HA: Andrew Jackson InteractMTT Andrew Jackson was the 7 th president. His place is history is greatly debated. Was he a hero of the people or an arrogant villain out for himself? Read the selection below, complete the Critical Reading Analysis steps, and answer the questions on the back to help you decide. Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson is one of the most controversial presidents in American history. Even in his own time people were greatly divided. While he was liked by the lower class, those who truly understood how government functioned saw him as a king-like figure out to erase the first 50 years of American history. From the very beginning Jackson challenged society to get what he wanted. In 1791 he moved in with the love of his life, Rachel Donelson Robards. Not only were the two unmarried at the time but Rachel was, in fact, married to another man. In time they simply moved away from her husband, declared her divorced and got married. Charges of adultery followed Jackson for decades to follow. Jackson’s controversial legacy does not stop there. The very moment that made him famous as a hero is itself somewhat of a fraud. In 1815 Jackson led the battle that defeated the British at New Orleans. No one can argue that this victory was not incredible. It was. Jackson showed he knew how to lead no matter the circumstances. However, what is often left out is that the war with Britain was already over. Thousands died in this battle for absolutely no reason. Jackson didn’t care and used his fame from victory to propel himself to the presidency. As president Jackson immediately challenged many of the traditions and institutions of America by including low class people in everything. His inaugural party was such a travesty that the White House was utterly trashed. The only way Jackson could get his mob of supporters to leave was to put giant barrels of wine outside and then shut the doors behind them! He then challenged the National Bank, which most historians believe led to one of the worst periods of economic failure in US history. Hundreds of businesses closed and thousands of jobs were lost. And none of this compares to Jackson’s most villainous action. In order to further please the lower class Jackson forced thousands of Indians to leave them homelands under threat of death. Jackson wanted to the land for his supporters and he proudly violated the law to do so saying the Supreme Court had no power to stop him. Admittedly, Jackson may have had the right motives in trying to help the lower class rise up but his actions clearly are not those of a hero. + important ? I don’t get it = Reminds me of : ) Like : ( Don’t like Visual Response – Visualize what the author is saying and draw an illustration in the margin. Ask yourself: -What does this look like? -How can I draw this concept/idea? -What symbol best represents this idea? Connect – Make connections within the reading to your own life and to the world. Ask yourself: -How does this relate to me? -How does this relate to other parts of the text? -How does this relate to the world? Question - Question both the ideas in and your own understanding of a text. Ask yourself: -What is the author saying here? -What is the purpose of this section/word? -What do I agree/disagree with? Interacts MTT Icons: ! interesting

HA: Andrew Jackson InteractMTT Andrew Jackson was the 7 th president. His place is history is greatly debated. Was he a hero of the people or an arrogant villain out for himself? Read the selection below, complete the Critical Reading Analysis steps, and answer the questions on the back to help you decide. Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson is one of the most controversial presidents in American history. Even in his own time people were greatly divided. While he was hated by the rich those who truly understood freedom, the common man, saw him as a heroic figure who would finally fulfill the promise of the American Revolution. From the very beginning Jackson challenged society do what was right. In 1791 he moved in with the love of his life, Rachel Donelson Robards. Rachel had been trapped in a loveless, and some say abusive, marriage. Jackson showed her that she could be free of that. She divorced her husband and married Jackson. Their marriage was strong, loving and lasting. Jackson’s heroic legacy does not stop there. The very moment that made him famous as a hero is one of America’s greatest victories. In 1815 Jackson led the battle that defeated the British at New Orleans. No one can argue that this victory was not incredible. It was. Jackson showed he knew how to lead no matter the circumstances. Some say the battle was meaningless since the war was technically over already. However, if the British had won the earlier Treaty would have meant nothing. Jackson’s great victory propelled him to the presidency. As president Jackson immediately challenged many of the traditions and institutions of America by including the common people in everything. His inaugural party open to anyone – not just the rich elites. He even surprised them by providing one of the largest blocks of cheese ever made! On the behalf of the common people he then challenged the National Bank. As a result of this attack on the wealthy Jackson gained greater control over the economy and became the only president in history to earn more money for the nation than he spent. This led to great short-term prosperity in the U.S. And none of this compares to Jackson’s most difficult action. In order to end decades of violence between whites and Indians Jackson had to make a bold decision. He created a new territory in the west and gave it to the Indians promising that land would forever be theirs and would not be interfered with. Admittedly, Jackson forced them to go whether they wanted to or not but clearly his motives were for the good of the nation. + important ? I don’t get it = Reminds me of : ) Like : ( Don’t like Visual Response – Visualize what the author is saying and draw an illustration in the margin. Ask yourself: -What does this look like? -How can I draw this concept/idea? -What symbol best represents this idea? Connect – Make connections within the reading to your own life and to the world. Ask yourself: -How does this relate to me? -How does this relate to other parts of the text? -How does this relate to the world? Question - Question both the ideas in and your own understanding of a text. Ask yourself: -What is the author saying here? -What is the purpose of this section/word? -What do I agree/disagree with? Interacts MTT Icons: ! interesting

1. List as many words as you can find that make Jackson look like a hero. 2. List as many words as you can find that make Jackson look like a villain. 3. What do you think the best thing Jackson did was? Explain. 4. What do you think the worst thing Jackson did was? Explain. 5. Do you think Jackson was a more of a hero or a villain? Why? 6. Do you think this reading gives you enough information to make a good decision on whether Jackson was a hero or not? Why?