history

HIST 2010 United States History I Research & Writing Activity # 2

INSTRUCTIONS:

Students are to view the video “Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil & the American Presidency” and write an informal reflective/reaction paper of a minimum of 1250 words. There is no charge to view the video. Simply paste the web address (url) below into your web browser. A high-speed broadband internet connection is best. Students may use any MSCC computer approved for student use.

Student’s paper should contain:

1. a succinct summary of the salient information presented in the video program (50% of grade) 2. the student’s personal reaction (reflection) to the information presented in the program (50% of grade)

Paper must be typed in 12 point font, single-spaced, with student name on the first page and each page numbered consecutively. Paper should be written in a Microsoft Word compatible word processing program or converted into a PDF or RTF file. Paper must be uploaded to the designated D2L Dropbox by the designated due date. Points will be deducted for spelling and grammatical errors. Formal citation and a reference page are not needed because you should only be summarizing and critiquing the documentary. Papers written as one or two paragraphs will not be read and will receive a grade of zero.

PLAGIARISM: The student’s submission will be automatically screened by the Turn It In plagiarism detection service subscribed to by the college. If plagiarism is found, the student will receive a grade of zero for the assignment with no opportunity for re-submission. The professor also reserves the right to assign a grade of “F” for the entire course if plagiarism is detected.

Student should consult the Syllabus or Course Calendar for the prescribed due date. Late submissions are accepted but are first graded and the reduced by 10 points for each day late.

RWA # 2: “Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil & the American Presidency” (155 minutes, 6 seconds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGfxyeuy8u8

Video summary: A biography of America’s seventh president, Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency explores whether Americans should celebrate Jackson or apologize for him.

Jackson is full of contradictions. He fought in the Revolutionary War when he was 13 years old, only later to uses the skills he learned in battle to kill a man over a gambling debt. He led the American army to one of the most surprising victories in its history in the Battle of New Orleans. In the same vein, he also launched an unauthorized invasion of Florida. Jackson owned more than a hundred black Americans, but was also the first great champion of the common white man. Jackson dramatically expanded the United States, yet did so by brutally wresting vast regions of the south from Native Americans. Finally, Jackson, in one of the boldest political strokes in history, founded the Democratic Party, but his enemies viewed him as an American Napoleon.

The film concludes with the words of Jackson’s first biographer, James Parton: “Andrew Jackson was a patriot, and a traitor. He was the greatest of generals, and wholly ignorant of the art of war. He was the most candid of men, and capable of the profoundest dissimulation. He was a democratic autocrat, an urbane savage, an atrocious saint.” Martin Sheen narrates.