Major Concepts:

1. Various concepts and practices of democracy flourished in this period -- first, the aristocratic and agrarian democracy of Jeffersonian America; then, the more aggressive, turbulent democracy of the Jacksonian period; and, finally, a profusion of movements for social and political reform in the 1840s.

2. Americans continued to struggle to devise the proper balance among the power of the federal government, the sovereignty of the states, and the rights of individuals.

Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. Explain the reasons why the Jeffersonian Republicans were able to dominate the political arena for a generation -- between 1800 and 1824.

2. Write an essay defending the position that the Jacksonian era brought greater access to political and economic power for the common or ordinary American.

3. Trace the evolution of one major reform movement which unfolded between 1820 and 1840 and demonstrate how it contributed to the idea that this was a period of "ambiguous" democracy.

Suggested lesson/activities:

1. Students are to read CROSSROADS Essay V to provide an overview of the period in American history.

2. The teacher should prepare for a mini-lecture or class discussion by compiling examples from events in the 1980s and 1990s which reveal the following political trends -- conservatism in domestic policy; strong military position in foreign policy, slowly vacillating in foreign relations; returning power from the federal government to the states and from states to communities; controversy over the role of the Supreme Court as authoritative interpreter of the Constitution; a continual push for reform in several arenas where select groups are being disenfranchised; the apparent power of big business and wealth in government; the apparent apathy of the ordinary citizen. Follow this with a discussion of the "Jeffersonian Republicans," drawing parallels between the two periods.

3. Each student is to select one of the "great events" between 1800 and 1824 and show how the various themes that ran through this period would shape public perceptions of that event. The teacher, with students, can determine which student is to present this analysis for which event.

4. Point out to students that President Clinton is the first president to have been born after the end of the Second World War, and that by contrast all presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt through George Bush had had some direct participation in that war. In addition, note that a large percentage of the modern American electorate is at least one full generation removed from that major conflict. Have students draw some parallels between these facts and the political situation in 1824, more than forty years following the end of the American Revolution (the 1783 Treaty of Paris).

5. The students should assume the role of a textbook writer for students attending public academies of the 1840s and write a 1/2 column synopsis of the Jacksonian Democracy era that portrays it as an era of the ordinary man's coming to economic and political power. The teacher should point out that simply echoing the CROSSROADS essay and their own textbook is not sufficient to complete this project. (At this time, as well as all others when written compositions are required, a scoring rubric should be developed by the teacher and students and the standards for each grade must be made clear to all interested parties.)

6. Small groups of students are to seek out as much information as possible concerning one of the major reform movements in this period, using whatever resources available. When this research is complete, have students design a brochure that these reformers might have used to present their concerns about American democracy and the political process in that period. (As in activity 5, make certain that students understand the scoring rubric for assessing the product's merit.)