No doubt, 2020 will be an election year that will be scrutinized by historians. It was hard to pass up creating a lesson that compared the current campaign and the 1800 election. Most of the time, this event is used to highlight the development of the Two Party System and the peaceful transition of power between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. For those who have looked at the issues in 1800, it's almost eerie. There are a number of similarities in both the tone and the substance of the campaign that are worth investigating with students. Lapore writes "Jefferson believed that the election of 1800 would 'fix our national character'." Driving to work this morning listening to the radio, the Editor and Chief of the Economist was making a similar declaration in their endorsement of Joe Biden. It was a contentious election for sure. The Federalist press attacked Jefferson for being an atheist and the Democratic-Republican press declared that Adams was of "hermaphroditical character" along with other abuses. The candidates faced serious scandals in their personal lives. Adams had essentially cut off ties with his son Charles, who died in 1800 due to alcoholism. Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemmings was first mentioned in the press in the late 1790s. What is remarkable about the two contests are the issues. The ongoing debate over First Amendment rights, immigration, manipulation of votes, Supreme Court appointments and protest of racial injustice bring into focus how much continuity there is in American political life. One event Lapore highlights in the midst of the election year was Gabriel Prosser's Rebellion in 1800. Inspired by events in the Caribbean, Lapore says "Africans in America found inspiration in news of events in Haiti." The rebellion, led by Prosser, failed to overthrow the slave system in Virginia, but Lapore adds "opponents of slavery predicted that Gabriel's rebellion would not be the last." In a year where racial injustice has been at the forefront of the news, a major rebellion in the midst of a significant historic election, reminds us how our society is still grappling with the issue of race over a 200 year period. I thought it would be useful for my students to evaluate the issues that were similar to both elections by using a sort activity. Student pairs matched evidence in two rounds of time for seven different topics: immigration, insults, Supreme Court appointments, vote manipulation, protest/revolt, scandal and free speech. I found the evidence for the sort rather quickly using a variety of websites. In the first round, students had to do their best to match similar issues just using the evidence. In the second round, they received category cards to help them finalize their sorts. During the debrief, we talked about evidence matches, the context of some of the evidence and the best comparison between the two elections. I was surprised how many students were not aware of Sally Hemmings. I was also interested in how they interpreted some of the material to make their matches. The excerpts from the Alien & Sedition Acts were often misunderstood and therefore matched with unrelated issues. The activity is attached in case you want to make those comparisons with your students. In the next lesson, we looked at the outcome of the election, particularly the addition of the 12th Amendment, the peaceful transfer of power, the impact of the Marshall Court and the aftermath of Gabriel's Rebellion. As we pivot to Westward Expansion, elections, race and the Supreme Court will continue to influence the narrative. It will be interesting to see next week, as the 2020 Election comes to an end, whether the tone and substance uttered by Jefferson in his inaugural address can be replicated and that our national character can be repaired. Jefferson thought the storm was over in 1801. As Lapore and experience suggests, it was not. 1800 & 2020 Election Sort Lesson Plan 1800 Election Evidence Cards 2020 Election Evidence Cards Election Category Cards
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When approaching an assignment about the influence of the Declaration of Independence, the major challenge is pairing down the thicket of required political events to consider other perspectives. The South Carolina high school curriculum offers only a few opportunities to examine other individuals and events that are not explicitly tied to the major political highlights of the US narrative. It takes some resolve to insert the voices of women, African Americans, indigenous people and the average laborer eking out an existence, while covering the traditional causes of the American Revolution, the failings of the Articles of Confederation and the creation and ratification of the US Constitution.
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AuthorMarc Turner teaches US History and Government in Columbia, South Carolina. Archives
May 2021
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