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U.S. History

Key Terms

U.S. HistoryKey Terms

American System
the program of federally sponsored roads and canals, protective tariffs, and a national bank advocated by Henry Clay and enacted by President Adams
code of deference
the practice of showing respect for individuals who had distinguished themselves through accomplishments or birth
corrupt bargain
the term that Andrew Jackson’s supporters applied to John Quincy Adams’s 1824 election, which had occurred through the machinations of Henry Clay in the U.S. House of Representatives
Five Civilized Tribes
the five tribes—Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw—who had most thoroughly adopted Anglo-American culture; they also happened to be the tribes that were believed to stand in the way of western settlement in the South
Kitchen Cabinet
a nickname for Andrew Jackson’s informal group of loyal advisers
log cabin campaign
the 1840 election, in which the Whigs painted William Henry Harrison as a man of the people
monster bank
the term Democratic opponents used to denounce the Second Bank of the United States as an emblem of special privilege and big government
nullification
the theory, advocated in response to the Tariff of 1828, that states could void federal law at their discretion
rotation in office
originally, simply the system of having term limits on political appointments; in the Jackson era, this came to mean the replacement of officials with party loyalists
second party system
the system in which the Democratic and Whig Parties were the two main political parties after the decline of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican Parties
spoils system
the political system of rewarding friends and supporters with political appointments
Tariff of Abominations
a federal tariff introduced in 1828 that placed a high duty on imported goods in order to help American manufacturers, which southerners viewed as unfair and harmful to their region
Trail of Tears
the route of the forced removal of the Cherokee and other tribes from the southeastern United States to the territory that is now Oklahoma
tyranny of the majority
Alexis de Tocqueville’s phrase warning of the dangers of American democracy
universal manhood suffrage
voting rights for all male adults
Whigs
a political party that emerged in the early 1830s to oppose what members saw as President Andrew Jackson’s abuses of power
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