Impeachment Trial of Andrew Jackson Essays

Impeachment Trial of Andrew Jackson Essays Impeachment Trial of Andrew Jackson Essay Impeachment Trial of Andrew Jackson Essay Andrew Jackson is often characterized as a man of the people, and his era is described as that of the common man. During the course of this hearing, we will focus on the question, How democratic was Andrew Jackson? The House of Representatives must decide whether Jackson’s actions call for an impeachment vote.The hearing will consider six major issues that were central to Jackson’s administration. ISSUES/IMPEACHMENT COUNTS: 1. EXTENDING POWER to the COMMON MAN Was Jacksons influence in changing the voting requirements and holding public office democratic? 2. U. S. BANK Was Jackson’s destruction of the national bank democratic? 3. SPOILS SYSTEM Was the use of the Spoils System democratic? 4. INDIAN REMOVAL Was Jackson’s policy of Indian Removal democratic? 5. SLAVERY Were Jackson’s actions regarding slavery democratic? 6.PEGGY EATON AFFAIR Was Jackson’s support of Peggy Eaton in the best interest of American democracy? GRADING CRITERIA: 1. Quality of the oral presentation (ie: introductory statement, central idea development, use of specific evidence in the argument to support your point of view, conclusion, clarity of ideas, mechanics, and ability to persuade the audience. ) 2. Creative participation in your assigned role. (ie: execution of your opening statement, ability to answer questions in your testimony, asking good questions in the cross examination, remaining true to your character’s point of view. 3. Historical accuracy of both your oral and written presentations. ROLE IN THE TRIAL Your assignment will consist of two parts: one oral (based on your presentation during the trial) and one written (in the form of an analytic essay due _____________ ) You will be acting as either a WITNESS called to the stand to testify in behalf of or against President Jackson or a member of the PUBLIC GALLERY who has specific questions for a witness. Each student must take on the point of view of his/her character in the hearing. REQUIREMENTS (Organization)You must prepare a well organized, persuasive, analytical statement in the voice of your assigned character which either passionately supports or is against President Jackson’s impeachment. Your presentation should address each of the following: Introduction = introduce your character and take a clear position on your issue (central idea statement/thesis). Also, provide enough background information to make the issue/impeachment count understandable to the court’s gallery and characterize President Jackson’s actions as either democratic or undemocratic.Body = use specific evidence from your research to support your characters point of view on your assigned issue facing President Andrew Jackson. You should have at least two major arguments perhaps three to support your point of view. Be sure to carefully explain each with examples. Conclusion = Restate your central idea and then specifically describe your character’s assessment of Jackson’s behavior. Was he democratic? Should he be impeached? REQUIREMENTS (ORAL) WITNESSES: 1. You must prepare an opening statement to include a: a. brief introduction of your character b. lear statement of your position including the reasons for your views 2. Be prepared to answer questions by the public gallery as accurately and completely as possible. 3. Presentations should be three-five minutes in length PUBLIC GALLERY MEMBERS: 1. Introduce yourself to the hearing by giving a: a. brief introduction of your character b. clear statement of your position including the reasons for your views 2. Prepare two questions: one for the witness who supports your character’s point of view and one for the witness who opposes your point of view. Be ready to pose these questions during the trial.Trial Roles Issue One: Voting Rights witness #1 : Ernie P. Tattle (Pro-Jackson) witness #2: Cedric T. Ashcroft (Anti Jackson) public gallery member #1: Jerry James Huckster (Pro Jackson) public gallery member #2: Kathleen Jefferson (Anti-Jackson) Issue Two: Re-chartering of the United States Bank witness #1: Jack Q. Daniels (Pro-Jackson) witness #2: Nicolas Biddle (Anti-Jackson) public gallery member #1: Elmer Smith (Pro-Jackson) public gallery member #2: Alexander Hamilton III (Anti-Jackson) Issue Three:Spoils System witness #1: Jim Bob Cornblower (Pro-Jackson) itness #2: John Quincy Adams (Anti-Jackson) public gallery member #1: Billy Joe Jackson (Pro-Jackson) public gallery member #2: Huntley H. Williams (Anti-Jackson) Issue Four:Indian Removal witness #1: Jason B. Landowner (Pro-Jackson) witness #2: John Ross (Chief of the Cherokee Indians) (Anti-Jackson) public gallery member #1: Chief Cayuga (Anti-Jackson) public gallery member #2: Marlboro Cowboy Lee (Pro-Jackson) Issue Five:Slavery witness #1: Henry Clay (Pro-Jackson) witness #2: Jake Turner (Anti-Jackson) public gallery members #1: Harriet Parker (Anti-Jackson) ublic gallery member #3: Rhett Tobacco Butler (Pro-Jackson) Issue Six:Peggy Eaton Affair witness #1: Peggy Eaton (Pro-Jackson) witness #2: Floride Calhoun (Anti-Jackson) public g allery member #1: Katherine Baldwin (Anti-Jackson) public gallery member #2: Steven J. Eaton (Pro-Jackson) Role Descriptions Issue One: Voting Rights – After the controversial election of 1824, issues related to who can vote and who should govern reached its height. Traditionalists wanted to protect the USA by keeping republicanism (cautious democracy). While others wanted to extend democracy to the people. itness #1 : Ernie P. Tattle (Pro-Jackson) Ernie is a long time Georgia resident. He has rented and worked twenty acres of good farmland adjacent to the Cherokees for the last ten years. He has worked hard all his life and has done a fine job of supporting his family. However, he does not make very much money after he pays all of his expenses. He would like to purchase this land and the local bank has indicated that it would give him a loan to do so. He feels that America is being built on the sweat of Americans just like him. There is no reason that he should not have a sa y in the workings of his government.He sees Andrew Jackson as a champion of the common man and he puts himself in this category. witness #2: Cedric T. Ashcroft (Anti Jackson) Mr. Ashcroft is a prominent entrepreneur who was sent to boarding school because the schooling in Tennessee was not up to his family’s standards. He is a graduate of Harvard College and was given a good start by his father, who was president of the First Bank of Nashville. Mr. Cedric T. Ashcroft believes in getting a good days work from his employees and does not believe in letting them participate in any decision making within the factory.These views extend to government as well. He is a card holding member of the exclusive Young President’s Club and thinks Andrew Jackson is a threat to the American way. public gallery member #1: Jerry James Huckster (Pro Jackson) He too is from the state of Tennessee, but from Clarion, a small town southwest of Nashville. He comes from modest beginnings, but is currently employed by the Clarion Bugle as a staff writer. He once heard Andrew Jackson speak at a political rally when he was running for the Senate and from that day on, he was an avid supporter of Andrew Jackson.He even urged many of his friends to vote for him. He wrote articles very favorable to Jackson no matter what the story was. He also wrote a lovely obituary for Jackson’s wife Rachel Donelson Jackson. public gallery member #2: Kathleen Jefferson (Anti-Jackson) As a second cousin to Thomas Jefferson, Kathleen’s loyalty to her home state of Virginia is stronger than her allegiance the USA. Considered part of the gentry, she doesn’t understand why Jackson wants to change America’s democratic system. In disagreement with her cousin, she believes the founding fathers were right to distrust the masses.They created the government and deserve the respect of all Americans. Why change the system? She believes it is working just fine and that Jackson shou ldn’t rock the boat. Issue Two: United States Bank -Jackson called the Bank of the United States the moneyed monster. As a result of his dislike for monopolistic banks, he vetoed the re-charter of America’s national bank. witness #1: Jack Q. Daniels (Pro-Jackson) This middle class farmer from western Kentucky needs to borrow money on a yearly basis.Like most farmers, he goes into debt in the late spring as he borrows money for his seed and tools. At harvest time, he pays back his local bank and saves the rest for himself. He wants a bank close to home and distrusts the ways of Eastern financiers. He sees them as money grabbing elitists who do nothing and make money off the working men and women. He’s tired of the rich getting richer. witness #2: Nicolas Biddle (Anti-Jackson) He once boasted that on any given day he had much more power than the President of the United States. He was not exaggerating!He ran the National Bank and was considered a very capable admi nistrator/banker by most people. However, his control over the bank was nearly absolute and he guarded this power steadfastly. He believed, as did Alexander Hamilton, that without the National Bank the economy of the nation would plunge into chaos. This stability was in the best interest of all Americans, even those too stupid or ignorant to understand. He despised Jackson. public gallery member #1: Elmer Smith (Pro-Jackson) Mr. Smith is considered by some to be a poor, white farmer. Yet in his own dreams he is far grander than this.After purchasing his first acre of land in western Kentucky, his goal to move up the social and economic hierarchy is becoming a reality. He hopes to increase his land holding and to someday become a plantation owner like those established in the South. He is so thankful to the Kentucky state bank for their help in bringing him one step closer to his dreams. The bank’s continued support is essential for him to realize the rest of his lofty goals. public gallery member #2: Alexander Hamilton III (Anti-Jackson) Alexander, like his famous Great Uncle, has been labeled something like a financial mastermind.He sees America’s economic future as resting on this young country’s ability to continue building an effective line of credit. He wants the US to continue building a favorable balance of trade, by increasing the country’s exports. He believes our future lies in becoming a world power. Issue Three:Spoils System Andrew Jackson’s decision to rotate government jobs to political supporters. witness #1: Jim Bob Cornblower (Pro-Jackson) This man ran Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee presidential campaign. He was very successful in getting the vote out for his man.For his efforts, Jim Bob feels entitled to a government post. Not only does he feel qualified for the job, his loyalty to Jackson will help the President do the people’s will. He is a team player and will not try to block the Presidentâ₠¬â„¢s actions. witness #2: John Quincy Adams (Anti-Jackson) The sixth US President, lost to Jackson in the 1828 election. Portrayed during the campaign as an over educated aristocrat, he has difficulty relating to the simplicity of the common man. A man of genius, he felt that government jobs should go to the highly educated and intelligent people of the land.At fourteen he served as the secretary to the American Ambassador in Russia. His administration made only a few changes in personnel. In Adam’s opinion, government jobs were not political footballs; they were too important to be used as rewards. public gallery member #1: Billy Joe Jackson (Pro-Jackson) Although Billy Joe has no real political experience, he is an established leader of his hometown outside of Nashville, Tennessee as the Mayor. A farmer by vocation who also raises horses, Billy Joe believes the common man’s hard work has built the foundation of America.His home is near the Hermitage, Andrew Jacksonà ¢â‚¬â„¢s home, and the two have conferred on local issues many times in the past. Jackson thinks Billy Joe’s upstanding citizenship prepares him well for a cabinet position and considers him a kind of guy who can get things done. public gallery member #2: Huntley H. Williams (Anti-Jackson) Like John Quincy Adams, Mr. Williams comes from a well established American family. His relatives came to the new world on the Mayflower. This personal history, as well as an impeccable record as a lawyer in Freeport, Maine, gave Huntley a voice people listen to.His higher education, which centered on the Classics at the University of Virginia, taught him the importance of education and the ability to analyze issues. His studies led him to join the Federalist Party following in line of his idol, Alexander Hamilton. Issue Four:Indian Removal Andrew Jackson’s decision to defy the Supreme Court decision to protect the Cherokee nation’s land in Georgia. witness #1: Jason B. Land owner (Pro-Jackson) As a representative to the Georgia State Legislature, Mr. Landowner supports Jackson’s position to remove the Eastern tribes from lands east of the Mississippi.As a land speculator, he has purchased the option to own several thousand acres of now Indian controlled land. His opinion of the Native Americans can be summed up by the phrase child-like savages. He feels that the majority of the voting population in Georgia wants to remove the Indians; he is correct in this assumption. He also feels that John Marshall’s (the Supreme Court’s) decision concerning the Cherokee nation contradicts the doctrine of states’ rights. witness #2: John Ross (Chief of the Cherokee Indians) (Anti-Jackson) He is an educated, well read individual who lives in a comfortable wood frame house.His wife is 100% Scotch-Irish and his family is bilingual speaking both English and the language of the Cherokee. His people live on lands which their ancestors have cont rolled for countless generations. Although the Cherokee nation remembers its roots, they have become Americanized in many ways, most notably in the area of agriculture and farming. Ross was wealthy and owned slaves. He was never allowed to vote because of his background. public gallery member #1: Chief Cayuga (Anti-Jackson) As the chief of the mid-western Indian tribe, Cayuga led his people with valor.Although the land his people lived on is not in jeopardy, he is concerned about the precedent being set against Native Americans. public gallery member #2: Marlboro Cowboy Lee (Pro-Jackson) Marlboro is the classic example of a new American. He is tough, self-made, independent, and strong spirited. He was born into poverty and turned his misfortune into motivation. While he lived on the Atlantic seaboard, he admired Georgian land before relocating to Montana. He is a cattle rancher who invested all of his savings and the rites to his future in cattle. Land is his gold.He clearly believe s American land belongs to Americans and will fight to protect these interests. Issue Five:Slavery Jackson never fully supported the slave system, but he never really did anything to discontinue its growth or its importance to the economy of the South. By maintaining early policy decisions, he hoped to put this volatile issue on the back burner to be dealt with during an easier time. witness #1: Henry Clay (Pro-Jackson) This southerner would do anything to keep the Union from dividing. He became known as the great compromiser and personally was responsible for the Missouri Compromise of the 1820s.He argued that the federal government could not deny people the right to own slaves, only the states could do this. He also argued that the majority of the people supported slavery and therefore the institution should not be outlawed. witness #2: Jake Turner (Anti-Jackson) His cousin Nat Turner led a large slave uprising in 1831 in South Carolina. He was part of the rebellion and managed t o escape to the North. He knew first hand the personal evils and hardships of slavery. All he wants is for the nation to live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence: to fulfill the goal of creating all men as equals. ublic gallery members #1: Harriet Parker (Anti-Jackson) Harriet has never met Mr. Turner or Mr. Great Compromiser Clay, but feels qualified to express her opinion to the court. As a former slave in the state of North Carolina, Harriet gained her freedom after the accidental death of her master and his wife. By the will of their owners, she was granted her greatest wish since her grandparents were taken from their homeland of Guinea. She prays to the Savior to make men like Andrew Jackson suffer due to their non-Christian beliefs which enslave human beings. public gallery member #3: Rhett Tobacco Butler (Pro-Jackson)Mr. Butler has become one of the wealthiest tobacco farmers in Georgia. He is known throughout Atlanta as the toughest and smartest business man in the South. Mr. Butler does not see how his investment in slave labor is any different than investing in one of America’s growing joint stock companies. An investment is an investment. Also, he doesn’t see what the big deal is; his slaves lead secured lives with plenty of food, shelter, and camaraderie. In his opinion, they live better than most Americans! Issue Six:Peggy Eaton Affair This incident threatened Jackson’s political future.By outwardly supporting Mrs. Eaton, Jackson ostracized the social elite and threatened the social order. His Vice President, John Calhoun, resigned from his position, in part due to this controversy. witness #1: Peggy Eaton (Pro-Jackson) A daughter of Washington tavern owner, she married the Secretary of War John Eaton. She was not allowed at many Washington social functions because of her background. witness #2: Floride Calhoun (Anti-Jackson) Floride is the wife of John C. Calhoun, Senator from South Carolina. She refused to be seen in public or private with women of low social standing.She is a southern belle and was raised in a very wealthy family. She thinks Peggy Eaton is deplorable. public gallery member #1: Katherine Baldwin (Anti-Jackson) Miss Baldwin is a member of Boston’s young social elite. She is currently taking courses appropriate for young women her age and in her position in life. After being presented at her Cotillion, this debutante became the dream of many upstanding young men in her community. She cannot believe that the President of the United States would support such an unworthy, classless woman like Peggy Eaton. She is disgusted. ublic gallery member #2: Steven J. Eaton (Pro-Jackson) The brother of John Eaton, Secretary of War in Jackson’s Cabinet, and sister-in-law to Peggy, is overwhelmed by the publicity surrounding the President and his family. He is shocked that people have reacted in the emotional fashion exhibited is certain social circles around the country. He sees Peggy as the true definition of the American dream; a real rags to riches story. Her honorable current lifestyle not only is appropriate for a politician’s wife in his opinion, but actually a role model to young women around the nation.