U.S. I

Mr. Lanner

100 Point Project

Abington High Sophomores Take on the Election of 1828

Purpose of the Lesson:

Students will get to experience the election process facing presidential candidates from the early 1800’s.

Whether it is learning about the issues or campaigning against other sophomore U.S. history classes, students will be creating a watershed election during Andrew Jackson’s victory in 1828. The philosophy of TEAM work is embedded so: work together, work hard, and remember: only one class will win!

Setting the Stage:

In this election, nominations came from conventions and state legislatures and not from congressional caucuses. John Quincy Adams followers referred to themselves as national Republicans.

Supporters of Jackson were called Jacksonians. (The Jacksonians eventually evolved into the Democratic

Party.) The campaign of 1828 was a crucial event in a period that saw the development of a two‐party system similar to our modern system while the presidential electioneering bearing a closer resemblance to modern political campaigning, and the strengthening of the power of the executive branch.

The election of 1828 was significant as it showed a profound change with the election of a man viewed as a champion of the common people. The campaigns of both men focused on the slandering of personalities. Some of the key political issues in the election were the following:

The incumbent John Quincy Adams and the challenger Andrew Jackson could not have been more different. Adams wanted to remove Native Indians in the South to an area west of the Mississippi

River, but believed that state and federal governments had a duty to abide by Indian treaties and to purchase Indian lands. Adams was committed to using the federal government to promote national economic development. His program included a high protective tariff to promote industry, the sale of

public lands at low prices to encourage western settlement, federally funded transportation improvements, expanded markets for western gain and southern cotton, and a strong national bank to regulate the economy.

Jacksonians in Congress sought to exploit the tariff question. They framed a bill, known as the

Tariff of Abominations, to win support for Jackson. The bill raised duties on iron, hemp, and flax, while lowering the tariff on woolen goods. The Tariff of Abominations created a political uproar in the South, where it was denounced as unconstitutional and discriminatory. Southerners insisted the tariff was a tax on their region to assist northern manufacturers. Jackson based his campaign on the “corrupt bargain” of 1824‐1825, his war hero status and his being a champion of the common man and rural farmers.

By the time the votes were counted, both men would have wild stories circulated about their pasts, with juicy charges of murder, adultery, and procuring of women being plastered across the pages of partisan newspapers. Maybe the one thing they had in common was that they both had long careers of public service, one diplomatic and one military.

I guess history truly does repeat itself!

Grade Level/Unit:

 Grade 10

U.S.I MA. Frameworks:

USI.23 Analyze the rising levels of political participation and the expansion of suffrage in antebellum America. (C, H)

USI.24 Describe the election of 1828, the importance of Jacksonian democracy, and Jackson’s actions as President. (H)

USI.26 Describe the causes, course, and consequences of America’s westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness. Use a map of North America to trace America’s expansion to the

Civil War, including the location of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails. (H, E, G)

The Task:

Phase 1: Each class will be assigned a region which they will represent throughout this campaign.

You will need to become familiar with your regions views and beliefs on the following issues:

 Voting requirements and campaign tactics in the 1820’s

 The tariff of 1828 and the Nullification Crisis

 Native American Removal

 Currency issues and the Bank of the United States

 Population of your region

 Makeup of population (men/women/slaves)

 Major industry/agriculture production

 Approximation of wealth (might not find statistics, but should be able to determine

wealth of states versus other states)

 Voting patterns since 1796 (who did they vote for in each Presidential Election)

 Two famous politicians from the region (other than yourselves)

 One national event (A famous supreme court case, A battle during the War of 1812,

A larger than life personality, etc.) from your region

 When your states were founded

 State Motto(s)

I think that should cover enough information to understand the voters in each region. For classes where people have multiple states, you could have the President; assign groups to research each state to make this more manageable.

Region 1: West, South West, North West

Region 2: Virginia, South Carolina, Old South (GA, KY, NC)

Region 3: Mid Atlantic, New England

Phase 2: Choose a Presidential nominee

Each class will nominate a presidential candidate. Your teachers will facilitate this election.

Choose wisely, this person will be the face of the class.

Phase 3: Assume your roles to help your candidate win

The President will hand pick his team:

 A Vice President

 A Secretary of State

Phase 4: Campaigning

The President will then put the rest of the class into four teams:

1. The campaign poster team

2. The campaign song team

3. The campaign video team

4. The speech writing team

Team Responsibilities:

President and cabinet: Each member will give one speech to another class. The speeches will be written by your team and you will then go out and represent your class.

Campaign Poster team: You will need to create four different posters to display in the other teacher’s rooms. Strong emphasis will be placed on eye‐appeal and uniting messages. Feel free to collaborate with other teams in your class.

Campaign Song team: You will write one or more songs for your team. The finished product should be at least two minutes long. You can use existing music or make/record your own. Bruce

Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. is out, sorry Reagan.

Campaign Video team: You will put together a video for your region and its platform. Focus on important issues and making it appealing to the masses. Only the best will go viral.

Speech writing team: You will write three different speeches for your class. These will be used by your chosen cabinet. Feel free to take different approaches to your message depending on whether it is for the President or the more aggressive vice‐president.

Phase 5: The Election…may the best class win!

Length of Lesson: 5 Class Periods

Grading:

1. Gathering of background information‐basic questions/quiz (20%) 2. Meeting your specific team responsibilities (40%) 3. Ending evaluation –See attached (40%)

Learning Advice:

You must become very familiar with this important time period and the historical figures that you have chosen to "become" in these presidential debates. As you read biographical speeches during the time period, and what was written of importance in your regions, highlight those areas you feel are most pertinent to use with your notes. Be sure to stay aware of your opponents' points of view, trying to figure out what arguments they use against you in the presidential debates, so you can be prepared to answer them in rebuttal.

Resources:

 Immigration to the United States, 1789‐1930 http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/

 Great Issues in American History, Hofstadter pgs 251‐308

 Campaign Posters from the 1828 Election

 South Carolina Exposition 1828 (Excerpts)

 What Hath God Wrought, Howe chapters 9 and 10

 Don’t Know Much About History, Davis pgs 164‐168, 174‐175

 Social Studies School Services: America 1828‐1850

 Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil, and the Presidency, PBS

1828 Primary Election Ballot

Please Choose One (1) Candidate From EACH Group by Circling Your Choice. You may only choose ONE from each Group.

The West The South The East

Feedback:

1) Did you enjoy doing this project?

2) What worked the best in your opinion?

3) What could we improve upon for next time?