• 'favorite son ' – name given to the different candidate the new Whig party sent to run against Van Buren; each favorite son appealed to certain region in the nation and the Whigs did not hope to win outright with one candidate, but to reduce the chance of a candidate with a majority with these many sons
• nullification – the decision of a state to not reinforce a federal law; the South Carolinians did not the effect the tariffs were having on their economy and thus tried to nullify the Tariff of 1828 and earned the them the title of “nullies”
• spoils system – system where not the most qualified got appointed to public jobs, but instead those who were the most loyal to the winning or those who could use their influence, such as money, …show more content…
During the Jackson administration, 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. This resulted in the countless deaths of Indians as they marched to their reservation in Oklahoma and many more in armed conflicts that followed as a result of the policy. Though the Act today can be agreed to be terribly oppressive and unethical, the original intent was not to harm the Natives. Jackson thought he was doing what was best for their survival and the survival of their culture and ways.
During the Jackson administration, America was still expanding westward as it had always been. A great amount of territory lay to the west of the Mississippi River while there was limited space to be occupied on the eastern side of the river. In total, before the Indian Removal Act, a sum of more that one hundred twenty five thousand Indians lived to the east of the Mississippi, mostly away from American society in the woods of the area. However, there were still some Indians who had embraced the new society the Europeans had brought with them. Called the Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles all tried to assimilate themselves into American society and were successful for the most part. Americans had long admired the Indians and felt that they could be equals to the white man, and thus had led many missionary efforts to convert them to Christianity …show more content…
Even though he may have done what he did wit the intent of helping the Indians preserve their culture, he was more motivated with the prospect of having the Indian lands available to white settlers. He was also looking to exude his power, by defying John Marshall’s decree, which was out of step with what he should have done. Even if he wanted to remove the Indians, he should not have let the private men hired to execute the removal act make the Indians move in the winter season and should have made sure they were being treated properly. Reservations were not the answer, but they were the best that Jackson could have provided to assuage the Indians he was