High School Lesson 1
	Homework 1
	Video Viewing Guide 1

Education

Lesson Plans – High School

1 | Why is Andrew Jackson Important?

Introduction to Lesson

This lesson is designed to provide students with an overview of the changes Andrew Jackson affected in the American presidency. Among the topics discussed are the rise of political parties, the adoption of more democratic modes of choosing the president, the so-called "spoils system," and Jackson's use of the veto. The lesson also includes a short Web-based activity that focuses on Jackson's background and makes use of the PBS Andrew Jackson Web site. It may be assigned as homework prior to the in-class lesson.

While not included in this lesson, the Reinventing the Presidency Theme Overview (on the Web site and DVD-ROM) provides a good written review of the topic.

Asset List

Video:

• Introduction
• Reinventing the Presidency, Part 1
• Reinventing the Presidency, Part 2
• The Corporations
• Bank Wars

Primary Sources:

• Bank War Statement
• Battle of New Orleans
• Henry Clay on Presidential Vetoes
• James Parton's Description of Jackson
• King Andrew
• Portraits of Jackson
• Some Accounts of the Bloody Deeds of Andrew Jackson

Lesson Objectives

• Explore the contradictions that defined Andrew Jackson as a man and as president
• Examine the birth of the Democratic Party
• Recognize the political changes brought about by Jackson during his two terms in office including more democratic modes of electing the President, the "spoils system," and the increased use of the presidential veto
• Understand Jackson's economic vision for the United States and why Jackson felt that corporations and the Bank of the United States posed a threat to this vision

Homework Assignment

• Assign students Web Activity Homework 1.

Lesson Plan Instructions

1. Have students share their responses from Homework 1. Try to get students to understand that Jackson was controversial, pointing out aspects of Jackson's attitudes and actions that can be construed in either a positive or a negative light. This background will serve as a foundation for the next two days.
2. To start today's lesson, ask students what they know about the powers of the American president. Brainstorm for a few minutes, writing their responses on the board. Guide them if needed.
3. Next, circle or underline those ideas that relate to our major topics of the day (for example, that the president is elected by all the people; is considered "the head" of the government; can veto legislation; is the leader of his political party). If any of the main ideas are missing from the list, add them. Consolidate responses that are similar.
4. Hand out the Video Viewing Guide 1 and show both Reinventing the Presidency, Part 1 and Reinventing the Presidency, Part 2 videos. When finished, discuss the answers to the viewing guide questions.
5. To further illustrate the idea of campaigning for office, show the campaign images from Jackson's time: Battle of New Orleans lithograph, Some Accounts of the Bloody Deeds of Andrew Jackson handbill, and King Andrew cartoon. Have students share examples of campaign strategies from recent elections.
6. Return to the main ideas listed on the board. Ask students to individually rank the ideas based on the importance of their contribution to the power of the presidency today from most important to least important.
7. Tally their rankings on the board and ask students to justify their choices for the topics they have ranked first and last. Bring in any relevant current issues about any of the topics (e.g., a recent presidential veto, the current presidential campaign, etc.). Remind the students that many of these changes occurred during Jackson's two terms, leading many historians to consider him the first modern president.
8. Transition from discussing Jackson's influence on politics to talking about his economic vision. Today we tend to equate democracy with industrialization and capitalism, but in early America this association was not inevitable. While the Constitution provided the nation with a democratic political framework, it provided little guidance on how the economy should run. Briefly mention that during Jackson's presidency, the United States was going through an economic shift from an agrarian-based economy to a manufacturing-based economy. Jackson strongly idolized the individual farmers and craftsmen who worked for themselves, dying breeds within the growing industrialization of America and the rise of corporations.
9. Show The Corporations video and discuss the questions from the viewing guide when finished.
10. Explain to students that, to Andrew Jackson, the Second Bank of the United States epitomized two major threats: it controlled the finances of the country despite being a semi-private corporation, and it prevented individual states from determining fiscal policy within their own borders.
11. Show the Bank Wars video. Review the viewing guide questions when finished.
12. Hand out or project Jackson's Bank War Statement. Do his arguments sound reasonable? What reasons does Jackson give for taking on the Bank?
13. Ask students if they think Jackson was correct when he warned the average American against the influence of corporations. This could lead to a good discussion on modern corporations and the power they wield – from Microsoft and Google to Enron and Haliburton to Time-Warner and Fox.