B) led to impossibly high prices for western lands.
C) enhanced trust in banks because they did such a good job of weathering the economic storm.
D) prompted some states to suspend debt collections, which helped debtors but hurt creditors.

Question 21

Henry Clay was charged with orchestrating a "corrupt bargain" during the 1824 election so that he could become:

A) president.
B) vice president.
C) secretary of state.
D) ambassador to England.

Question 22

The Monroe Doctrine:

A) was the idea that all white men should have voting rights.
B) secured Florida from Spain.
C) declared the Americas off-limits for further European colonization.
D) stated that the United States would be neutral in all international conflicts.

Question 23

Both Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams suggested that the Missouri controversy of 1820-1821:

A) demonstrated the wisdom of the founding fathers in adopting the three-fifths clause.
B) should have been solved by adoption of the Tallmadge Amendment.
C) was not as dangerous as President Monroe made it out to be.
D) revealed a sectional divide that potentially threatened the Union.

Question 24

What idea did John Quincy Adams promote that was not accepted in his presidency and is still rejected in today's United States:

A) Building national roads.
B) A publicly funded astronomical observatory.
C) Congressional aid for farming.
D) Official adoption of the metric system.

Question 25

In regard to foreign policy, what did John Quincy Adams envision for the United States?

A) The United States would return land to Indian tribes west of the Mississippi River.
B) The United States would eventually control all of North America.
C) The United States should focus only on gaining Caribbean islands.
D) The United States would need to go to war to gain Canada.

Question 26

In the document "The Memorial of the Non-Freeholders of the City of Richmond," what were the freeholders claiming?

A) A majority of white males were not allowed to vote.
B) Immigrants should be granted suffrage.
C) Poor farm workers needed to be granted a free plot of land from the government in Virginia.
D) The voting age needed to be lowered to fifteen.

Question 27

What did the citizens appeal to in the "Appeal of Forty Thousand Citizens Threatened with Disfranchisement"?

A) Violence.
B) Abolition of slavery.
C) The conscience of white males.
D) The hard work of white women in the home.

Question 28

Which occurred during the election of 1828?

A) Adams fired most of the federal employees who openly campaigned for Jackson.
B) One campaign slogan declared, "Adams can fight, but Jackson can write."
C) Adams's supporters questioned the morality of Andrew Jackson's wife because they saw her as a bigamist.
D) Andrew Jackson accused John Quincy Adams of being a murderer.

Question 29

Why was a second Missouri Compromise necessary?

A) Maine's state constitution allowed slavery to continue until 1840.
B) Missouri's state constitution barred free blacks from entering the state.
C) Henry Clay refused to vote for the first Missouri Compromise.
D) Texas wished to enter the Union as a slave state at the same time.

Question 30

What significant issue did the Missouri Compromise aim to resolve?

A) Giving land to Native Americans.
B) The protective tariff.
C) Slaves being treated as property.
D) The extension of slavery.

Question 31

Which president's vision for America most resembled Alexander Hamilton's plans?

A) Andrew Jackson.
B) James Monroe.
C) Martin Van Buren.
D) John Quincy Adams.

Question 32

Under the Missouri Compromise of 1820:

A) the remaining Louisiana Purchase territory was divided into slave and free zones.
B) Congress banned slavery in any new territory that might ever be added to the United States.
C) Missouri agreed to gradual emancipation of slavery in exchange for admission to the Union.
D) Ohio became a free state to balance the admission of Missouri as a slave state.

Question 33

In its decision in McCulloch v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that:

A) the Indians were not allowed to sue the federal government.
B) the Second Bank of the United States was constitutional.
C) Catholics could not be barred from political office.
D) the American System was unconstitutional.

Question 34

What would have been an accurate assessment of the Monroe Doctrine at the time?

A) The Latin American revolutions had little in common with American ideals.
B) It was more talk than action, as the United States was weak militarily.
C) The United States had battle plans drawn to attack Europe to prevent further colonization.
D) This was a plan to gain Canada from the British.

Question 35

Which of the following statements about Martin Van Buren is true?

A) By 1832, he had established the political machinery of the Whig Party.
B) He wanted to see competition between political parties.
C) Based on his strong intellectualism, he promoted the idea of a national university.
D) He emphasized sectionalism over party loyalty.

Question 36

In the presidential election of 1824, who received the most votes but failed to win a majority of either the popular or electoral votes (requiring the House of Representatives to select a president)?

A) Andrew Jackson.
B) Henry Clay.
C) John Quincy Adams.
D) James Monroe.

Question 37

The term "Era of Good Feelings" refers to the period of American history when:

A) the Federalist Party was at its strongest.
B) there seemed to be political harmony during the Monroe administration.
C) Americans united across party lines to declare war on Great Britain in the War of 1812.
D) slavery was gradually abolished in all the states.

Question 38

How would one describe John Quincy Adams?

A) He had a strong nationalist view of governing.
B) As a Federalist senator, he had vehemently opposed Jefferson's embargo policy.
C) He had promoted the idea of strict construction in regard to the Constitution.
D) He opposed spending national government funds on economic development.

Question 39

Analysis of the key events of the "Era of Good Feelings" showed that:

A) Andrew Jackson's spoils system angered many Americans.
B) single-party rule managed to erase sectional conflict.
C) the War of 1812 was an abysmal failure.
D) the Monroe Doctrine created harmony between Europe and the Western Hemisphere.

Question 40

The independence movements in Latin America between 1810 and 1822:

A) led Spain to crack down and succeed in consolidating its power in the Americas.
B) gained very little sympathy in the United States because of atrocities committed by revolutionaries.
C) created seventeen different nations, each headed by a person of Indian ancestry.
D) paralleled in some ways the independence movement that created the United States.

Question 41

What was a general belief of the Democrats in the 1830s?

A) The federal government should be more powerful than state governments.
B) New corporate enterprises were suspicious.
C) Only government could protect against social inequality.
D) Government should exercise its power to try to improve private morality.

Question 42

Who wrote Exposition and Protest and emerged by the early 1830s as the most prominent spokesman for the right of nullification?

A) John C. Calhoun.
B) Henry Clay.
C) Andrew Jackson.
D) John Quincy Adams.

Question 43

Jackson adhered to what philosophy during the nullification crisis?

A) The national government was supreme.
B) States should have the final say.
C) The Supreme Court knew best about the Native Americans.
D) Slavery was morally wrong.

Question 44

The practice of giving a political office to someone based on party loyalty is called:

A) a meritocracy.
B) the spoils system.
C) paternalism.
D) the party system.

Question 45

The nullification crisis:

A) involved the fears of some slaveholders that the federal government might take action against slavery.
B) was based on southern concerns that tariffs were preventing the South from industrializing as fast as the North.
C) largely concerned the opposition of southwestern planters to federally financed internal improvements.
D) brought Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun closer together politically.

Question 46

Which statement is a correct assessment about the Whigs?

A) The Whig leadership criticized the American System.
B) Their programs connected best with voters in isolated rural areas.
C) They hoped to derail the market economy.
D) They argued that the role of government was to promote the welfare of its people.

Question 47

How are Andrew Jackson and George Washington most similar?

A) Both had a strong mistrust of banks.
B) Washington favored states' rights more than Jackson.
C) Both had similar policies in regard to Native Americans.
D) Both were popular army generals, which helped them get elected to the presidency.

Question 48

The U.S. Supreme Court's 1832 Worcester v. Georgia decision:

A) supported the right of the Cherokee people to maintain a separate political identity.
B) approved Georgia's plans to confiscate Cherokee land and move the people to reservations.
C) struck down Georgia's anti-tariff Nullification Ordinance.
D) was fully supported by President Andrew Jackson.

Question 49

Who was the last tribe to put up resistance on the battlefield in the Old Northwest?

A) Sauk.
B) Cherokee.
C) Sioux.
D) Choctaw.

Question 50

During Andrew Jackson's presidency, what occurred financially?

A) The administration refused requests for federal expenditures for roads.
B) Eventually the tariff was raised.
C) The budget of the Second Bank of the United States increased by the end of his second term.
D) The national government debt was eliminated.

Question 51

Who argued in a famous debate with South Carolina's Robert Hayne that the people, not the states, created the Constitution?

A) John C. Calhoun.
B) John Quincy Adams.
C) Henry Clay.
D) Daniel Webster.

Question 52

Many of the members of Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet, as his group of close advisers was known, were:

A) bankers.
B) newspaper editors.
C) women, including Peggy Eaton and Floride Calhoun.
D) military officers.

Question 53

What was the role of the Supreme Court in the protection of Native American lands?

A) The Supreme Court prevented Native Americans from losing access to land in Georgia.
B) The Supreme Court believed the Native Americans deserved no protection.
C) The Supreme Court ruled that the Seminole War was illegal.
D) The Supreme Court was unable to enforce any form of protection.

Question 54

The nullification crisis ended:

A) in the so-called Dorr War.
B) with North Carolina's threat to secede in 1832.
C) with the Supreme Court's opinion in Hamilton v. Jackson.
D) with a compromise tariff.

Question 55

By the time of Jackson's presidency, politics:

A) remained very much the province of the elite.
B) was centered on the congressional elections held every other year.
C) focused on organization, with the public refusing to tolerate showmanship or flowery oratory.
D) often emphasized individual politicians with mass followings and popular nicknames.

Question 56

In his Cherokee Nation v. Georgia opinion, Chief Justice John Marshall stated that:

A) Georgia had to respect Indian title to their lands.
B) Indians were wards of the federal government.
C) the Cherokee had to move to the Indian Territory.
D) President Jackson had full authority over Indian affairs.

Question 57

Whigs wanted the government involved in the following activity:

A) Restricting promotion of alcohol production.
B) Subsidizing land for poor farmers.
C) Promoting a rigid class society.
D) Regulating corporations.

Question 58

Which state referred to the Tariff of 1828 as an "abomination"?

A) South Carolina.
B) New York.
C) North Carolina.
D) Georgia.

Question 59

The controversy over Peggy Eaton:

A) led to her divorce from her husband, the secretary of war.
B) ended when Floride Calhoun came to Eaton's defense.
C) helped to enhance Martin Van Buren's influence during the Jackson administration.
D) began when Andrew Jackson accused her of improper sexual advances.

Question 60

The Force Act of 1833:

A) created a standing federal army to deal with threats to national security.
B) provided for a police force for the District of Columbia.
C) gave the president authority to use military personnel to collect tariffs.
D) became law at the insistence of nullification supporters.

Question 61

Which of the following assessments of Jackson's opposition to the Bank of the United States is true?

A) Jackson's motivations showed no concern for the American people.
B) Jackson was motivated by a Jeffersonian philosophy but acted in a Hamiltonian way.
C) Jackson went against his own party's wishes.
D) Jackson believed he was doing what George Washington would have done if he had been president in the 1830s.

Question 62

How does the Bank War demonstrate that Andrew Jackson enhanced the power of the presidency?

A) He became the first president ever to veto a bill passed by Congress.
B) By removing federal funds from the Bank even after Congress overrode his veto, he showed strong leadership.
C) He identified himself as the symbolic representative of all the people with his veto message that appealed directly to the public.
D) Because Jackson forced the Bank to issue more paper money to end a depression, Americans increasingly looked to the White House for economic leadership.

Question 63

In what way was the 1840 Whig campaign for president similar to recent presidential campaigns?

A) Both had an extremely high percentage of voters (80 percent) turning out to cast ballots.
B) Both had record numbers of African-Americans voting.
C) Both stressed that the presidential candidate can relate to the average citizen.
D) Both had candidates with no platforms.

Question 64

Who was the president of the Second Bank of the United States in 1832?

A) Langdon Cheves.
B) Paul Volcker.
C) Henry Clay.
D) Nicholas Biddle.

Question 65

Whose 1840 presidential campaign portrayed him as a common man who was born in a log cabin and liked to drink hard cider?

A) Andrew Jackson.
B) William Henry Harrison.
C) Martin Van Buren.
D) John Quincy Adams.

Question 66

What was President Martin Van Buren's new solution to the problem of what to do about the federal government's relationship to banking?

A) He called for federal money to be deposited in state-chartered banks known as "pets."
B) He proposed the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank, with branches in key cities.
C) He created the Third Bank of the United States, but this time headed by a reliable Democrat.
D) He proposed that federal funds be controlled by government officials rather than by bankers.

Question 67

The Panic of 1837:

A) inspired a more vigorous labor movement in the decade that followed.
B) led to a relatively mild economic downturn that resolved itself by 1839.
C) can only be blamed on Andrew Jackson's veto of the bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States.
D) was caused, in part, by a decline in British demand for American cotton.

Question 68

Which Indian nation fought a war with the U.S. army from 1835 to 1842 to resist removal to the West?

A) Cherokee.
B) Chickasaw.
C) Creek.
D) Seminole.

Question 69

In the 1830s, how should Andrew Jackson's ideas on the Second Bank of the United States be characterized?

A) The Bank did not permit the issuance of enough paper money to meet national demand.
B) Bank workers should receive pay wages.
C) Jackson believed the renewal of the Bank charter should be done quickly.
D) The Bank was a "monster" that had too much power.

Question 70

In the presidential election of 1840:

A) the Whigs employed political tactics pioneered by Democrats.
B) voter turnout dropped dramatically because no popular candidate like Jackson ran.
C) the Democrats nominated three regional candidates, hoping to throw the election into the House of Representatives.
D) the Democrats and Whigs both produced platforms that clearly laid out the parties' positions on major public issues.

Question 71

"Hard money" in the 1830s referred to:

A) gold and silver, also called "specie."
B) wages paid to manual laborers.
C) money backed by government guarantees.
D) any money issued by a bank.

Question 72

As president, John Tyler:

A) worked hard to enact the Whig economic program.
B) proved so popular that he easily won the 1844 presidential election.
C) vetoed a bill to create a new national bank, thus angering Whigs.
D) engaged in a public feud with his vice president that led to the latter's resignation.

Question 73

What triggered the Panic of 1837?

A) The removal of Native Americans from the Southeast.
B) Martin Van Buren's victory in the election of 1836.
C) Jackson's war on the national bank.
D) The Seminole War.