Jacksonian EraVocabulary Terms

Andrew Jackson7th president of the U.S. who claimed to be

the “champion of the common man”; responsible for the handling of the

Nullification Crisis, Trail of Tears, and closing of the National Bank

1.

“Old Hickory”nickname for Andrew Jackson because he was considered to be as tough as a hickory stick

2.

spoils systempolitical term for when a winning

candidate gives his supporters jobs in the government

3.

nullificationthe idea of a state

declaring a federal law illegal (nullify = to cancel)

4.

Nullification Crisistime in which South Carolina refused to pay

tariffs and threatened to secede; resulted in a standoff with President Jackson, who

threatened to send in the military; was resolved by compromise

5.

secedeFor a state to break away

from the United States (leave the Union)

6.

states’ rightsrights and powers separate from the

federal government and reserved for the states by the Constitution; the belief that

the rights of the state should be more powerful than federal rights and laws

7.

Worchester v. GeorgiaSupreme Court decision in which the Cherokee Indians sued and won the right to keep their land in Georgia;

ignored by President Jackson

8.

Trail of Tearsforced relocation of several Indian

tribes, most notably the Cherokee, to lands west of the Mississippi River

(now Oklahoma)

9.

vetowhen the president

refuses to sign a bill so it won’t become a law

10.

cedeto give up

territory or power

11.