HIST CH 8 Short ResponsesQuestion 1

In the 1820s, voting rights were expanded for most states. The voting requirements had previously been ownership of property or significant influence in state matters, thereby ensuring that only a small minority of white males were legible to vote (SSIs 5). By easing the voting requirements through elimination of property qualifications, the voting population was significantly enlarged to include every adult white male. By removing barriers that prevented political participation, new states attracted more people to move in by giving them the right to vote. The Jacksonian Democracy opened up America, at the time, to new ideas on voting (SSIs 5). The reduced connection to wealth ensured that voting was a free and independent affair.

Question 2

In the 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States, political machines represented the organizations that were affiliated to a political party, in large cities such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago. The aim of these organizations was to control local governance. The small group commanded enough votes to keep administrative and political control of cities, states, or counties. These organizations were a representation of larger governance that were hampered by structural and political inadequacies. For example, the Tammany Hall political machine operated in New York City through building a loyal following of voters, in different social groups.

Question 3

Also termed as the Patronage System, the spoils system was a practice in the United State where political parties winning in a given election rewarded all campaign workers and active supporters with government posts and appointments. Other favors such as endorsements in local elections were also common. It also meant that there would be removal from office of all employees supporting a losing candidate. The spoils system extended the personnel turnover all the way down to subordinate government positions. The idea was crafted from the notion that spoils belonged to the victor. Civil workers participated in the competitive political process with the fore knowledge of the benefits and losses awaiting in case of victory or loss.

Question 6

The Missouri Compromise represented an effort by the Senate as well as the House of Representatives to create a power balance between the free states and the slaveholding states. The latter states were convinced that being outnumbered in the Congressional representation would mean a lack of power to safeguard their interests in terms of trade and property. Missouri, a slaveholding territory, applied admission into the Union in 1819. The Northern States opposed the admission with the perspective that Southern states were already too powerful. Because of the population determining formula of counting slaves as three-fifths of a person, the Northern free states were aware of the threat of Congressional representation that would follow if Missouri was admitted. The advantage of Southern slaveholding states in Congress would be expanded due to slavery and more power to dictate the direction of policies and laws.

Question 9

The point of view to spread political power to every person and to ensure a majority rule was what the Jacksonian Democracy represented. The expansion of the voting rights to include every adult white male, who were in favor of the idea of rising up from rags to riches, saw Andrew Jackson become president of the United States in 1828. The Notion of a war hero, an individual without any formal training, rising up from the lowest levels of society to become a top political contender in the United States also fired up people who felt linked to that kind of background. Additionally, as a National War Hero, his past accomplishments propelled him to win the vote by a landslide.

Question 10

President Jackson’s ideas on decentralization and rotation marked an era of controversy and a major historical shift for the country. The principle of rotation as founded on President Jackson’s assertion that no man held the right to an office more than the other. Therefore, the rotation idea was a practice of changing public officers in what was seen as frequent intervals through substitution and discharge as a way of creating space for others to serve. He used these ideas to cleanse all public offices of the appointees of President John Quincy Adams, replacing them with elite politicians who were seen as experts in different fields as an introduction to a new era of making political appointments.

Question 13

I completely disagree with Andrew Jackson’s policies towards the Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was President Andrew Jackson’s doing authorizing him to grant lands in the west of the Mississippi as an exchange for lands owned by Native Americans within existing state borders. The relocation policy was received differently by different tribes as some went peacefully while others resisted leading to the removal of the Cherokees by the U.S. government. The forced march led to the death of more than 4000 Native Americans. In the treaty that the president negotiated with a few tribes of the Missouri territory, there were a lot of unfair treatment and mass murdering of Native Americans as they were evicted from their ancestral lands and homesteads. The treaty was unequal and therefore oppose to the fundamental elements of what is American.

Question 15

I think resident Jackson would have been elected president in our most recent presidential election if he was running. His ideas were revolutionary. He was able to instill confidence in every man regarding what was possible if people chose democracy over unequal treatments. These democratic ideas would resonate well with the masses. His ideas on corruption and mass shift of the political maneuvers in Washington would garner a lot of the millennial votes. However, I would not vote for him because he seemed unaware of the unequal nature of some of his ideas and actions. I would not vote for a man who murdered 4000 Native Americans and continued to pursue the same agenda even after their deaths.