Before Viewing American Presidents
Part 1
Define the verb, "to command." What is the noun form of the verb? Elicit
some examples of commands. What makes a command a command (versus a
suggestion or a request)? Does a command require "roughness"? What tone do
commands usually take? Why?
Have students brainstorm different
situations
with one person taking command of a situation. Pairs of students can design and
perform a role play of a leader (i.e. a teacher, a parent, a student
government representative, a politician, a police officer, a referee)
commanding something of another person.
Have students consider the qualities
of an effective leader, the job duties of a president, and answer the
following question:
In what ways must a president of the United States command?
Part 2
Present students with the following words Andrew Jackson used to describe
himself in 1821:
"I know what I am fit for. I can command a body of men in a rough way; but
I am not fit to be president."
Ask students: Was Andrew Jackson selling himself short? Make predictions about the
ways Andrew Jackson’s "roughness" enhanced or detracted from his leadership as
president.
Part 3
Prepare students to use the activity sheet below to
categorize information about Andrew Jackson as
they view the biographical vignette. For example, Andrew Jackson was described as a pugnacious, slobbering
child. Students may put the words pugnacious and slobbering in the
left hand column as words that describe the "rough" Andrew Jackson.
Andrew Jackson served two terms. Students may put that fact in the
right column as a fact related to the presidential Andrew Jackson.
Finally, students may decide that some facts about Andrew Jackson are
related to both the rough and the presidential Andrew Jackson, such as his tendency to dueling. Students should put this information under the middle heading "both."
While Viewing American Presidents
Directions: Take notes on the information in the vignette
by categorizing biographical facts about President Jackson
in the columns below.
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"Rough" Qualities |
Both |
Presidential Qualities |
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After Viewing American Presidents
Part 1
Replay the vignette several times so that students may refine their notes. Review students answers. Which column has more information? Which of Jackson’s qualities stand out? What conclusions can you draw about the ways his personal qualities impacted his effectiveness as a leader?
Part
2
Review some information about the personalities and styles
of the presidents preceding Andrew Jackson. You can use C-SPAN's American Presidents
web site to identify this information. How might his styles have
contrasted with theirs? How might the styles of the preceding presidents
have contributed to Andrew Jackson’s pessimistic view of his "fitness"
for the presidency?
Part
3
Answer the following question using C-SPAN's American Presidents
web site, additional C-SPAN programming on Andrew Jackson and other
sources of information.
Did Andrew Jackson’s personal "roughness" make him an effective president?
Write a short essay explaining and defending your answer.
