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The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson: Issues in the Election of 1828 (and Beyond)Lesson Four of the Curriculum Unit: The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson and the Growth of Party PoliticsGuiding Questions
Learning ObjectivesAfter completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Review and list the important issues of the campaigns. 2. The following optional activity uses brief passages from historian Frederick Jackson Turner as a way of entering into a discussion of Jackson's image and popularity. Communicating the heroic, common-man image of Andrew Jackson was central to the campaign of 1828. On one hand, that image was created—at least in part—by the candidate's astute handlers. But why did that image resonate so strongly with the American people at that particular time? Since Frederick Jackson Turner published his text The Frontier in American History in 1893, historians have wondered about the effect of the frontier on American politics and the American psyche, and the effect of the frontier persona on the election of 1828. Though historians coming after Turner have made "significant correctives of this thesis, it has had an exceptional impact upon the study of the roles of environment and geographical sections in U.S. history" (Morris and Morris, Encyclopedia of American History, New York: Harper Collins, 1996, 863). What factors made Andrew Jackson widely popular? Was he the very model of a new American identity that was emerging, or did he inspire it? If desired, review biographical information about Jackson from the class text or a source such as Andrew Jackson: Biography on the EDSITEment-reviewed website The American President. Then, if desired, read the brief excerpts about Jackson in the handout "From The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner" on page 6 of the PDF file (see Preparing to Teach This Curriculum Unit for download instructions).
Turner calls Jackson "the very personification" of "frontier democracy."
Discuss the various kinds of political advertisements we see today, such as:
Distribute the "Chart for Analyzing 1828 Campaign Materials" on page 7 of the PDF file (see Preparing to Teach This Curriculum Unit for download instructions) and/or the Written Document Analysis Worksheet on the EDSITEment resource Digital Classroom to guide the following discussion. Model the process of document analysis for the class by working together on the document Jackson triumphant in the great city of Philadelphia on the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory. Help students understand how negative accusations can reflect the issues or image that Jackson was attempting to communicate (for example, an accusation of profiting from land deals would contradict the image of Jackson as a common man). Look for examples of issues reflecting regional differences, such as the tariff. Use specific information from the document to support the conclusion that it fits one or more of the categories on the chart.
Students will now work in small groups to analyze campaign materials and locate statements that reflect the issues and tone of the 1828 campaigns. Each group should receive at least one piece of pro- and one piece of anti-Jackson material from the 13 documents listed below. Each link from American Memory leads to a digitized image as well as access to bibliographic information, larger images, and a full-text transcription. Many of the documents listed are image files. Documents with more text are followed by asterisks. The political cartoons, which are considered campaign materials for the purpose of this exercise, are from American Political Prints 1766-1876 on the EDSITEment-reviewed website Harp Week. Each of the prints is accompanied by an explanation. If desired, have student groups complete an initial analysis of their document(s) using one of the Document Analysis Worksheets, including the Written Document Analysis Worksheet and the Cartoon Analysis Worksheet, on the EDSITEment resource Digital Classroom.
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