Eighth graders put President Andrew Jackson on Trial

In a mock trial, eighth graders explore the role President Jackson had in the Trail of Tears.

“Andrew Jackson is an important president to learn about because he was such a controversial president,” said eighth grade social studies teacher Mr. David Chee.

All eighth graders who are enrolled in Chee’s honors classes are participating in a trial to get an in depth look and help determine whether Andrew Jackson was guilty or not in the Trail of Tears.  The students evaluate the president through research and facts.  The trial will last 2-3 weeks, depending on how each class progresses individually.

Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United states of America, is historically reported as the cause of the Trail of Tears.  The Trail of Tears was when Andrew Jackson drove the Cherokee Indians out of their homeland to a new territory because he was trying to expand the US even after the Treaty of New Echota was signed.

The trial is made up of attorneys, witnesses and jury teams chosen by Chee. The students applied for the roles that they wanted to be. “There’s a little something for everyone,” said Chee.

The attorneys play an actual role of an attorney and are in either the prosecution or defense team.  The prosecution team are attempting to convict President Jackson of unconstitutionally causing the Trail of Tears.  The defense’s role is to convince the jury that Jackson is not to blame for the Trail of Tears.

The witnesses also research their character and get a background look on that person’s perspective and how they they had an impact on the Trail of Tears.  The witnesses get to be a little more dramatic by acting out their characters.  They help the students visualize how that person may have acted during the trial and how they might have affected the event.

If the students were neither attorneys or witnesses they were members of the jury.  The jurors listened to what the witnesses had to say and make a testimony on Andrew Jackson.

Each role has its own rubric in which each individual is graded.

Eighth grade student George Castillo plays a witness names Samuel Worcester.  According to George acting out the trial is an easier and better was to learn about the Trail of Tears and Andrew Jackson because the students are more involved in the case and in class. “Even though everyone is assigned a different role in the trial, I think my character was important because he helped translate the bible,” said George.