AP US History Reading and Writing Workshop
This workshop continues to scaffold the writing process adding another document for the DBQ along with an SAQ Stimulus. Group work provides differentiation and peer support.
Unit 4 — The Age of Jackson (1828–1848)
Structure
Session 1 – SAQ Practice
SAQ 1 (No Document)
Answer all parts using your knowledge of U.S. history from 1828–1848.
a) Identify and explain ONE way Jacksonian democracy expanded political participation.
b) Identify and explain ONE way Jacksonian democracy limited political or social equality.
c) Identify and explain ONE impact of Jacksonian democracy on U.S. institutions or policies.
SAQ 2 (Stimulus-Based)
Stimulus:
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)
“The people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe. They are the cause and the end of all things… If liberty is ever lost in America, it will be because the majority drives minorities to despair.”
🔗 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/815/815-h/815-h.htm
Prompt:
a) Identify and explain ONE feature of Jacksonian democracy that supports Tocqueville’s observation.
b) Identify and explain ONE example of a limitation or contradiction in Jacksonian democracy.
c) Identify and explain ONE development from the period 1828–1848 that illustrates Tocqueville’s concern about majority power.
Session 2 – LEQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the Age of Jackson (1828–1848) represented a turning point in the expansion of democracy in the United States.
Rubric Alignment (6 pts):
Session 3 – DBQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which Jacksonian democracy expanded political, social, and economic opportunities in the United States from 1828 to 1848.
Documents Provided (4)
Document 1 — Andrew Jackson, Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States (July 10, 1832)
“It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist… but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions… the humble members of society… have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government.”
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/ajveto01.asp
Document 2 — Cherokee Nation, Memorial of the Cherokee Nation (1830)
“We are overwhelmed! Our hearts are sickened, our utterance is paralyzed, when we reflect on the condition in which we are placed… We appeal to the magnanimity of Congress and to the justice of the American people.”
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/cherrem.asp
Document 3 — South Carolina Exposition and Protest, John C. Calhoun (1828)
“The people of a State, acting in their sovereign capacity, may declare an unconstitutional law of Congress to be of no effect, and may prevent its execution within their limits.”
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/calhoun.asp
Document 4 — Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)
“Universal suffrage really does confer a certain superiority upon the American people… But I do not hesitate to predict that it will in time put the fate of society into the hands of the poor.”
🔗 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/815/815-h/815-h.htm
DBQ Rubric Alignment (7 pts)
Group Roles
Structure
- Session 1: SAQ Practice (two prompts; one with a stimulus)
- Session 2: LEQ Practice (rubric aligned)
- Session 3: DBQ Practice (rubric aligned, 4 documents provided)
Session 1 – SAQ Practice
SAQ 1 (No Document)
Answer all parts using your knowledge of U.S. history from 1828–1848.
a) Identify and explain ONE way Jacksonian democracy expanded political participation.
b) Identify and explain ONE way Jacksonian democracy limited political or social equality.
c) Identify and explain ONE impact of Jacksonian democracy on U.S. institutions or policies.
SAQ 2 (Stimulus-Based)
Stimulus:
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)
“The people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe. They are the cause and the end of all things… If liberty is ever lost in America, it will be because the majority drives minorities to despair.”
🔗 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/815/815-h/815-h.htm
Prompt:
a) Identify and explain ONE feature of Jacksonian democracy that supports Tocqueville’s observation.
b) Identify and explain ONE example of a limitation or contradiction in Jacksonian democracy.
c) Identify and explain ONE development from the period 1828–1848 that illustrates Tocqueville’s concern about majority power.
Session 2 – LEQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the Age of Jackson (1828–1848) represented a turning point in the expansion of democracy in the United States.
Rubric Alignment (6 pts):
- Thesis/Claim (1)
- Contextualization (1)
- Evidence (2)
- Analysis & Reasoning (2)
- Contextualization: Situate Jacksonian democracy within the market revolution, westward expansion, and decline of the Federalists.
- Thesis: Defensible claim with “extent” phrasing (e.g., “To a significant extent, Jacksonian democracy expanded suffrage and political participation, but it also reinforced racial and gender inequalities and strengthened executive power.”).
- Evidence: Use examples like universal white male suffrage, Indian Removal Act, Bank War, Nullification Crisis, Whig opposition, Second Party System.
- Analysis: Show nuance—expansion of voting rights vs. oppression of Native Americans and African Americans; rise of party politics vs. increased sectionalism.
Session 3 – DBQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which Jacksonian democracy expanded political, social, and economic opportunities in the United States from 1828 to 1848.
Documents Provided (4)
Document 1 — Andrew Jackson, Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States (July 10, 1832)
“It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist… but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions… the humble members of society… have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government.”
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/ajveto01.asp
Document 2 — Cherokee Nation, Memorial of the Cherokee Nation (1830)
“We are overwhelmed! Our hearts are sickened, our utterance is paralyzed, when we reflect on the condition in which we are placed… We appeal to the magnanimity of Congress and to the justice of the American people.”
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/cherrem.asp
Document 3 — South Carolina Exposition and Protest, John C. Calhoun (1828)
“The people of a State, acting in their sovereign capacity, may declare an unconstitutional law of Congress to be of no effect, and may prevent its execution within their limits.”
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/calhoun.asp
Document 4 — Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)
“Universal suffrage really does confer a certain superiority upon the American people… But I do not hesitate to predict that it will in time put the fate of society into the hands of the poor.”
🔗 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/815/815-h/815-h.htm
DBQ Rubric Alignment (7 pts)
- Thesis/Claim (1): Defensible argument on Jacksonian democracy’s expansion of opportunity.
- Contextualization (1): Situate within market revolution, expansion of suffrage, sectional divisions.
- Evidence from Documents (2): Use all 4 excerpts to support argument.
- Evidence beyond Documents (1): Add outside evidence (Spoils System, Panic of 1837, Seneca Falls, abolitionist movements, rise of Whigs).
- Sourcing (1): Analyze POV, audience, purpose, or historical context of at least 2 docs.
- Complexity (1): Address contradictions—expanded democracy for white men vs. oppression of Native Americans, enslaved people, and women.
- Each student sources one document (POV, purpose, audience, historical context).
- Thematic Grouping:
- Economic Equality vs. Elite Power → Jackson’s Bank Veto
- Native Rights vs. Majority Will → Cherokee Memorial
- States’ Rights vs. Federal Power → Calhoun’s Protest
- Expansion of Suffrage vs. Inequality → Tocqueville
- Thesis Writing: Defensible argument weighing expansion vs. limits.
- Add outside evidence: Panic of 1837, Indian Removal Act, formation of Whigs, abolitionist voices, women’s rights stirrings.
- Complexity: Recognize paradox—expanded democracy coexisted with entrenched exclusion.
Group Roles
- Content Expert: Supplies historical details (laws, policies, events).
- Connector: Ties evidence to APUSH themes (POL, WXT, CUL, MIG, GEO).
- Writer: Drafts group thesis and outlines.
- Reviewer: Checks rubric elements (context, sourcing, outside evidence, complexity).