Deck 13: The Rise of a Mass Democracy

Question 1

The new two-party political system that emerged in the 1830s and 1840s

A) contributed to growing sectional divisions.
B) upheld the "deference" toward elite political leadership.
C) brought talented people into politics and government.
D) fulfilled the ideals of the founding fathers.
E) became an important part of the nation's checks and balances.

Answer 1

became an important part of the nation's checks and balances.

Question 2

By the 1840s voter participation in presidential elections reached

A) nearly 50 percent.
B) 25 percent.
C) 40 percent.
D) 15 percent.
E) nearly 80 percent.

Answer 2

nearly 80 percent.

Question 3

In the 1820s and 1830s the public's attitude toward political parties

A) reflected the view of "a pox on both your houses."
B) was deeply ambivalent.
C) was more positive in the North than in the South.
D) reflected growing acceptance of the wild contentiousness of political life.
E) was that they were the best expressions of political ideologies.

Answer 3

reflected growing acceptance of the wild contentiousness of political life.

Question 4

The House of Representatives decided the 1824 presidential election when

A) no candidate received a majority of the vote in the Electoral College.
B) William Crawford suffered a stroke and was forced to drop out of the race.
C) the top two candidates tied in the electoral vote.
D) New England threatened to secede if Jackson were elected.
E) the vote was too close to call in Florida.

Question 5

The election of 1824 ended in a deadlock (i.e., no candidate received a majority of votes in the Electoral College), as directed by the ____, the House of Representatives had to choose among the top three candidates.

A) Ninth Amendment
B) Tenth Amendment
C) Eleventh Amendment
D) Twelfth Amendment
E) Thirteenth Amendment

Question 6

John Quincy Adams could be described as

A) a clever behind-the-scenes operator.
B) a great mind with a morally flawed character.
C) a person with great tact and love for people.
D) a politician without a politician's skills.
E) a man of limited intelligence.

Question 7

By the 1840s new techniques of politicking included all of the following except

A) barbecues.
B) free drinks.
C) parades.
D) badges.
E) all of these.

Question 8

The proposal for exceptionally high rates in the Tariff of 1828 arose from

A) supporters of John Quincy Adams who wanted to protect New England manufacturers.
B) abolitionists who saw it as the opening wedge for the use of federal power against slavery.
C) ardent supporters of Andrew Jackson who actually hoped it would be defeated.
D) supporters of Henry Clay's "American System."
E) southern plantation owners who wanted to prevent dumping of Egyptian cotton in America.

Question 9

Match each candidate in the election of 1824 with the correct description.

A) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4
B) A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2
C) A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1
D) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
E) A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3

Question 10

John Quincy Adams, elected president in 1825, was charged by his political opponents with having struck a "corrupt bargain" when he appointed ____ to become ____.

A) John C. Calhoun, vice president
B) William Crawford, chief justice of the Supreme Court
C) Henry Clay, secretary of state
D) Daniel Webster, secretary of state
E) Nicholas Biddle, president of the Bank of the United States

Question 11

In the 1820s and 1830s the two issues that greatly raised the political stakes were

A) westward expansion and Indian removal.
B) the end of property qualifications for voting, and political conventions.
C) the admission of Texas and Oregon to the Union.
D) hard money and banking regulation.
E) slavery and economic distress.

Question 12

John Quincy Adams's weaknesses as president included all of the following except

A) his strong nationalistic ideology.
B) his support for "elitist" proposals like a national university.
C) his personal coldness and tactlessness with people.
D) the charges of "corrupt bargain" hanging over his presidency.
E) his encouragement of his supporters to "sling mud" at Andrew Jackson.

Question 13

The section of the United States most hurt by the Tariff of 1828 was

A) New England.
B) the Great Lakes states.
C) the Southwest.
D) the South.
E) the middle Atlantic states.

Question 14

Andrew Jackson's Democratic, political philosophy was based on his

A) support of a strong central government.
B) advocacy of the American System.
C) suspicion of the federal government.
D) defense of slavery as a necessary evil.
E) conviction of the need for "the best and the brightest" in government.

Question 15

Southerners actually feared the Tariff of 1828 most because

A) it would hurt their manufacturing sector.
B) they believed that the federal power this bill represented could be used to suppress slavery.
C) it gave Andrew Jackson large powers of enforcement.
D) they were convinced that it would destroy the southern woolen textile industry.
E) it would encourage retaliation by Britain and other European countries.

Question 16

Andrew Jackson's inauguration as president symbolized the

A) return of Jeffersonian simplicity.
B) newly won ascendancy of the masses.
C) dignity and decorum with which Jackson ran the White House.
D) aloofness with which Jackson treated his supporters.
E) growing evangelical temperance movement in American society.

Question 17

The spoils system under Andrew Jackson resulted in

A) a clean sweep of federal job holders.
B) the replacement of insecurity by security in employment.
C) the weakening of the political machines in American elections.
D) the appointment of many corrupt and incompetent officials to federal jobs.
E) the recruitment of many talented people from the working classes.

Question 18

The purpose behind the spoils system was

A) to press those with experience into governmental service.
B) to turn politics from an amateur to a professional pursuit.
C) to reward political supporters with public office.
D) to reverse the trend of rotation in office.
E) to prevent corruption from spoiling the democratic system.

Question 19

As president, John Quincy Adams

A) was able to establish a national university and a federal astronomical observatory.
B) tried to appeal to voters as well as he could.
C) proved incapable of developing political support for his policies.
D) put many of his supporters on the federal payroll.
E) relied on Henry Clay to expand his popular appeal.

Question 20

John C. Calhoun's "South Carolina Exposition" argued that

A) secession was a final remedy for oppression of the states.
B) tariffs affecting one section more than another were unconstitutional.
C) there should be a system of "dual presidents" with mutual veto powers.
D) states had the right to nullify federal laws.
E) trade fairs and expositions should promote southern agriculture.

Question 21

The South Carolina state legislature, after the election of 1832

A) voted to abolish all federal legislation, with regard to tariffs, as unconstitutional.
B) declared the existing tariff constitutional and part of South Carolina law.
C) was taken over by a majority of Federalists.
D) voted to secede from the union.
E) declared the existing tariff null and void in South Carolina.

Question 22

Andrew Jackson's administration supported the removal of Native Americans from the eastern states because

A) the Indians were assimilating too easily into white society.
B) the Supreme Court ruled that Indians could not be American citizens.
C) whites wanted the Indians' lands.
D) the Indians were proving unable to adopt European ways.
E) the Indians were waging warfare on white settlements.

Question 23

The nullification crisis of 1833 resulted in a clear-cut victory for

A) South Carolina.
B) Andrew Jackson and the Union.
C) John C. Calhoun and states' rights.
D) neither Andrew Jackson nor the nullifiers.
E) the manufacturing interests.

Question 24

More than ____ Native Americans lived in the forests and prairies east of the Mississippi in the 1820s.

A) 50,000
B) 125,000
C) 200,000
D) 500,000
E) 1 million

Question 25

The person most responsible for defusing the tariff controversy that began in 1828 was

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

Question 26

In response to South Carolina's nullification of the Tariff of 1828, Andrew Jackson

A) publicly threatened to hang the nullifiers.
B) dispatched naval and military forces to the state while denouncing nullification.
C) worked quietly to defuse the confrontation.
D) mobilized the other southern states to oppose nullification.
E) sought a Supreme Court ruling declaring nullification invalid.

Question 27

All of the following were characteristics of Henry Clay's election campaign of 1832 except that

A) he and his National Republicans were overconfident.
B) he had a hefty campaign chest of $50,000.
C) most of his financial support did not come from the Bank of the United States.
D) he had strong newspaper backing.
E) he lost both the popular vote and the Electoral vote.

Question 28

Andrew Jackson based his veto of the recharter bill for the Bank of the United States on

A) constitutional grounds exclusively.
B) advice from Henry Clay.
C) the Supreme Court's McCulloch v. Maryland decision.
D) the fact that he found the bill harmful to the nation as well as unconstitutional.
E) the belief that it was supported by the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution.

Question 29

The "nullification crisis" of 1832-1833 erupted over

A) banking policy.
B) internal improvements.
C) tariff policy.
D) public land sales.
E) Indian policy.

Question 30

Andrew Jackson made all of the following charges against the Bank of the United States except that

A) the bank was unconstitutional.
B) it was controlled by an elite moneyed aristocracy.
C) the bank was autocratic and tyrannical.
D) the bank was beholden to British financial interests.
E) the bank's president arrogantly defied the president of the United States.

Question 31

Andrew Jackson and his supporters disliked the Bank of the United States for all of the following reasons except

A) it issued only gold and silver but not paper currency.
B) it controlled much of the nation's gold and silver.
C) it was a private institution that acted like a branch of government.
D) it foreclosed on many western farms and drained funds to the east.
E) it refused to provide loans needed for the expanding American economy.

Question 32

The essential policy of the Jackson administration toward the eastern Indian tribes was

A) a war of genocide.
B) gradual assimilation.
C) forced removal to the West.
D) the establishment of a reservation system.
E) to let the churches manage Indian relations.

Question 33

Innovations in the election of 1832 included

A) election of the president by the electoral college rather than the House of Representatives.
B) nominating conventions, written party platforms, and a third political party.
C) baby kissing and torchlight parades.
D) nomination of presidential "favorite sons" by state legislatures.
E) direct primaries and selection of vice presidential running mates by the presidential candidate.

Question 34

One of the positive aspects of the Bank of the United States was

A) its officers' awareness of the bank's responsibilities to society.
B) its attention to regional differences in American economy and culture.
C) its source of credit and stability, promoting the nation's expanding economy.
D) its ability to expand and contract paper currency as needed.
E) its willingness to work closely with the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Question 35

During its years of existence, the second Bank of the United States

A) was the depository of the funds of the national government.
B) contributed to inflation by issuing excessive federal bank notes.
C) limited economic growth by restricting credit and maintaining high interest rates.
D) served as the chartering agency for state and local banks.
E) invested most of its funds in Wall Street stocks and bonds.

Question 36

In an effort to accommodate their culture to the new conditions of American society, the Cherokees did all of the following except

A) adopt a system of settled agriculture.
B) develop a written legal code.
C) develop a Cherokee writing system.
D) support antislavery reform.
E) promote education and schools.

Question 37

In their treatment of Native Americans in the 1830s, white Americans did all of the following except

A) recognize the tribes as separate nations.
B) acknowledge that they were brutally mistreating the Indians.
C) try to "civilize" the Indians by encouraging them to adopt white ways.
D) trick them into ceding land to whites.
E) send missionaries to Indian tribes.

Question 38

The nullification crisis started by South Carolina over the Tariff of 1828 ended when

A) Andrew Jackson used the court system to force compliance.
B) the federal army crushed all resistance.
C) the Unionists gained control of the South Carolina legislature.
D) Henry Clay persuaded Congress to pass a compromise-reduced tariff.
E) South Carolina repudiated the doctrine of nullification.

Question 39

The Anti-Masonic party of 1832 especially appealed to

A) the supporters of Andrew Jackson.
B) democratic feeling and evangelical Protestant reform sentiment.
C) those who wished to keep the government from meddling in social and economic life.
D) those who wanted to keep religion out of public life.
E) people who had been unsuccessful in the Masonic hierarchy.

Question 40

Andrew Jackson's veto of the recharter bill for the Bank of the United States was

A) the first presidential veto.
B) a major expansion of presidential power.
C) immediately attacked by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay.
D) overridden by a two-thirds vote in Congress.
E) accompanied by a temperate veto message.

Question 41

Most of the early American settlers in Texas came from

A) New England.
B) the South and Southwest.
C) the Old Northwest.
D) New Mexico.
E) the Ohio Territory.

Question 42

Southerners disliked the Tariff of 1828 because it

A) raised the price of manufactured goods they had to buy.
B) asserted federal power that might be used against slavery.
C) might provoke retaliation by European nations against southern cotton.
D) was seen as an attempt to promote President Adams's re-election.
E) was designed to protect manufacturers rather than raise revenue.

Question 43

While he was president, John Quincy Adams was roundly criticized for

A) his transportation policies.
B) appointing Henry Clay secretary of state.
C) his advocacy of a national university and observatory.
D) his willingness to pursue politically motivated policies.
E) his supposed aristocratic life style.

Question 44

The Whigs hoped to win the 1836 election by

A) nominating Henry Clay.
B) uniting behind a single strong candidate.
C) forcing the election into the House of Representatives.
D) attacking Martin Van Buren as Andrew Jackson's lackey.
E) attacking excessive federal spending.

Question 45

The presidential election of 1828 was characterized by

A) Jackson's attacks on President Adams for supporting federal funding of transportation and education.
B) mudslinging tactics by both parties against the opposing candidate.
C) an unusually high voter turnout.
D) a narrow electoral victory for Andrew Jackson.
E) a sharp sectional division between the Northeast and the rest of the country.

Question 46

"Tippecanoe" in the Whigs' 1840 campaign slogan was

A) Daniel Webster.
B) Martin Van Buren.
C) William Henry Harrison.
D) Nicholas Biddle.
E) Henry Clay.

Question 47

The Panic of 1837 was caused by all of the following except

A) excessive speculation.
B) Jackson's banking and financial policies.
C) financial problems abroad.
D) failure of wheat crops.
E) taking the country off the gold standard.

Question 48

During his long political career, John Quincy Adams was

A) a nationalist.
B) vice president.
C) secretary of state.
D) a thinker.
E) president.

Question 49

William Henry Harrison, the Whig party's presidential candidate in 1840, was

A) a true common man of the people.
B) a very effective chief executive.
C) presented to the public as a poor western farmer.
D) an effective campaign orator.
E) the first high military officer to become president.

Question 50

The cement that held the Whig party together in its formative days was

A) hatred of Andrew Jackson.
B) support of the American System.
C) opposition to the Anti-Masonic party.
D) the desire for a strong president.
E) opposition to the tariff.

Question 51

Supporters of the Whig party included all of the following except

A) backers of the American System.
B) backers of southern states' rights.
C) northern industrialists.
D) evangelical Protestants.
E) opponents of public education.

Question 52

Texas gained its independence with

A) assistance from Britain.
B) no outside assistance.
C) assistance from American volunteers and supplies.
D) assistance from proslavery southern state governments.
E) aid from the French.

Question 53

President Jackson's response to the successful Texas Revolution was

A) to call on Congress to admit Texas to the Union.
B) to recognize Texas independence but not support annexation.
C) to refuse to recognize Texas as an independent republic.
D) to warn Britain, France, and Mexico to keep hands off Texas.
E) to warn the Texans not to extend their western boundary.

Question 54

Texans won their independence as a result of the victory over Mexican armies at the Battle of

A) San Antonio.
B) Goliad.
C) the Alamo.
D) San Jacinto.
E) the Rio Grande.

Question 55

Spanish authorities allowed Moses Austin to settle in Texas because

A) they hoped that Austin could defeat the Indians and "civilize" the territory.
B) he had demonstrated his loyalty as a Spanish citizen.
C) they thought that Austin would be counterweight to Mexicans demanding independence.
D) they would bring a slave labor force to the territory.
E) they wanted to establish a buffer zone between Mexico and the United States.

Question 56

Both major political parties of the Jacksonian era tended to

A) promote sectionalism over nationalism.
B) take clear political positions on slavery.
C) emphasize individual liberty over social harmony.
D) be socially and geographically diverse.
E) oppose government interference in moral matters.

Question 57

Both the Democratic party and the Whig party

A) favored a third Bank of the United States.
B) opposed substantial federal involvement in economic and social affairs.
C) grew out of a shared heritage of Jeffersonian Republicanism.
D) promoted states' rights policies.
E) were essentially sectional parties.

Question 58

The initial attempt to bring Texas into the Union was thwarted by

A) many Texans' determination to maintain an independent republic.
B) the "Texican" refusal to accept Anglo-American culture and language.
C) northern antislavery forces.
D) the British and French governments.
E) Mexicans who threatened a new war if Texas became part of the United States.

Question 59

The government of Mexico and the Americans who settled in Mexican-controlled Texas clashed over all of the following issues except

A) slavery.
B) further immigration.
C) language.
D) local rights.
E) the presence of Mexican military forces in Texas.

Question 60

Americans first moved into Texas

A) when invited by the Spanish government.
B) under an agreement between Mexican authorities and Stephen Austin.
C) when Sam Houston brought a militia force into the territory.
D) to create the conditions for an independent Texas Republic.
E) as part of a southern conspiracy to spread slavery.

Question 61

Martin Van Buren's administration was troubled by

A) his lack of personal charisma and popularity.
B) widespread scandal and corruption in the executive branch.
C) his reputation as a product of the Democratic political machine.
D) a serious economic depression.
E) the inherited enemies of former president Andrew Jackson.

Question 62

The South Carolina nullification convention

A) declared the Tariff of 1832 null and void within South Carolina.
B) supported Governor Hayne's military preparations to defend the state.
C) gathered support from other southern states for its stand.
D) threatened to secede from the Union if the federal government tried to enforce the tariff law.
E) put the national interest above sectional interest.

Question 63

Following his re-election in 1832, President Jackson acted decisively to

A) kill the Bank of the United States by removing federal deposits.
B) require that public lands be purchased with metallic gold or silver money.
C) deposit federal funds in pro-Jackson "pet" state banks.
D) crack down on fly-by-night "wildcat" banks.
E) keep his first term cabinet intact.

Question 64

The panic of 1837 was caused by

A) overspeculation with borrowed funds.
B) Jackson's financial policies and destruction of the Bank of the United States.
C) the independent treasury system.
D) financial and economic distress in Europe.
E) the high tariffs passed in 1828 and 1832.

Question 65

The Whig party drew support from

A) Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun.
B) those who opposed expanding federal power.
C) evangelical Protestants supporting moral reforms.
D) large northern industrialists and merchants.
E) those who advocated further westward expansion.

Question 66

Stephen F. Austin's land grant from the Mexican government required that

A) all his settlers become Mexican citizens.
B) all his settlers be Roman Catholics.
C) slaves not be brought into Mexican Texas.
D) the settlers practice only agriculture but not manufacturing.
E) that settlers agree to serve in the Mexican army if needed.

Question 67

The Anti-Masonic party

A) was strongest in the South and Southwest.
B) was an anti-Jackson party.
C) was the nation's first third party.
D) garnered support from many evangelical Protestants.
E) opposed the growing trend toward mass popular democracy.

Question 68

In his political attack on the Bank of the United States, President Jackson variously charged that the bank was

A) unconstitutional.
B) oppressive to western farmers.
C) designed to serve private profit rather than the public good.
D) an aristocratic institution contrary to American democracy and equality.
E) a cause of financial instability and deflation in the American economy.