Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Andrew Jackson: For the People or For Himself?

Walk down the street in November and you'll see lawn after lawn full of signs supporting different presidential candidates. Drive along Main St. and you'll see protestors shouting for the candidate they want to win. When the election comes to a close, only one president can win, leaving half of the people unhappy and resentful and the rest overjoyed that their vote won. Just like there is lots of controversy over whether a president is "good for the county" or the "right pick", there is lots of that same controversy with 19th century president Andrew Jackson. Jackson's reputation as the "people's president" is being questioned, so in Honors History 10 we explored this topic to form our own opinions on whether or not this title is deserved. After watching Crash Course and Ted-Ed videos to understand the context and the arguments, we split into groups to analyze 3 different aspects of Jackson's presidency- the Spoils System, the Bank war, and the policy of Indian removal. By analyzing primary sources and using them to create skits and videos, each group shared what they had learned with the class. Collectively, we decided that although Jackson may have been for the American people, he certainly was not for everyone in the sense that he favored his supporters and was brutal towards the native Americans. 

To learn more about the Spoils System, check out the Common Craft that my group made!
 

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