Mr. von Kamp's American History Class: Chapter 10 Section 3

Friday, March 2, 2012

Chapter 10 Section 3 - Age of Jackson

Summary

The candidates who ran for president in the 1824 election were all from the Republican Party, the country’s only political party at the time. John Quincy Adams won the election, but many believed his tactics were corrupt. By 1828, the Republican Party had split over the issue of how strong the government’s role should be. The two parties used mudslinging and sloganeering in their campaigns.

Andrew Jackson won the 1828 election and made the American political system more democratic by expanding voting privileges to those who had not been allowed to vote. Jackson’s supporters also introduced the spoils system and used nominating conventions to select candidates.

For years, Jackson attacked the Bank of the United States because he saw it as an institution that benefited only the wealthy. Before the election of 1832, Jackson vetoed a renewal of the Bank’s charter—a popular decision that helped him win the election. An economic depression began with the Panic of 1837 that left thousands jobless and in debt. To prevent further crises, President Martin Van Buren persuaded Congress to establish an independent federal treasury. Criticisms over the new law created a split in the Democratic Party.