Concepts:

The most compelling question students might ask as we revisit this period is, "Why are we studying this again?" This is a legitimate question and must be answered in the students' terms, not just the historians'. The answer lies in the title of the unit. The students should recall the perspective of Alexis de Tocqueville when he visited and mused about the new American democracy during this period. Following Unit IV's view of its period as the development and climax of a revolutionary movement, students may be left, much as Tocqueville was, with the impression that everyone between 1800 and 1848 was in agreement as to what democracy means. Looking more closely at this period, both in terms of what was happening on the larger political scene and concurrent events in the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, we discover various levels of participation in the democracy. Some Americans could and did participate extensively while others faced limits on or bars to their taking part in public life -- even though it was a fundamental American assumption that all governments should derive their authority from the people.
Studying this period from that perspective will provide students with a useful historical touchstone to test modern debates about the inclusiveness of American politics and society.

Studying this period from that perspective also will help adolescents understand current ambiguities of American democracy and public life pertaining to their own lives -- such as permitting Americans between 18 and 21 to vote and own property but not to drink in many states, and not to marry or seek an abortion in some states without parental permission.

Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4