Deck 11: The Growth of Democracy

Question 1

The Supreme Court decisions in Gibbons v. Ogden and Dartmouth College v. Woodward __________.

A) asserted the broad power of the federal government over interstate commerce
B) questioned the constitutionality of federal law limits to the expansion of slavery
C) strengthened the power of state governments in commercial matters
D) denied the states the right to tax branches of the Second Bank of the United States

Answer 1

asserted the broad power of the federal government over interstate commerce

Question 2

An opponent of the Second Bank of the United States during the Bank War would most likely have argued that __________.

A) the bank lacked the power to stabilize the economy
B) the bank pursued an excessively loose credit policy
C) the bank's issuance of paper money caused inflation
D) bankers were manipulative, elitist, and untrustworthy

Answer 2

bankers were manipulative, elitist, and untrustworthy

Question 3

The short-lived Philadelphia Working Men's Party is an early example of __________.

A) labor union organization
B) democratic, nondeferential politics
C) rejection of urban communities
D) agrarian idealism

Answer 3

democratic, nondeferential politics

Question 4

The election of 1824 was decided by the __________.

A) popular vote
B) electoral vote
C) House of Representatives
D) Supreme Court

Question 5

In making his decisions, Jackson preferred to consult with __________.

A) official heads of departments
B) an informal group of advisors
C) congressional leaders from different sections
D) his vice president, John Calhoun

Question 6

How did Andrew Jackson respond to the Supreme Court's decisions in the cases of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia?

A) He supported the decisions and ordered the military to stop Indian removals from Georgia.
B) He defied the Court's decisions and continued his support for Indian removal.
C) He and Chief Justice John Marshall agreed to a compromise in which Cherokee reservations would be set aside within the state of Georgia.
D) He ordered the federal soldiers to jail the Cherokee leaders who took these two cases to the Supreme Court.

Question 7

The Second American Party System __________.

A) started in 1824
B) continues to the present day
C) was based on sharp sectional differences between the parties
D) lasted only until 1840

Question 8

Who denounced the Tariff of 1828 and threatened nullification if the tariff policy was not changed?

A) Henry Clay
B) Daniel Webster
C) Martin Van Buren
D) John C. Calhoun

Question 9

Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay were examples of __________.

A) leading sectional politicians
B) antislavery zealots
C) Jackson's most loyal supporters
D) men from the West who had the "common touch"

Question 10

The Second American Party system is based on __________.

A) broad coalitions appealing to voters of all classes and sections
B) narrowly focused parties with little broad appeal
C) a multiparty system
D) limited suffrage and low turnout

Question 11

The Second American Party System was based on __________.

A) economic privation
B) elite families
C) favoritism
D) mass participation

Question 12

What lesson did the Whigs learn from the election of 1836?

A) that the basis for a united national opposition existed
B) that they could never defeat the Democrats
C) that an emphasis on the issue of slavery was the key to victory
D) that regionalism was a more powerful force than they had imagined

Question 13

The election of 1840 __________.

A) started a long-term Whig ascendancy in American politics
B) had an 80 percent voter turnout
C) saw Martin Van Buren reelected
D) demonstrated that the two parties had nothing in common

Question 14

What percentage of the Cherokees who were forced to participate in the "Trail of Tears" died along the way?

A) 5 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 40 percent
D) 65 percent

Question 15

The most striking "democratic" trend in the election of 1828 was __________.

A) competition between multiple parties
B) a surge in voter turnout
C) Jackson's appeal to urban elites
D) abolition of the electoral college

Question 16

The first state to extend suffrage to all white males was __________.

A) Kentucky
B) Vermont
C) Ohio
D) South Carolina

Question 17

Jackson vetoed the Maysville Road Bill of 1830 mainly because __________.

A) he disapproved of any federal funding for internal improvements
B) the nation did not have an urgent need for additional transportation
C) he felt that corrupt government contractors would destroy the project
D) it was sponsored by his rival, Henry Clay

Question 18

Who, according to Jackson, made a "corrupt bargain" in the election of 1824?

A) Crawford and Calhoun
B) Adams and Clay
C) Clay and Jackson
D) Adams and Calhoun

Question 19

Jackson responded to South Carolina's nullification of the Tariff of 1832 by __________.

A) ignoring it and waiting until the state came to its senses
B) threatening to collect the tariff at gunpoint if necessary
C) charging the entire South Carolina congressional delegation with treason
D) demanding that Congress abolish the tariff at once

Question 20

The Whig Party and a new two-party system emerged from what conflict?

A) nullification
B) Bank War
C) Indian removal
D) internal improvement funding

Question 21

Former Federalists in the late 1830s were most likely to __________.

A) be Whigs
B) vote for Van Buren
C) be Democrats
D) oppose rechartering the Second Bank of the United States

Question 22

The force in Jackson's Force Bill was using military power to __________.

A) enforce the Specie Circular
B) protect pro-slavery settlers in the West
C) remove the Five Civilized Tribes to the West
D) enforce the collection of tariff duties

Question 23

The essay Exposition and Protest was directed against a certain "abomination." Who was the author and what was the abomination?

A) John Marshall and Jackson's defiance of him
B) Andrew Jackson against Nicholas Biddle and the National Bank
C) John C. Calhoun and the Tariff of 1828
D) Henry Clay and Jackson's Bank recharter veto

Question 24

The Whigs were most closely identified with the __________.

A) Jeffersonian tradition
B) Federalists
C) South
D) Anti-Federalists

Question 25

Although voting rights generally expanded between 1790 and 1855, what group steadily lost voting rights?

A) women
B) white men without property
C) black men
D) the uneducated

Question 26

In the "corrupt bargain" of 1824, what office was Henry Clay's reward?

A) vice president
B) secretary of state
C) attorney general
D) president

Question 27

In the early nineteenth century, the cultural worlds of eastern city dwellers and frontier farmers __________.

A) grew steadily more similar
B) grew steadily apart
C) had nothing in common
D) were separated by distance more than culture

Question 28

William Henry Harrison most resembled Andrew Jackson because both __________.

A) were Whigs
B) were Democrats
C) were military heroes
D) died in office

Question 29

Which of these resulted from the other three?

A) Jackson's defiance of the Supreme Court
B) the "Trail of Tears"
C) Jackson's support of calls by states to remove the Cherokees
D) southern states' invalidation of federal treaties

Question 30

Which of these resulted from the other three?

A) National Bank calling in commercial loans
B) Jackson issuing the Specie Circular
C) the Panic of 1837
D) foreign investors calling in American loans

Question 31

Jackson's presidential style might best be described as __________.

A) confrontational and controversial
B) supportive of consensus building
C) low key and averse to conflict
D) traditional and conservative

Question 32

The Hudson River School refers to a group of American __________.

A) painters
B) poets
C) writers
D) journalists

Question 33

Jackson's view of the presidency was that __________.

A) it symbolized the popular will
B) he answered to no one
C) it was like a monarchy
D) he served the Congress

Question 34

The telegraph, newspapers, and political pamphlets all fostered __________.

A) the growth of individualism
B) a new American national culture
C) sectionalism
D) democratic idealism

Question 35

John Tyler became president __________.

A) by winning the election of 1840
B) through a "corrupt bargain" with Henry Clay
C) after William Henry Harrison died in office
D) by winning the election of 1836

Question 36

In his lecture entitled "The American Scholar," which intellectual urged Americans to write about the details of their own culture?

A) Benjamin Franklin
B) Washington Irving
C) James Fenimore Cooper
D) Ralph Waldo Emerson

Question 37

Tyler's presidency would be best described as __________.

A) contentious and unsuccessful
B) moderate and conciliatory
C) overshadowed by the Panic of 1837
D) establishing the Whigs as the dominant party for decades to come

Question 38

Best-selling newspapers, pamphlets, and books in the mid-nineteenth century __________.

A) mainly appealed to a well-educated audience
B) fed the popular appetite for sensationalism and scandal
C) were mainly reprints of European authors
D) were too expensive for working-class people

Question 39

The Panic of 1837 __________.

A) led to a short and mild recession
B) destroyed Van Buren's presidency
C) ensured a Democratic victory in 1840
D) only affected the American elite

Question 40

Before 1800, how did the original thirteen states' decisions to limit the vote to property owners or taxpayers affect who could vote?

A) Free African American male property owners were banned from voting in New England.
B) About half of the white male population in the United States was unable to participate in the electoral process.
C) Single or widowed women who owned property were still able to vote in each of the thirteen original states.
D) More than 90 percent of adult white males were able to participate in national and local elections.

Question 41

The concept of a strong national bank controlled by wealthy investors rather than the federal government was supported by most of the nation's __________.

A) newspapers and journals
B) plantation owners and speculators
C) urban dwellers
D) merchants and businessmen

Question 42

The official policy of the U.S. government from the time of Jefferson's administration was to __________.

A) force Indian peoples west
B) exterminate Indian peoples
C) promote the assimilation of Indian peoples
D) treat Indian peoples as equals

Question 43

Which statement best describes Mexican government in the years after independence?

A) The Mexican government was weak and unstable, with conflicts over elite versus popular rule.
B) The Mexican government was a constitutional monarchy that successfully brought equality to all citizens of Mexico.
C) The Mexican government was controlled by civilians, who kept the military out of politics.
D) Former slaves, once the property of ranchers and mine owners, politically dominated the new government of Mexico.

Question 44

Before 1800, who generally was qualified to vote in the thirteen original states?

A) white male property owners or taxpayers
B) anyone who could prove legal residency in these states
C) all white adults, both male and female
D) only the wealthiest tenth of the population

Question 45

How did Andrew Jackson freely use the tools of the presidency during his eight years in office to strengthen the executive branch of government at the expense of the legislature and judiciary?

Question 46

In the 1830s and 1840s, most __________ favored expansion, Indian removal, and the freedom to do what they wanted on the frontier.

A) Federalists
B) Republicans
C) Democrats
D) Whigs

Question 47

Where did the most serious Canadian revolt against British rule take place?

A) Central Canada
B) British Upper Canada
C) French Lower Canada
D) The Canadian West

Question 48

To succeed after 1824, new national parties had to appeal to the interests of __________.

A) a diverse range of voters
B) only the wealthiest Americans
C) minorities, women, and Native Americans
D) newly arrived immigrants

Question 49

Why did Jackson set out to destroy the Bank of the United States? Was his opposition principled or political?

Question 50

Discuss the issue of the national debate on tariffs by comparing the ideas of Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, and John C. Calhoun. How did Jackson use the Nullification Crisis to draw the line at championing states' rights?

Question 51

The election of 1840 is best described as __________.

A) a landslide victory for the Whigs
B) a landslide victory for the Democrats
C) a narrow victory for the Whigs
D) a narrow victory for the Democrats

Question 52

Which statement best describes the effect of the extension of white male suffrage on women's political influence?

A) Men began to regard women's political activity as inappropriate, but in reality, women became more involved in informal politics, circulating petitions, raising money, and joining benevolent societies.
B) Women increased their influence in the political system, and men began to accept women's political involvement.
C) Male deference to women ensured they had considerable influence, both behind the scenes and through formal channels.
D) Women were encouraged by men to participate in politics through churches and benevolent societies, but women found it difficult to overcome their own view of political involvement as inappropriate.

Question 53

Which of these was an economic consequence of Haitian independence?

A) the destruction of the Haitian sugar industry
B) the destruction of the Haitian cotton industry
C) the growth of commercial ties between Haiti and the United States
D) a sharp increase in the Haitian standard of living

Question 54

What was the source of Andrew Jackson's personal wealth?

A) a private bank
B) a canal scheme
C) a plantation worked by slave labor
D) a coal mine in Tennessee

Question 55

Andrew Jackson is best seen as __________ politician.

A) a western
B) a southern
C) a national
D) an eastern

Question 56

What other North American nations moved toward democracy in the early nineteenth century? How did their experiences compare to that of the United States?

Question 57

In 1820, Sidney Smith claimed that America had no culture of its own. What evidence from the next several decades could be used to refute his claim?

Question 58

The main issue in Canadian government from the 1830s onward was conflict between British Canadians and __________.

A) French Canadians
B) former American Loyalists who fled to Canada after the American Revolution
C) Russian fur traders in Alaska
D) Canadian Indians

Question 59

In 1821, Mexico achieved its independence from __________.

A) France
B) Spain
C) Britain
D) Portugal

Question 60

The telegraph was invented by __________.

A) Samuel F.B. Morse
B) Ralph Waldo Emerson
C) Washington Irving
D) Thomas Cole

Question 61

The Whigs' successful use of political tactics such as torchlight parades, songs, hard cider, and derision of Martin Van Buren during the election campaign of 1840 was an attempt to __________.

A) reach out to ordinary people for their votes
B) give an air of formality to the presidential campaign
C) show the nation that the Panic of 1837 no longer posed a threat
D) celebrate the opening of new lands for settlers in the Old Northwest and the Old Southwest after the forced removal of Indian nations located there

Question 62

Which statement best describes the role that American artists and writers played in the Age of the Common Man?

A) By finding distinctly American themes, they helped build a unique national culture.
B) By appealing to educated elites, they stifled American intellectual growth.
C) By adopting European models, they improved the standing of American culture in the eyes of European elites.
D) By ridiculing popular democracy, they helped preserve the political status quo.

Question 63

Which statement best describes how the Whig strategy in the election of 1840 was a response to the success of the Jacksonian Democrats in 1828 and 1832?

A) They portrayed William Henry Harrison as a military hero and a man of the people to win over voters in the West and the South who had voted for Jackson.
B) They promised to reverse all of Jackson's policies in order to benefit from his widespread unpopularity.
C) Realizing they could not beat the Democrats in the South and West, the Whigs concentrated on the commercial classes of the East.
D) By nominating Van Buren, the Whigs hoped to fuse the two parties and end the two-party system.

Question 64

Which of the following played the most important role in creating the cultural foundation of American art, literature, and science in the early nineteenth century?

A) eastern seaboard cities
B) the western frontier
C) the Old Southwest
D) southern cities

Question 65

Why did George Catlin spend eight years among the tribes of the upper Missouri River?

A) He wanted to document Indian life before it disappeared.
B) He was drawn to Indian religious and cultural beliefs.
C) He was a wanted man in the East.
D) He was employed by the Department of the Interior to map the upper Missouri River.

Question 66

Why did the South increasingly object to federal tariff policy from 1816 onward?

A) A high tariff on manufactured goods protected northern industry but did little to protect southern economic interests.
B) The tariff was too low to fund government expenses, leading to a growing deficit.
C) Congress refused southern demands to raise duties on imported goods.
D) Britain was unable to buy southern cotton because of high export taxes.

Question 67

Which of the following was a consequence of Indian removal in the 1820s and 1830s?

A) Members of female benevolent societies became more politically active.
B) Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their lands were given citizenship, including voting rights, as compensation.
C) Northerners and Southerners found common ground on a political issue as they united to oppose the forced removal of the Five Southern Tribes from the Old Southwest.
D) The federal government forced all Native Americans to give up American citizenship.

Question 68

How did Nicholas Biddle, the director of the Second Bank of the United States, instigate the bank war with Andrew Jackson?

A) As one of Jackson's critics, Biddle made an early application to renew the Bank's charter, knowing Jackson would veto it and possibly harm his own political reputation.
B) Biddle began transferring the Bank's funds without Jackson's approval to state banks that were nicknamed "pet banks."
C) Biddle claimed that as the Bank's director, he, and not the president, had "exclusive privilege" regarding whom the Bank could loan money to and financially support in other ways.
D) Biddle gave numerous loans to Indian tribes facing removal by Jackson's orders, so they could legally purchase their tribal lands and remain there.

Question 69

Although he died defending the Alamo in 1836, Davy Crockett continued to influence American culture as the reputed author of widely read __________.

A) almanacs filled with humorous stories and tall tales
B) collections of sermons
C) scientific studies of American plants and animals
D) "American Scholar" lectures

Question 70

Which statement best describes how Jackson's inauguration marked something new in American politics?

A) The large and unrestrained crowd showed democracy in action.
B) The high formality of the event showed Jackson's elitist tendencies.
C) By refusing to hold any public events, Jackson broke with inaugural tradition.
D) The inauguration was the first not to be held in the capital city.

Question 71

Beginning with Jefferson's administration, Native Americans in the Old Northwest were under increasing pressure to _________.

A) sign removal treaties giving up their lands and move to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River
B) accept British citizenship and move to Canada
C) offer American fur traders more attractive terms
D) convert to Christianity and move to eastern seaports

Question 72

What was the main goal of Henry Clay's American System?

A) economic growth
B) the abolition of slavery
C) expansion of voting rights
D) reduced immigration to the United States

Question 73

Why was Jackson's presidency referred to as the "Age of the Common Man"?

A) Jackson had a mass appeal to common people, many of whom were able to participate in politics for the first time because of the expansion of universal male suffrage.
B) Jackson was himself a common man.
C) Jackson's down-to-earth and easygoing personality highlighted his commonality with other Americans.
D) Jackson was a weak and indecisive leader.

Question 74

What impact did John Tyler's "accidental presidency" have on Whig policies?

A) Tyler's vetoes made it difficult for the Whigs to enact their policies.
B) At Tyler's urging, Congress repealed most of Clay's American System.
C) Tyler proved himself to be a champion of Whig policies.
D) By dying in office, Tyler ruined the Whigs' political plans.

Question 75

What was the significance of Jackson's use of the veto?

A) By vetoing more legislation than all previous presidents combined, Jackson strengthened the power of the executive branch.
B) By refusing to use the veto as frequently as his predecessors, Jackson weakened presidential authority.
C) By deferring to Congress on most issues, Jackson made the veto unnecessary.
D) By frequently vetoing acts of Congress, Jackson greatly increased the authority of all three branches of national government.

Question 76

What essential feature is found in the Second American Party System, a political pattern that continues to the present in the United States?

A) two major political parties that appeal to voters of all social classes in all sections of the nation
B) a nonpartisan position on social and economic issues affecting the nation
C) no regard for class and cultural differences in party membership and political interests
D) a strong distaste for government interference in matters related to the national economy

Question 77

What political consequence did Jackson's veto of the Second Bank of the United States' charter have?

A) Jackson's opponents were so angry about his veto that they established a permanent opposition political party.
B) Henry Clay's opposition to Jackson's veto led to Clay's landslide victory in the presidential election of 1832 and the end of the Age of Jackson.
C) The Supreme Court gained the power to declare presidential vetoes unconstitutional.
D) Jackson's veto resulted in the "monied aristocracy" shifting permanently to support the Democratic Party in future elections.

Question 78

What new truth of American politics did the Whig victory in 1840 demonstrate?

A) A broad coalition of local and regional interests was needed to win national elections.
B) Western voters alone were sufficient to win elections.
C) Only strongly sectional parties could compete in national politics.
D) Support from elites was more important than appeal to a broad range of voters.

Question 79

What important development in nineteenth-century American history was portrayed in James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking novels?

A) western expansion
B) economic distress after the Panic of 1819
C) the movement to abolish slavery
D) democratic politics in the Age of Jackson

Question 80

With what issues did northern sectional leader Daniel Webster most closely identify during the Age of Jackson?

A) commercial interests, including a high protective tariff and a national bank
B) the extension of slavery and the right of a state to nullify federal laws
C) western expansion and an increase in internal improvements
D) states' rights rather than a strong national government