Andrew Jackson
Symbol for an Age
An Interdisciplinary Lesson for the
Study of Jacksonian Democracy in
Virginia & United States History 11
Holly Zuger, Gloucester High School
Standard of Learning:
VUS.6.
 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the
major events during the first half of the
nineteenth century by
 identifying the economic, political, and
geographic factors that led to territorial
expansion and its impact on the American
Indians (First Americans);
 describing the key features of the Jacksonian
Era, with emphasis on federal banking policies.
Additional Learning
Objectives to Reinforce SOL
VUS.6:
 The student will understand how Andrew Jackson
served as a symbol for the age in which he lived
by
 identifying the characteristics of the distinct
American culture that was developing on the
Western frontier through the examination of
primary sources drawn from American art, music,
and literature produced during the Age of Jackson.
 drawing direct relationships between Jackson’s
political career as the Western champion of the
common man and the natural themes of
contemporary American art, music, and literature.
Present to Students the
Textbook’s Information on
the Jacksonian Era.


Emphasize the new democratic spirit in
American politics and increased participation
of the common man in the electoral process
through the institution of universal white
manhood suffrage.
Stress that Jackson distrusted the Bank of
the United States as an undemocratic tool of
the Eastern elite.
Overview of the 1824
Election
 Emphasize Andrew Jackson’s position as one
of two Western presidential candidates and his
emergence as the hero of Western voters after
the alleged “corrupt bargain” between John
Quincy Adams and Henry Clay resulted in
Adams’ election by the House of
Representatives.
 Stress the western belief that Adams and Clay
together had stolen the election from Jackson
and thereby thwarted the will of the people.
1824 Election Results
Election
Party
Electoral Popular
of 1824
Vote
Vote
Candidate
Presidential: Although Jackson won the most popular votes and the most
electoral votes, the House of Representatives elected Adams president.
John Quincy
Adams (MA)
DemocraticRepublican
84
115,696
Henry Clay (KY)
“
37
47,136
Andrew Jackson
(TN)
“
99
152,933
William H.
Crawford (GA)
“
41
46,979
Music as Historical Evidence
“The Hunters of Kentucky”
 Inaccurately gives credit to the Kentucky
hunters for the American victory at the
Battle of New Orleans
 Became a campaign song for Jackson
 Prompt the students to identify how the
Kentucky hunters represented the moral
and democratic values of the American
common man.
Literature as Historical
Evidence
 Through inquiry prompt students to explore the
natural imagery in William Cullen Bryant’s
poetry.
 Connect Bryant to the Jacksonian movement
through his career as editor of The New York
Evening Post.
 Prompt students to draw similarities between
the Kentucky hunters and the fictional Natty
Bumppo in James Fennimore Cooper’s
Leatherstocking Tales.
“To A Waterfowl” by
William Cullen Bryant

WHITHER, midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?
Vainly the fowler's eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly seen against the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along.
Art as Historical Evidence
 The Hudson River School emphasized
nature and Americans’ ability to conquer
nature during the Westward expansion of
the Jacksonian period.
 The paintings of American Realists William
Sydney Mount and George Caleb Bingham
often depicted the common man’s
everyday life and participation in politics by
virtue of Jacksonian democracy.
Asher Durand’s
“Kindred Spirits”
 Depicted the beauty
of nature in
Jacksonian America
 Included both the
artist Thomas Cole
and the poet William
Cullen Bryant in the
painting
“The Oxbow”
by Thomas Cole
 View from Mount
Holyoke,
Northampton,
Massachusetts,
after a
Thunderstorm
 Note man’s
presence: fields
& umbrella
George Caleb Bingham's
The County Election
 Depicts a Missouri
election day. In that
time and place, only
white male propertyowners could vote, and
candidates and their
representatives could
solicit votes
immediately before the
voting. Alcohol flowed
freely, and votes were
cast by voice and
recorded in public.
George Caleb Bingham’s
“Stump Speaking”
 Shows the common
man’s interest in
American politics as
a result of
Jacksonian
Democracy’s move
towards universal
white manhood
suffrage
William Sydney Mount’s
“The Horse Dealers” 1835,
Everyday life
of the common man
Mount’s “Cider Making”
 Remind students
the temperance
movement
against alcoholic
consumption
originated in
America as a
social reform
during the Age of
Jackson.
The Irony of Jackson as
the Symbol for his Age
 Jackson’s Nashville,
Tennessee home “The
Hermitage” contrasted
sharply with the lifestyle
of the common man.
 Yet, it epitomized
Jacksonian
Democracy’s “Go
Ahead” spirit and belief
in the United States as
the land of opportunity.
Student Assessment
 “Write an essay entitled ‘Andrew Jackson,
Symbol for an Age.’ In this essay discuss not
only political and economic events that
characterized Jacksonian democracy, but also
feel free to include historical evidence drawn
from art, literature, and music to support the
idea that Americans’ view of Andrew Jackson
mirrored their beliefs about what made the
United States a democratic land
of opportunity. (Please write your essay in third
person. Neither first nor second person
pronouns are acceptable.)”