Essential Question: To what extent did the United States become more democratic by the mid-19th century?
The first five lessons introduce scholars to the Age of Jackson and the complex meaning of democracy during his presidency. Lesson 1 provides background to the era, as scholars will examine the rapid westward expansion occurring in this era and its impact on national politics and divisions over slavery. In Lessons 2 through 4, scholars will dive into the presidency of Andrew Jackson and will assess the extent to which Jackson, with the expansion of white male suffrage and his Indian removal policies, truly was a champion of democracy in American society. Scholars will dive more deeply into the meaning and impact of these Indian removal policies in Lesson 5 and will examine how Native Americans responded to and attempted to resist their removal from their ancestral lands. By the end of Lesson 5, scholars will understand the contradictions of the meaning of democracy during the Age of Jackson and will be prepared to explore the experience and actions of enslaved African Americans during this era.
Lesson 1: The Missouri Compromise (Source Analysis)
- Central Question: Why did the Missouri Compromise fail to end the national debate over slavery?
Lessons 2–4: Jacksonian Democracy (DBQ Writing)
- Central Question: To what extent did President Andrew Jackson promote democratic values?
Lesson 5: American Indian Removal and Resistance (Source Analysis)
- Central Question: How did Native Americans respond to federal Indian removal policies?
The next two lessons focus specifically on the evolution of slavery during the Age of Jackson. In Lesson 6, scholars will study the evolving cotton economy of the 19th century; following the invention of the cotton gin, cotton picking became increasingly efficient, leading it to become the South’s major cash crop. As a result, the South grew even more dependent on enslaved labor, and American slavery grew harsher as it became further entrenched in American society. In response to the intensification of slavery in the American South, in Lesson 7, scholars will study how enslaved African Americans responded to and resisted their enslavement, using religion, violent rebellions, and even the legal process to combat slavery. By the end of Lesson 7, scholars will understand how the Age of Jackson worsened the experiences and conditions of enslaved African Americans, and will be prepared to consider the Americans who began to challenge this, and many other, injustices in antebellum society.
Lesson 6: King Cotton and American Slavery (Source Analysis)
- Central Question: How did the cotton economy change American slavery in the 19th century?
Lesson 7: Enslaved People’s Resistance (Source Analysis)
- Central Question: How did enslaved African Americans resist slavery throughout the 19th century?
The final five lessons introduce scholars to the “First Age of Reform” in American society and the leaders and movements that both promoted and threatened democratic values as a result. In Lesson 8, scholars will consider a number of major reform movements — abolition, colonization, public education, prison reform, and temperance — movements that all sought to make the United States a more democratic place, but succeeded to varying degrees. In Lesson 9, scholars will dive deeply into the women’s rights movement that emerged during this era of social reform. Women were at the helm of a number of major social movements, playing roles in public society previously unheard of for women and encouraging women to fight for their own rights in society, as well. Lesson 10 considers the darker side of this reform movement; in their efforts to make American society a more democratic place, many reformers adopted nativist policies that discriminated against immigrants to the United States, believing that immigrants posed a threat to the stability of American democracy. In Lessons 11 and 12, scholars will consider the lasting impact of these movements — for better or for worse — on American society. By the end of these lessons, scholars will understand the complicated meaning of democracy during this era and will be able to assess the extent to which the Age of Jackson established a more democratic United States.
Lesson 8: The First Age of Reform (Gallery Walk)
- Central Question: How did social movements during the “First Age of Reform” hope to change 19th-century society?
Lesson 9: Women’s Rights (Jigsaw)
- Central Question: Why did American women begin fighting for their rights in the mid-19th century?
Lesson 10: Immigration and Nativism (Source Analysis)
- Central Question: Why did the American nativist movement rise in the mid-19th century?
Lessons 11–12: The Legacy of the Age of Reform (PBL)
- Central Question: How did 19th-century reform movements and their leaders influence American society?