The Age of Jackson Unit

The next unit in my US History curriculum covers one of the most controversial figures in American history: Andrew Jackson. In addition to covering Jackson's impact on America, this unit will address movements like transcendentalism and concepts like the American System.

This brief unit will touch upon the Indian Removal Act and Trail of Tears, spoils system, and much more through engaging and interactive lessons and projects for your students.

You can download all the lesson plans and activities for this unit here, or sign up for a Students of History subscription to access to everything online.

The unit kicks off with an introduction to Andrew Jackson and the elections of 1824 and 1828. A detailed PowerPoint and guided notes (plus included Google Slides and "flipped classroom" video) provides detail into Jackson's life and what brought him into the national spotlight. Students next analyze campaign songs from both Jackson and John Quincy Adams before completing a reading and graphic organizer activity. 

The next lesson is all about Jackson’s battles against the national bank, bureaucracy, the electoral college, and more! After an introduction activity, students join groups for a cooperative learning Fight Card Project where they’ll be able to get their competitive and creative juices flowing. After students complete and share their projects, they can move on to analyzing political cartoons about Jackson or an article on the impact of the Spoils System. 

The next class period has students analyze the devastating impact the the Indian Removal Act had on America's Southeastern indigenous societies in the 1830s. The lesson features primary source excerpts from Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, Alexis de Tocqueville, soldiers, and others that can be used at stations or through a digital activity as well. The lesson also includes ideas for class discussions, primary sources, and video clips to show in class.

Next up is a smaller but powerful lesson on the impact of the "Great Compromiser" Henry Clay and the American System. A reading and resume activity is provided for students to work on to help understand his accomplishments. Following this, students work together in small groups on an Early America Tabloid Project where they can choose from many topics having to do with the entire unit.

The unit concludes with a lesson on transcendentalism, a popular social movement from this era in US History. An introductory video and reading are included to help students understand the fundamental concept. Once they’ve grasped the basics, they can complete a project on transcendentalism individually or in small groups.

Throughout the unit, students can also work on a thorough set of digital interactive notebook activities or the printable or Google Doc unit guide packet. Dozens of excellent video clips are provided for your lessons along with readings you can share from our online textbook.

This Age of Jackson unit concludes with an editable test, which includes editable Google Forms version for easy grading.

You can see teacher reviews and download resources individually through the links above. You can download the entire unit here in a zip folder and save everything to your desktop. Or, you can gain access to the entire unit’s lessons and resources online through a subscription. A subscription also grants you immediate access to the ENTIRE US History curriculum.

If you’re not sure which option is better for you, you can read more about the differences between subscriptions and TpT purchases here.