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V. Past DBQs and FRQs Based on the Age of Jackson

by Cora Greer
University of Maine at Machias
Machias, Maine

Questions that Directly Related to the Age of Jackson
1980 "The decision of the Jackson Administration to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s was more a reformulation of the national policy that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change in policy." Assess the validity of that generalization with references to the moral, political, constitutional, and practical concerns that shaped Indian policy between 1789 and the mid-1830s.
1990 "Jacksonian democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity." In light of the documents and your knowledge of the 1820s and 1830s, to what extent do you agree with the Jacksonians' view of themselves?

Note: This DBQ focuses on Jacksonian democracy and contains excerpts from some key documents. If this DBQ is not part of a writing assignment, the various documents would make a good handout of primary sources dealing with the period. The documents accompanying this question are available in the publication Doing the DBQ, available for purchase in the College Board Store.
Doing the DBQ
Questions Generally Related to the Age of Jackson
1986 "In the first half of the 19th century, the American cultural and intellectual community contributed to the development of a distinctive American national consciousness." Assess the validity of that statement.
1988 "American reform movements between 1820 and 1860 reflect both optimistic and pessimistic views of human nature and society." Assess the validity of that statement in relation to three of the following:

Women's rights
Utopian experiments
Penal institutions
1993 In what ways did early 19th century reform movements for abolition and women's rights illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of democracy in the early American republic?
1996 Analyze the extent to which two of the following influenced the development of democracy between 1820 and 1840:
Jackson's economic policies
Changes in electoral politics
Second Great Awakening
Westward movement
1999 How did two of the following contribute to the reemergence of a two-party system between 1820 and 1840?
Major political personalities
States' rights
Economic issues
2001 The Jacksonian period (1824 to 1848) has been celebrated as the era of the "common man." To what extent did this period live up to its characterization? Consider two of the following in your response.
Economic development
Reform movements

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