APUSH Exam ReviewSignificant Presidential

Elections Jake Barden

• First Presidential election in U.S. History• Occurs after the ratification of the Constitution• Washington ran essentially unopposed• John Adams gets 2nd most electoral votes, thus becoming first V.P.

• Adams narrowly defeats Jefferson • Major issue of campaign? – Federal Power• Federalist party maintains a tedious grip on power in

the new republic

• “Revolution of 1800” – significance? • Jefferson narrowly defeats Adams & Burr

o Role of Alexander Hamilton & House of Representatives? • First transfer of power b/w different political parties in U.S. history • Sets precedent for future elections

• The “Corrupt Bargain” details of alleged conspiracy? o Role of Henry Clay

• JQA defeats Old Hickory despite not winning the popular vote or majority of electors

• What group of people does Andrew Jackson appeal to?

• Andrew Jackson finally claims the White House • Significance of “Jacksonian Democracy”?

o Democratic - Republicans are reborn as Democrats • Executive Branch will be greatly strengthened over the next

8 years o What are the three main issues of Jackson’s presidency?

• Jackson easily defeats a challenge from powerful political enemy Henry Clay

• 1832 is an referendum on Old Hickory’s policies dealing with the Bank of the United States o Role of Nicholas Biddle?

• “Log Cabin Campaign” , “Tippecanoe & Tyler Too”• War hero William Henry Harrison* defeats staunch Jacksonsian

incumbent Martin Van Buren to become first Whig President • How did the Whigs beat the Democrats at their own game? *Died of pneumonia, president for only 30 days

• In 1844 the Democrats were split…• James K. Polk narrowly defeats seasoned Whig candidate Henry Clay

o Role of Liberty Party candidate James Birney? • Manifest Destiny achieved?• Four goals of Polk’s presidency?

• Amid building sectional tensions James Buchanan is elected• A Northern Democrat, Buchanan will be sympathetic to southern

interests and will do little to stop the decent into civil war • 1856 marks the first Republican Candidate for President

o Republican Party Platform? o What groups joined to form the Republicans?

• Last election before the outbreak of the Civil War• Democrats split along sectional lines, ensuring Lincoln’s election

despite not winning a true majority of votes • Lincoln’s election spurs the South to follow through with threats

of secession if a Republican is elected President

• As the Civil War approaches its end, Lincoln withstands a challenge from an old acquaintance – General George McClellan, aka “Tardy” Georgeo What event ensures Lincoln’s reelection?

• The Corrupt Bargain Part II? • In an election decided by the House of Rep, Hayes

defeats Tilden by one Electoral vote• How does the Election of 1876 effect Reconstruction?

o Main terms of Compromise of 1877?

• Final election of the 19th Century, U.S. on the verge of modernityo Nation is emerging from the Gilded Age

• Peak of Populist movement - People’s Party briefly merges with Democrats & nominates William Jennings Bryan o Main Issues of 1896 election? o Significance of William McKinley’s victory?

• TR win’s the presidency in his own right • TR concentrates on more progressive reforms in his 2nd term

o Square Deal? o Bully Pulpit?o Trust Busting?o Big Stick Diplomacy?

• Three major candidates all claim to be progressives• Height of Progressive Era

o New Freedom vs. New Nationalismo Role of TR & the Bull Moose Party/relationship with Taft?

• Reelection for Woodrow Wilsono Triple wall of privilege?

• Wilson’s official foreign policy position?• How do events in and around Europe force Wilson to

change this position in regard WWI?

• Harding elected in a “return to normalcy” after WWI• Ushers in an era of laissez faire gov’t that will last until

the beginning of The Great Depression

• Promising a “New Deal” to pull the nation out of depression FDR defeats the incredibly unpopular Herbert Hoover in landslide fashion

• 1932 marks the switch in voting loyalties among black Americans as the majority vote Democrat for the first time

• After winning reelection in 1936 and with major trouble brewing in Europe & East Asia, FDR is granted a 3rd term

• U.S. officially enters WWII at the end of 1941

• With WWII raging, FDR wins an unprecedented 4th term in office• With FRD’s death in April of 1945, Harry Truman assumes the

presidency o Truman will make the final decisions that will end WWII

• In perhaps the most surprising election result in U.S. history, incumbent Harry Truman defeats heavily favored Thomas Dewey

• In his 2nd term Truman, will continue to use economic aid to rebuild war torn Europe in the face of spreading communism

• Truman will also deal with criticism over failure to contain communism in Asiao Dixie-crat (states rights) Senator Strom Thurmond runs on a segregationist

platform and garners significant votes in the deep south

• War hero Gen. Dwight Eisenhower is elected as the nation begins an era of unprecedented prosperity

• Beneath the perceived aura of domestic stability of the 1950s are serious issues which will explode in the near futureo Civil Rightso Women’s Rights o Nuclear proliferation (M.A.D.) & the continuing Cold War

• Closest election until 2000, JFK narrowly defeats Nixono Role of TV debates? JFK’s religion? Nixon’s connection to Ike?

• How did JFK seem to embody the changing spirit in America during the early 1960s?

• Nixon rebounds from defeat in 1960 to narrowly claim White House• Significance of the “Silent Majority”?

o 3rd party candidate George Wallace runs on a segregationist platform – effect on election?

o What fears did Wallace exploit as a part of his candidacy?

• Easy reelection for Nixon as Watergate investigation begins to widen • Watergate scandal explodes after Nixon’s 2nd inauguration

• 1980 begins the resurgence of conservatism in American Politics o What prompted this shift to the right in American politics?

• CA governor Ronald Reagan leads the neoconservatives into powero Birth of the modern conservation movement? o Influence of religious right? o Reaganomics?

• Closest presidential election in U.S. history• George W. Bush elected despite narrowly losing the popular vote

o Role of Florida? o Role of the Supreme Court?

The American Two Party System **Dates are general in nature, it is possible for overlap to exist**

• Pre-Party System: Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

• 1st Party System: Late 1790s – 1828– Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans: Adams – JQA

• 2nd Party System: 1828 – 1854– Democrats vs. Whigs: Jackson – Pierce/Buchanan

• 3rd Party System: 1854 – mid 1890s – Democrats vs. Republicans: Lincoln – Cleveland

• 4th Party System: 1896 – 1932– Democrats(Populists & Progressives) vs. Republicans: McKinley – Hoover

• 5th Party System: 1933 - ??? Still ongoing?– New Deal Democrats vs. Conservative Republicans: FDR - ???

**Did a 6th Party System begin in the 1980s with conservative resurgence?**