Compare and contrast the Whigs and Democrats as to their beliefs, public policies, and supporters. Summarize the crucial differences between them.
Why did tariff policy become an important national issue by 1832? Summarize the South’s position on protective tariffs.
Explain why John Quincy Adams’ presidency was frustrating for him and ultimately judged a "failure."
Write your definition of tyrant. Then use this definition to argue that Andrew Jackson was or was not a presidential tyrant riding roughshod over the Constitution.
Write your definition of a great president. Then use this definition to argue that Andrew Jackson was or was not a great president.
What basic assumptions are contained in John C. Calhoun’s doctrine of nullification? Compare and contrast it to the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions and to the doctrine of secession. Why did Calhoun put forward this view of constitutional propriety?
List the chief controversial issues of the Jackson administration. What position did Jackson take on each of them? Why?
Did the national government or the state of South Carolina "win" the nullification crisis? Justify your answer.
If you had been living in the age of Jackson, would you have been for or against the following: nullification, veto of the bank, and Indian removal? Why?
Evaluate the wisdom of Jackson’s veto of the recharter bill for the Bank of the United States. Who gained and who lost by his veto?
Why has Andrew Jackson been called "the first modern president"?
It has been observed that "though Jackson was perhaps not himself a democrat, he was a democratic leader." Do you agree or disagree? Why?
How does the election of 1840 "illustrate the shortcomings of democratic politics"?
The text’s authors have presented the view that "if Jackson had only strangled the serpent of secession in the cradle [during the nullification crisis],.., there might have been no costly Civil War." Do you think Andrew Jackson acted wisely in the nullification crisis? Why or why not?