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The Age of Jackson

Objectives In the course of reading this lesson and participating in the classroom activity:

   √Students will describe the perspectives of various groups of people in response to Jackson and his key policies

    √ Assess the impact of Jackson’s policies on the outcome of events

   √Evaluate how well Jackson promoted democracy, citing both his positive and negative contributions

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**Language Arts deliver narrative presentations that relate a clear, coherent event by using well-chosen details and employing strategies such as relevant dialogue. Andrew Jackson and the Growth of American Democracy How well did President Andrew Jackson promote democracy?

 

Watch: Andrew Jackson and the Growth of American Democracy VIDEO

 

Essential Question:

How well did President Andrew Jackson promote democracy?

 

Preview Students examine and compare how people reacted to the inaugurations of George Washington and Andrew Jackson. [15 min + 30 min vocabulary]

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Activity In a Visual Discovery, students analyze images relating to the presidency of Andrew Jackson to assess how well he promoted democracy. They will bring two of these images to life in act-itouts. [100–150 min]

 

Processing Students create a commemorative plaque and a “wanted” poster to evaluate how well Andrew Jackson promoted democracy. [20 min]

 

Reading Further Students answer questions about the conflict over land between the Cherokee Nation and the United States. They then write a letter to the editor that protests the removal of the Cherokees. [

Common Man and Contradictions: A Mock Trial of Andrew Jackson

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OVERVIEW

The election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 marked a change in American politics. For the first time a presidential candidate had been elected from west of the Appalachian Mountains, marking an end to the streak held by wealthy eastern elitists. Jackson represented the emergence of a new middle-/working-class America. The war hero from the Battle of New Orleans who did not have a college education, chewed tobacco, and dueled with pistols to defend his wife’s honor reflected the ideals of the western portion of the United States. The appeal of Jackson to the ordinary man helped lead to the new period known as “the common man era.”

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As president, Andrew Jackson embraced the role of protecting “common men”—his decisions in matters such as the rotation of office holders can be argued as being in their interest. By limiting a federal office holder’s tenure to one term, Jackson could make room for another deserving candidate, promoting the concept that one man is just as good another. However, some might argue that rotating office holders left room for government corruption, as party loyalty played an important role in the replacement of office holders from previous administrations.

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President Jackson’s title as “the common man president” often detracts students from looking further into his decision-making to unveil contradictions. The question we must ask is to what extent was Andrew Jackson truly a common man? Was he a reflection of the new democracy emerging in the country? How might he have influenced this new ideology himself? How do we measure Jacksonian Democracy in light of his treatment of groups such as Native Americans?

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Through participation in a mock trial of Andrew Jackson, students will analyze primary sources and participate in role-playing activities in an effort to lead them to an informed decision of whether or not Andrew Jackson was truly representative of “the common man.”

OBJECTIVES

  1. Students will be able to analyze primary sources and documents.

  2. Students will be able understand factual information of the Jacksonian time period.

  3. Students will be able to synthesize events, actions, and decisions from the Jacksonian era and determine whether these make Andrew Jackson deserving of the title of “common man” or show evidence of his contradictions.

  4. Students will be able to formulate higher-order-thinking questions during the mock trial.

  5. Students will understand the basic structure of a trial (ie, prosecution, defense, jury, key witnesses, and judge).

  6. Students will engage in historical research, critical analysis, and discussion.

Review these Terms:  

'Born in a log cabin'

The Election of 1824 (the Corrupr Bargain"

The Election of 1828

The  First American Style Campaign & Mudslinging

The War of 1812 abd the Battle of New Orleans

Old Hickory

The Common Man

The Spoils System

The Indian Removal Act

The Trail of Tears

The Bank of the United States

4 minute movie clip discusses the good and the bad about Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson:

Common Man and Contradictions: A Mock Trial of Andrew Jackson

​

OVERVIEW

The election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 marked a change in American politics. For the first time a presidential candidate had been elected from west of the Appalachian Mountains, marking an end to the streak held by wealthy eastern elitists. Jackson represented the emergence of a new middle-/working-class America. The war hero from the Battle of New Orleans who did not have a college education, chewed tobacco, and dueled with pistols to defend his wife’s honor reflected the ideals of the western portion of the United States. The appeal of Jackson to the ordinary man helped lead to the new period known as “the common man era.”

​

As president, Andrew Jackson embraced the role of protecting “common men”—his decisions in matters such as the rotation of office holders can be argued as being in their interest. By limiting a federal office holder’s tenure to one term, Jackson could make room for another deserving candidate, promoting the concept that one man is just as good another. However, some might argue that rotating office holders left room for government corruption, as party loyalty played an important role in the replacement of office holders from previous administrations.

​

President Jackson’s title as “the common man president” often detracts students from looking further into his decision-making to unveil contradictions.

 

The question we must ask is to what extent was Andrew Jackson truly a common man? Was he a reflection of the new democracy emerging in the country?

 

How might he have influenced this new ideology himself? How do we measure Jacksonian Democracy in light of his treatment of groups such as Native Americans?

​

Through participation in a mock trial of Andrew Jackson, we will analyze primary sources and participate in role-playing activities in an effort to lead them to an informed decision of whether or not Andrew Jackson was truly representative of “the common man.”

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