Question

1. Why did many Americans feel that the result of the 1824 elections was fraudulent?

Answer 1

1. Why did many Americans feel that the result of the 1824 elections was fraudulent?

D. As Speaker of the House, Henry Clay helped John Quincy Adams become president; later Adams appointed Clay secretary of states

In the electoral vote, Jackson had received 94 votes, he was 15 points above Adams, with eighty-four, however, he didn't have the majority needed of the Presidential Electoral votes to win the election, as it is stated in the Constitution. Therefore the decision was now up to the House of the Representatives. This election was considered highly corrupt since it is believed that Henry Clay, Speaker of the House, used his position to influence the election's outcome and make Adams the new President. When Adams was officially the president of the U.S., he made Clay his Secretary of State.

        2. Why did some people oppose the spoils system?

A. It was possible that an unqualified person could receive a government job.

Andrew Jackson's presidency, in 1829, was harshly criticized for abusing of the spoils system, by giving federal jobs and high-range positions in the government to his supporters and friends, who didn't necessarily have to be qualified to work in those positions.

         3. During the time of President Andrew Jackson, which group in the United States gained suffrage?

B. Men who did not own property.

During Jackson's period the voting rights were extended to all WHITE men over 18 years old, meaning that the requirement of owning a property to have the right to vote, was no longer valid.

Answer 2

1. The correct answer is C. Andrew Jackson won the majority of electoral votes, but he did not win the most popular votes; therefore he did not become president. This is the first (and so far, the last) time in American history that the person who won the majority of electoral votes didn't become president. Jackson would become president in 1829.

2. The correct answer is A. It was possible that an unqualified person could receive a government job. The spoils system was deeply ingrained in the ideology of Jackson's supporters. It happens when the newly elected government gives sinecures and government jobs to its most ardent followers, thus rewarding them for their loyalty. Of course, the natural consequence is that the most loyal people get the best jobs, regardless of their competence or qualifications.

3. The correct answer is B. men who did not own property. But in practice, this meant all white men. At this point in history, it was far too early to talk about black men or women getting suffrage. Before Jackson, only white men who had property could vote. He wanted to put a stop to it, advocating the rights of "the common man", against the relics of old aristocratic traditions.