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We seek an America where we more perfectly realize the promise of liberty and equality expressed in the Declaration of Independence. This calls for civic education that helps students examine the story of our country and exercise the skills of citizenship.
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Chapter 6: 1828-1844

5 Lessons

Overview

Chapter 6 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI’s U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore if the democratization of politics during the Jacksonian era was a shift from Founding era political theory.

It contains an Introductory Essay, 5 lessons (including a DBQ about the Cherokee Removal), 12 essays, 12 primary sources, a point-counterpoint about concurrent majority theory, and an Inquiry Organizer to guide students through the exploration of the material.

Explore our suggested sequence for Chapter 6.

Lessons

Responses to the Cherokee Removal Mini DBQ

This Lesson can be used alongside The Trail of Tears Narrative to highlight the plight of American Indians during the Jackson presidency.

American Indians in American Art

Students should be familiar with the increasing tensions between American Indians and U.S. settlers discussed in the Chapter 5 Introductory Essay: 1800-1828 and the following Narratives: The Lewis and Clark Expedition ,Old Hickory: Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans , and Tecumseh and the Prophet.

The Women’s Movement and the Seneca Falls Convention

This Lesson should follow the Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Struggle for Women's Suffrage Narrative.

Panel (a) is a portrait of John Calhoun. Panel (b) is an image of the first page of the South Carolina Exposition and Protest.

Unit 3 Civics Connection: Liberty and Union

Use this lesson at the end of Unit 3 to discuss the different ways that the Founding principles were interpreted during the nation's first fifty years.

Unit 3 Essay Activity

Use this lesson at the conclusion of Unit 3.

Activities

Is the Concurrent Majority Theory Faithful to the Ideals of the Constitution?

Two scholars debate this question.

John C. Calhoun, South Carolina Exposition and Protest, 1828

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

David Walker, “An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World,” 1829

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Portrait of Daniel Webster.

Webster-Hayne Debates, 1830

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Indian Removal Act, 1830, and Cherokee Chief John Ross’s Memorial and Protest to Congress, 1836

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Andrew Jackson, Bank Veto Message, 1832

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Jedediah Burchard, Revivalist Sermon, 1835

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Sarah M. Grimké, Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women, 1837

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar,” 1837

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

John C. Calhoun, “Slavery as a Positive Good,” 1837

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Dorothea Dix, Memorial to the Legislation of Massachusetts, 1843

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Art Analysis: The County Election by George Caleb Bingham, 1852

Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.

Essays

Chapter 6 Introductory Essay: 1828-1844

What changes occurred in the U.S. during the Jacksonian era?

Portrait of Robert Hayne.

The Nullification Crisis

Explores the nullification crisis and its resolution.

The Mormon Trail

What impact did Mormonism have on westward expansion?

The Trail of Tears

What was the U.S. policy toward American Indians?

William Lloyd Garrison’s War against Slavery

How did William Lloyd Garrison fight to end slavery?

Image of slaves attacking men, women, and children (top), while the bottom panel shows armed men on horseback chasing the slaves away.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

How did Nat Turner's Rebellion impact U.S. society?

Sam Houston and Texas Independence

Explores how Texas became part of the United States.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Struggle for Women’s Suffrage

How did Elizabeth Cady Stanton help win female suffrage?

The Lowell Girls

Explores women's experiences in early industrial jobs.

John Quincy Adams and the Amistad

How did John Quincy Adams fight for justice in the Amistad case?

Frederick Douglass’s Path to Freedom

Explores Frederick Douglass' escape from slavery.

John Quincy Adams and the Gag Rule

By the end of this section, you will explain how different regional interests affected debates about the role of the federal government in the early republic.

Cartoon of three men fighting a monstrous snake-like creature with multiple human heads. The man on the left holds a cane that says “veto” on it. The man on the right has dropped his axe.

Andrew Jackson’s Veto of the National Bank

Educator Resources

Educator Resource

Chapter 6: 1828-1844 Inquiry Organizer

Was the democratization of politics during the Jacksonian era a shift from Founding era political theory?

Educator Resource

Chapter 6 Answer Key

Answer Key for Chapter 6 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness