Exercise One
In order to build an historical basis for an analysis
of the data and gain a better understanding of the political
parties of the antebellum era, students should read the
chapters covering the political developments of the first
half of the nineteenth century in their textbook.
Using information from a text and the following websites,
students should be prepared to discuss the questions below:
The Jacksonian Era, 1820-1840:
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/module5/index.html
Jacksonian Democracy:
http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/
ah_046700_jacksoniande.htm
The Whig Party:
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h279.html
http://www.earlyrepublic.net/whigs.htm
1. Which groups (e.g. business, farm, labor) supported
the Anti-Jacksonians and Whigs, and which ones supported
the Democrats or Jacksonians?
2. What sections of the country supported each of the
parties? What was the potential significance of the geographic
distribution of membership in the parties?
Exercise Two
Using the following websites, as well as the Timeline
of Presidential Elections, located on the HISTORY
NOW website, the class will investigate the issues of
the elections from 1824 through 1861, their outcomes,
and the positions of each candidate:
Electoral College Box Scores:
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/votes/
index.html#state
An Overview of U.S. Presidential Elections:
http://www.multied.com/elections/index.html#history
An Overview of American Presidents:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/
Primary Documents on Slavery, 1830-1840 :
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/treasures3.html
Primary Documents on Slavery, 1850-1857 :
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/treasures4.html
1. Identify the state from which each of the presidents
and vice presidents came.
2. What were the results of the Electoral College vote
and the popular vote in each of the ten presidential
elections?
3. Which states cast their electoral votes for the president-elect
in each election?
4. Identify any trends and continuities or changes that
you find in the election results.
5. Identify four major political issues that the nation
faced during the period 1824 - 1861. Can you explain
the positions of the North, South, and West on each
of these important issues?
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