AP US History AMSCO Guided Notes
4.7: Expanding Democracy
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP US History Guided Notes
AMSCO 4.7 - Expanding Democracy
Learning Objectives
- Explain the causes and effects of the expansion of participatory democracy from 1800 to 1848.
A. Greater Equality
1. What observations did European visitors like Alexis de Tocqueville make about social equality in the United States during the 1830s?
2. How did the physical appearance and behavior of Americans reflect the principle of equality across social classes?
B. The Rise of a Democratic Society
1. What did equality of opportunity mean for White males in early 19th-century America, and who was excluded from this ideal?
2. How did the concept of the 'self-made man' reflect American beliefs about social mobility and individual achievement?
3. What legal and cultural restrictions limited women's opportunities, and how did feminists begin to challenge these limitations?
C. Politics of the Common Man
1. What factors contributed to the spread of democratic participation in American politics between 1824 and 1840?
1. Universal White Male Suffrage
1. How did western state constitutions expand voting rights, and what property and religious qualifications did they eliminate?
2. What does the increase in presidential voters from 350,000 in 1824 to 2.4 million in 1840 reveal about changes in voting laws?
D. Changes to Parties and Campaigns
1. Party Nominating Conventions
1. How did the shift from King Caucus to nominating conventions make the candidate selection process more democratic?
2. Popular Election of the Electors
1. How did the change from legislative selection to popular election of presidential electors expand democratic participation?
3. Two-Party System
1. Why did the popular election of presidential electors require the development of large national political parties?
4. Rise of Third Parties
1. What groups did the Anti-Masonic Party and Workingmen's Party target, and what issues did each party address?
5. More Elected Offices
1. How did the shift from appointed to elected state and local officials increase democratic participation?
6. Popular Campaigning
1. How did campaign techniques in the 1830s and 1840s appeal to common people, and what were the negative consequences of these methods?
7. Spoils System and Rotation of Officeholders
1. What was the spoils system, and how did President Jackson use it to reward party loyalty?
2. How did Jackson justify the rotation of officeholders as a democratic reform, and what democratic ideals did it reflect?
E. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: THE JACKSONIANS AND EXPANDING DEMOCRACY
1. What is the traditional historical interpretation of Jackson's election in 1828, and how did Whig historians view it differently?
1. Urban Workers
1. According to Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., what role did eastern urban workers play in Jacksonian democracy?
2. Cultural Influence
1. What does quantitative analysis of voting returns reveal about the timing and nature of increased voter participation?
2. How did religion and ethnicity influence voting patterns, and what example illustrates this cultural conflict?
3. Economic Clash
1. How did the rise of a market economy divide the electorate, and what was Jackson's position on this economic change?
Key Terms
common man
universal White male suffrage
party nominating conventions
King Caucus
popular election of president
Anti-Masonic Party
Workingmen's Party
spoils system
rotation in office
popular campaigning