US History: Colonial Era to the Present · Module 5 of 15
The Age of Jackson & Expansion
Expanding democracy for some while displacing others, and pushing the nation's borders west.
Jacksonian Democracy
- Andrew Jackson's presidency (1829–1837) expanded voting rights for white men — removing property requirements in many states — and championed the "common man" against elite interests.
- Jackson strengthened the power of the presidency, notably through his veto of the national bank's charter renewal.
What is meant by "Jacksonian Democracy"?
Solution. An expansion of political participation to more white men (removing property ownership requirements to vote), alongside a strengthened presidency that claimed to represent the common people against elite interests.
Indian Removal & the Trail of Tears
- The Indian Removal Act (1830) authorized the forced relocation of Native American nations from the Southeast to land west of the Mississippi.
- The Cherokee Nation's forced removal, known as the Trail of Tears (1838), resulted in thousands of deaths from disease, exposure, and starvation during the journey.
What was the Trail of Tears?
Solution. The forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from their homeland to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 1838, during which thousands died from harsh conditions.
Manifest Destiny & Westward Expansion
- Manifest Destiny was the widely held 19th-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent.
- This belief helped justify westward expansion, often at the expense of Native American nations and Mexico.
How was the idea of Manifest Destiny used to justify US expansion?
Solution. It framed westward expansion as a natural, even divinely ordained right and destiny of the United States, which many used to justify displacing Native Americans and acquiring Mexican territory.
The Mexican-American War
- The Mexican-American War (1846–1848) resulted from a border dispute after the US annexed Texas, and from US ambitions to acquire Mexican territory in the West.
- The war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), in which Mexico ceded a huge area including California and the Southwest to the United States.
What territory did the United States gain as a result of the Mexican-American War?
Solution. Through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), the US gained a vast area including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
Check yourself
2 of this module's 5 quiz questions. Pick your answers, then check them in the app, with an explanation for every question.
1. What did Jacksonian Democracy expand?
2. What law authorized the forced relocation of Native American nations from the Southeast?