Jackson

1. Jackson Aim: Did Jackson overstep the boundaries of his office?

3. “King Andrew” • How does this cartoon portray Andrew Jackson? • What conclusions might you draw about Jackson’s presidency based on this portrayal?

4. Vocab Spoils system Rotation of office Trail of Tears Second Bank Suffrage Essential Questions: • Why was Jackson the first “peoples president?” • Do his positive acts outweigh the negatives of his administration?

5. Based on the descriptions of Jackson’s inauguration, decide how they predict Jackson’s role as the President of the Common People. “Yesterday the President’s house was open at noon…The old man stood in the center of the little circle…and shook hands with anybody that offered…There was a throng of apprentices, boys of all ages, men not civilized enough to walk about the rooms with their hats off; the vilest…[group] that ever [gathered] in a decent house; many of the lowest gathering around the doors, pouncing…upon the wine and refreshments, tearing the cake…all fellows with dirty faces and dirty manners; all the [trash] that Washington could turn forth from its workshops and stables.” – George Bancroft’s 1831 White House Inaugural description

6. Inaugural Quotes “A rabble, a mob, of boys, negroes, women, children, scrambling, fighting, romping. What a pity, what a pity! No arrangement had been made, no police officers on duty, and the whole house had been [filled] by the rabble mob.” - Unknown Jackson Inaugural party witness (source JHU; pbs) “The inaugural ball has been recorded by history as a raucous event that showed little discipline or culture. Participants in the festivities ranged from the highest members of the American political elite to the mudcovered agrarian element so strongly represented by the Jeffersonian ideal. The crowd became so rowdy that Jackson was forced to slip out of the White House secretly. As the party was moved outside, many of the guests used all exits, including windows, to be present for the ice cream and wine.”

7. “Invading” the White House! “The people gathered in the streets until the guards were unable to hold them back. Soon they bolted through the White House doors like a herd of wild buffalo. People were packed so tight that many items like dishes and vases were broken, and men stood in good chairs with muddy boots just to get a better view.” “It became so bad that attendants served large tubs of punch as bait, outside on the White House lawn. It worked, and the crowds gathered on the green for treats and conversation.”