The American Vote
First Party SystemAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download

1804

Lesson plan.
Thomas Jefferson vs Charles C. PinckneyJefferson won in a landslide over Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the first election held under the new 12th Amendment rules separating presidential and vice-presidential ballots. Jefferson's first term was highly popular, particularly after the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of the nation. The Federalist Party was in serious decline, unable to compete with Jefferson's broad coalition.

The 1804 U.S. presidential election sent Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) to the White House. Thomas Jefferson took 162 of the 176 electoral votes to Charles C. Pinckney's 14. The race falls within the First Party System era; the lesson packets below dig into its central debates, with Louisiana Purchase and westward expansion among the major themes.

What is in each packet
Cover
Cycle metadata + band eyebrow
Lesson plan
Instructor — timing, materials, standards
Reading
Sized to grade band (K-2: ~250 words → AP: ~650)
Background
Curated cycles — 5-7 vocab terms + primary-source excerpt
Student worksheet
K-2: 3 questions → AP: 8, mixed format
Answer key
Instructor — rationale on every item
Discussion prompts
3 prompts tied to era
DBQ (AP only)
Long-essay + 5-point rubric + second source
Download by grade band
  • K-2
    Story
    4 pp
    20 min
    Free
  • 3-5
    Reading
    5 pp
    35 min
    Free
  • 6-8
    Reading
    6 pp
    50 min
    Free
  • 9-12
    Source
    8 pp
    75 min
    Free
  • AP
    DBQ
    12 pp
    105 min
    Free