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

1828

Lesson plan.
Andrew Jackson vs John Quincy AdamsAndrew Jackson decisively defeated incumbent John Quincy Adams in a rematch driven by Jackson's furious populist campaign against the 'Corrupt Bargain' of 1824. Jackson carried the South and West by enormous margins, running as the champion of ordinary frontier and working-class voters against the Eastern elite. The election was extraordinarily bitter, featuring personal attacks on both candidates and their wives. Jackson's victory marked the beginning of Jacksonian Democracy and the modern Democratic Party.

The 1828 U.S. presidential election sent Andrew Jackson (Democratic) to the White House. Andrew Jackson took 178 of the 261 electoral votes to John Quincy Adams's 83. Andrew Jackson led the national popular vote with 55.93%. The race falls within the Second Party System era; the lesson packets below dig into its central debates, with Revenge for the 'Corrupt Bargain' 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