Quiz Checklist

Make sure you have the following in your notebook for the quiz.

1.) The notes from the three days we watched the video on Jackson

2.) Your quiz from January 15th

3.) Nullification Notes

4.) Know what a Tariff is

5.) Understand the election of 1824

6.) How did Jackson Kill the Bank and why

7.) How did Jackson increase the authority of the Federal Government

There are 24 questions on the quiz, you need to answer 20.

Good Luck

The Nullification Crisis: Andrew Jackson vs. John C. Calhoun

1830, a tariff was placed on imported goods to America. This additional tax increased the price of products coming to the United States from Europe. Lawmakers who wrote and approved of the tax were hoping to protect Northern factories and businesses. Companies from places like Lowell were competing against companies from England in the textile market.

For a plantation owner or a yeoman farmer in the South the tariff was an economic burden. Goods from Great Britain were typically cheaper then American made products. A farmer could enter a store and purchase a pair of shoes from England that would cost them (i'm making this number up) $1.00 while shoes from Lynn would cost him $2.00. Once the tariff was in place, the shoes from Britain would end up costing more money then the shoes that were made in the U.S. These protective tariffs would force people from the South to buy goods that were made in the North. Many Southerners objected to the tax because it was costing them to pay more.

Britain is going to respond to the American tariff with a tariff of their own. They place a tax on American goods that were being imported to Great Britain. These goods included: rice, tobacco, flour, cotton, sugar, and indigo. All goods that were being grown in the American South. Once that tax was put in place many British companies started to not purchase goods from America, choosing to buy products from China, Egypt, and India. American farmers of the South were now hurt by falling prices in their exports in addition to high prices for manufactured goods.

Vice-President John C. Calhoun was against the tariff and called for the federal government to remove the tariff. Jackson and Calhoun had some heated exchanges regarding the tax. Calhoun would resign the following year and travel back to South Carolina to help lawmakers there plan on handling the issue. Calhoun would find his answer to the crisis by seeing how other states had responded to unpopular federal law.

His answer was the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. During the Presidency of John Adams, the Alien and Sedition Act were passed. Both of these laws were criticized for being unfair and unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison drafted a resolution for Virginia and Kentucky which said that a state had the right to cancel a federal law that was unfair. Since the Alien and Sedition Act were never brought to the Supreme Court, nobody really knew what the answer was. Calhoun felt that the V and K Resolutions were a precedent for other states to follow.

Lawmakers met in Colombia South Carolina and voted to not pay the tariff. Soon other state representatives were being asked by people from South Carolina if they would consider joining South Carolina in breaking away from the Union.

Washington D.C. was filled with talk of Civil War. Jackson began to meet with military advisors to see what would be the best way to defeat South Carolina if they withdrew from the Union. Jackson let in be known publicly that he would not let South Carolina leave the Union. To Jackson the country was not a league, with each state a member that can choose to leave whenever it wanted to. "The Constitution forms a government, not a league."

Ultimately Jackson would win over Calhoun on the issue of Nullification. South Carolina eventually backed down, and Congress voted to lower the tariff shortly after. Calhoun would serve in the Senate until the 1850s becoming a symbol of state's rights. For Jackson the victory would increase his popularity and have him earn high marks with historians decades after his death. The issue over state's rights would not go away however.

"The Bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it!"

  American industrialization occurred during the time of Andrew Jackson.  For the first time in American history skilled artisans and workers were being replaced by machines.  Some Americans began to distrust corporations and saw them as a threat to the American way of life. 

   Like others of his time Jackson distrusted banks.  Jackson and many others did not appreciate or understand how banks worked.  Americans preferred to have gold or silver dollars over paper money.  Gold and silver they understood, dollars were simply green paper.  The banks represented a threat to their way of life.  Banks denied loans and took away farm lands.  Banks represented the rich people of the East, and was the enemy of the farmer of the South and West. 

   The National Bank of the United States was a powerful institution.  It denied and supplied credit to businesses across the nation.  To President Jackson, the Bank was a center of corruption.  A place where Senators and Congressmen could be bought in exchange for votes and promises of loans for state projects.  Today we would say the Bank was a special interest group, but to Jackson it was a dangerous poison to democracy.  

   When the Bank's charter was up for re-approval, Jackson let it be known that he would veto the Bill and as a result kill the Bank.  The charter passed both the House and the Senate, but when it came to Jackson's desk he vetoed it. 

   Jackson ordered that funds be removed from the National Bank and spread out to various state banks.  Jackson felt that if the money was in state banks it would be more available to the American people.  In the time it took for the funds to leave the National Bank and get to the state banks no federal loan could be accessed.  By the time the Jackson left office, the country was set up to suffer a deep recession. 

    Despite the economic problems that would hit the country, many Americans cheered Jackson's destruction of the Bank.  This action would cement the belief that he was a champion of the American people.

H.W.

on page 381 Identify: John C. Calhoun, Nullification, and spoils system.

Then answer question number 2

The Election of 1824

On Inauguration Day many Americans were furious. The man being sworn into the office of President did not receive a majority of votes.  To many, he was put into office thanks to behind the scenes deals and a loophole in the Constitution.  The nation seemed on the verge of splitting over the issue.  The opposition began what would become a 4 year period of organizing supporters and getting ready for the election of 1828. Inauguration Day of 1825 would be the beginning of four challenging and frustrating years for President John Quincy Adams. 

  The Presidential election of 1824 was a four-way race with all candidates coming from the Democratic-Republican Party.  The three big candidates during that election where: Senator Andrew Jackson, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and Speaker of the House Henry Clay.  Andrew Jackson got the most votes, with John Quincy Adams close behind.  Neither Jackson nor Adams was able to obtain a majority of the electoral college. This meant that the election would be decided in the House of Representatives where Henry Clay had influence.

Henry Clay met with several Congressional delegates and warned them if Jackson won it would be extremely damaging to the United States.  Clay's efforts paid off, and John Quincy Adams was elected by the House of Representatives to be the 6th President of the United States.  

Jackson's supporters cried foul.  They believed that Adams arranged a deal with Clay to ensure him the victory.  Adams denied such charges but strangely enough, Henry Clay was appointed the position of Secretary of State, cementing the belief that Adams and Clay had fixed the outcome of 1824. 

Practice Questions and a Head's Up

Try and answer these questions in preparation for the quiz tomorrow.

1. What Indian tribe assisted Andrew Jackson's forces at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend?

2. What was the name of Andrew Jackson's estate?  How many slaves did he own?

3. What is a Tribune?  

4. What nations claimed the Oregon Territory?

5. ___________ and __________ attacked American settlements in Georgia from hidden bases in Florida.

6. Who are the Jedi of the Oceans?

7. Thomas Jefferson sent ____________ to assist Ambassador ____________ in organizing a deal with France.  The President wanted the politicians to secure the city of  __________. 

When you are finished with the quiz you are to work on the following essay question in class. This assignment is coming from the top, it is grade-wide.  Three 8th grade students will be chosen to read their essay at the assembly.  This is a remarkable opportunity and I wish you all the best of luck.  The final draft of the essay (which needs to be typed) is due by Monday.  This will count as a H.W. assignment for class.

This is your task:

MLK quote for Assembly

 

MLK was an activist trying to create a better world. He once wrote, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  Write a short response to this quote (no more than a page  and/or something that could be read aloud in 1-2 minutes) reacting to these questions:

 

1.   What do you think this quote means?

2.   If Dr. King were visiting WMS, what do you think he might see as "threats to justice"? In other words, what might he see as areas we need to improve on in  terms equality, fairness, assumptions we make, and how people are treated

as    **Here is a tip from me:

         Think about some of the lessons that Dr. Mikey talked about at the assembly that was earlier in the year.  You might want to build from that.  A quote that might be helpful for you, "Good, like evil isn't born but evolved."  Do your best and be reflective.

T

Checklist for Quiz

For the quiz, be sure to check your notebook for the following:

[] map of the Louisiana Purchase

[] Lewis and Clark questions

[] Lewis and Clark drawings

[] Jefferson's letter(s) to Lewis

[] Notes from the Andrew Jackson Video (#6)

Since this is a new Unit you can clean out your binder of all the materials from Unit 3, Life in the South. 

You will not have the entire period to complete the quiz, so make sure your notes are all in order. 

After the quiz you are going to write a brief essay on who would you choose to be on a piece of currency and why. 

Lewis and Clark

Thomas Jefferson asked fellow Virginian Merriwether Lewis to lead an exhibition to the Louisiana Territory. Lewis then asked his friend and fellow soldier William Clark to help lead the exhibition.  

   Their mission was both scientific and political.  Jefferson wanted the group chart a water route to the Pacific Ocean.  This would allow American merchants to trade with nations in Asia and increase American commerce.  An Amateur scientist himself, Jefferson also ordered the group to catalogue and chronicle the plant and animal life that they encountered on their journey.  Jefferson was curious as to what types of plant and wildlife were native in the Louisiana Territory. The men kept journals of the trip detailing the different species they had seen along the way as well as the climate of the land they journeyed through.  These journals would become helpful for future American farmers that moved into the lands that Lewis and Clark explored.  

Years after the journey was finished, accounts from the journals would be sold telling stories of the land in the American frontier. These encounters would inspire thousands of Americans to seek out new and cheaper land in the newly gained territory. 

   On the political side of the trip, the men had a very important job.  They represented the United States of America whenever they encountered Native American tribes.  They were ambassadors for the U.S.  As representatives of the U.S., they were ordered by the President to try and establish peaceful relationships with the tribes that they met.  Jefferson also wanted the group to gather as much information on the tribes as possible.  These facts would allow Americans to further their understandings of the different native groups in the American West.

   Jefferson wrote various letters to Captain Lewis before he left for his journey.  We looked at two letters today.  One letter was written in June of 1803, the other was written in January of 1804.  He instructed the men on the following: how to behave towards the tribes, what to tell the tribes, and what to ask them.  For each letter you should be able to explain to me the content.  (we made a chart in class). 

   Why did the tone of the letters change?  What was different about the two letters?