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Questions For Class Discussion

Questions For Class Discussion
Chapter 13: The Rise of a Mass Democracy, 1824 - 1840

  1. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the new politics of mass democracy? Were such things as the spoils system, party machines, and hoopla-driven campaigns inevitable accompaniments of popular democracy, or could the people have been mobilized by a more open and less partisan system?

  2. Did John Quincy Adamss cold personality make him a less competent president than popular hero Andrew Jackson? Why did Americans come to expect their presidents to be charismatic men of the people as well as skilled political leaders or administrators? What American presidents fit well into the Jackson mold?

  3. Which side fared better as a result of the nullification crisis: the national government (and federal supremacy) or South Carolina (and states' rights)? Why?

  4. How dramatically did President Jackson change the balance of power between the three branches of government? Did he dramatically expand the power of the executive branch?

  5. How would the following Founding Fathers assess Andrew Jackson's presidency: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson. Consider Jackson's democratic views, his reaction to the nullification issue, his support for expansion, and his attack on the Bank of the United States.

  6. How was Jackson able to make the Bank War such an effective symbol of democracy and of his presidency? Why were his opponents, like Clay and Biddle, unable to counter his appeals, even when their arguments appeared to have economics and stability on their side?

  7. What were the causes and consequences of the Texas revolt? Why did Texas remain for a time an independent nation rather than become a state of the Union?

  8. How did the log-cabin and hard-cider campaign of 1840 demonstrate the nature of the two-party system in the New Democracy?
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