Westward Expansion
Dana Marie Brown, Ann Pember, and Derek Vandergrift
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Content Area/Course: US History I
Unit: Western Expansion
Time (minutes): 60 minutes
Lesson #1: Why do people move?
Overview: In this lesson, students will consider the essential question “Why do people move?” and begin to explore the many factors that have
historically led (and continue to) Americans (and others) to relocate. Students will also be introduced to the concept of “Manifest Destiny” and will
construct a Frayer Model worksheet to build their own understanding of this concept.
By the end of this lesson students will know and be able to:
o Identify several factors that have historically led Americans (and others) to relocate.
o Explain the concept of “Manifest Destiny” and discuss its implications.
Essential Question addressed in this lesson:
o Why do people move?
Standard(s)/Unit Goal(s) to be addressed in this lesson (type each standard/goal exactly as written in the framework):
o G1. USI.26 Describe the causes, course, and consequences of America’s westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness.
o F. The concept of Manifest Destiny and its relationship to westward expansion
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Instructional Resources/Tools (list all materials needed for this lesson)
o Article: “Gap's 'manifest destiny' T-shirt was a historic mistake” from The Guardian available at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/16/gap-manifest-destiny-t-shirt
o Frayer Model worksheet – can be created at: http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphic-organizers/frayer.html
o John O’ Sullivans “On Manifest Destiny” available at: http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/resources/manifest_destiny_sullivan.html
Anticipated Student Preconceptions/Misconceptions

Students may believe that the factors that led Americans to move westward during the 19th century were unique to that particular time and
place when, in reality, many of the same factors lead people around the world to move today.

Students may believe that “Manifest Destiny” was universally accepted by all and that America’s growth came without serious consequences
for Americans and other peoples.
Instructional Model

Pre-Assessment: LINKS “ABC sheet” completed by student pairs

Introduction of essential question: Why do people move?

Class brainstorm

Gallery Walk: Causes of Western Expansion

Direct Instruction – Introduction of concept of “Manifest Destiny”

Student creation of “Frayer Model” definition sheet

Extension Homework: “Why did Manifest Destiny t-shirts create such controversy?”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Instructional Tips/Strategies/Suggestions:
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Pre-Assessment
o LINKS “ABC sheet”: Students will work in pairs to complete an “ABC sheet” for half of the alphabet (A to L / M to Z) aiming to provide
one (or more) term related to Westward Expansion beginning with each of the letters in their assigned section of the alphabet. After student
pairs have completed their work, there will be a class “reporting out” with one student recording student responses on the board at the front of
the room.
What students need to know and are able to do coming into this lesson (including language needs):
o Students will have studied early US History beginning with the American Revolution and progressing through the period of the Early
Republic. Students should be familiar with some previous instances of US involvement in foreign affairs including (but not limited to): Jay’s
Treaty, Citizen Genet Affair, Quasi-War with France, XYZ Affair, War with the Barbary States, Embargo of 1807, War of 1812, Adams-Onis
Treaty (acquisition of Florida). Students should have also previously studied George Washington’s “Farewell Address”.
Lesson Sequence:
Pre-Assessment
o LINKS “ABC sheet”: Students will work in pairs to complete an “ABC sheet” for half of the alphabet (A to L / M to Z) aiming to provide
one (or more) term related to Westward Expansion beginning with each of the letters in their assigned section of the alphabet. After student
pairs have completed their work, there will be a class “reporting out”. To capture student responses, the teacher may want to create a class
“glogster” (http://www.glogster.com/) with the heading “Before Lesson” – once completed, the teacher can print out the glogster for their
students to add to their notebooks. At the conclusion of the unit, the teacher may want to have students add their new knowledge to the
glogster and/or create a new class glogster to demonstrate their learning. Finally, as a culminating assignment, the teacher may ask their
students to use their “after learning” glogster to write a paragraph / short essay summarizing their understanding of westward expansion.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Introduction of Essential Question and Class Brainstorm
o After the completion of the pre-assessment activity, the teacher will introduce the first essential question for the unit – “Why do people
move?” The class will then take a few moments to brainstorm and to create a list of factors that have led, and continue to lead, people to
relocate.
Gallery Walk – Causes of Westward Expansion
o The students will visit 6 to 10 stations around the room. Each station will feature a primary source document that will illustrate one of the
factors that led Americans to move westward during the 19th century. At each station, students will be asked to identify the type of source and
the cause of American westward expansion that is illustrated in the source. Possible sources include:
o Advertisements for available land / land sales
o An excerpt from The Homestead Act
o Images of gold prospectors
o Advertisements for steamships departing for California
o Articles about the Mormons / religious struggle
o Excerpts from the diaries of Lewis and Clark
o At the conclusion of the gallery walk, the teacher will lead the class in a discussion of the documents that the students viewed. For
each document, the class will work together to determine the what type of source it is (newspaper article, photograph, etc.) and the
cause of American westward expansion that each source illustrates. The teacher (or a selected student) will record these causes on
the board.
o The class will then compare their initial brainstorm list created in response to the essential question “why do people move?” to the list
created by the class after their gallery walk – this should reveal that people move for many of the same reasons today as they did
during the nineteenth century.
Student Creation of Frayer Model Worksheet and Direct Instruction
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o The teacher will introduce the students to the concept of “Manifest Destiny”. To build their understanding of Manifest Destiny, the
students will create a Frayer Model worksheet. In the center of the worksheet, the students will write the term “Manifest Destiny”.
Additionally, in order to better meet the needs of diverse learners such as ELL students, the teacher may want to leave additional space in the
center of the worksheet for students to write a definition in their native language or to create a visual representation of their understanding of
Manifest destiny. In the four boxes surrounding the term, students are asked to provide a definition for Manifest Destiny (they can look this
up in their textbooks, on the internet, etc) , list characteristics of Manifest Destiny, provide examples of Manifest Destiny, and to list “nonexamples” of Manifest Destiny. A Frayer model worksheet can be created at: http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphicorganizers/frayer.html. The teacher may want to have students add to this worksheet throughout the course of the unit to demonstrate their
increased understanding of Manifest Destiny and its implications.
o The teacher will add to the students’ understand of this concept by placing it in historical context and explaining that the term was first used
by a newspaper editor in reference to the US’ proposed annexation of Texas.
Video Excerpt: “Frame Focus, and Follow-Up” Model
o The teacher will show the class a brief (4 minute) video created by the Kansas Historical Society about Manifest Destiny. The video is
available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLmUhT9QOlE The teacher will use “Frame, Focus, and Follow Up” model to help
students build their understanding of the concept of Manifest Destiny.
o Frame: The teacher will explain to students that the term “Manifest Destiny” was first used by journalist John L. O’Sullivan in
regard to the proposed US annexation of Texas.
o Focus: While students watch the brief clip, students should aim to answer the following questions:
 Why did Americans feel that they had the right to possess lands in the West?
 How did Americans feel that they could improve the lands and peoples of the West?
 How did Americans view the native peoples of the West? How did they fit into Americans’ understanding of “Manifest
Destiny?”
o Follow-Up: After viewing the clip, the teacher will give students a few moments to reflect upon the clip, write their answers to the
“focus” questions, and then ask students to share their answers to the “focus” questions with the class. After this brief discussion, the
teacher will ask students to return to their Frayer model and add new information that they have learned.
Extension / Homework Assignment
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o Students will be given a copy of the article “GAP’s Manifest Destiny t-shirts were a mistake” to read for homework. After reading the article,
students should write a one to two paragraph reaction to it. The teacher may want to frame this response by asking the students “Why did this
t-shirt create such controversy more than 150 years after the time of Manifest Destiny?” The teacher may wish to start the next class by
asking students to share their reactions.
o At the conclusion of the lesson / unit, students can individual add to their Frayer model worksheets and/or collectively add to their class
glogster to demonstrate their new understanding of westward expansion and “Manifest Destiny”.
Formative assessments:
o Pre-assessment: LINKS “ABC sheets”
o Class “before lesson” gloglster
o Frayer Model worksheets
o Student reactions to homework/ extension assignment
Preview outcomes for the next lesson:
The next lesson will open with students sharing their reactions to the homework assignment. In the next lesson, students will examine the modes and
routes by which Americans followed their “Manifest Destiny” to move to the West.
Summative Assessment:
o CEPA Activity (Expansion Museum Presentation)
o End of Unit Exam
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Content Area/Course: US History I
Unit: Western Expansion
Time (minutes): 60 minutes
Lesson #2: James Monroe & Expanding Foreign Policy
Overview: In this lesson, students will explore how world events and an evolving vision of the United States and its role in world affairs contributed
to the creation of the Monroe Doctrine. Additionally, students will examine the Monroe Doctrine and discuss its impact upon American foreign
policy.
By the end of this lesson students will know and be able to:
o Explain how world events influenced the creation of the Monroe Doctrine.
o Summarize US involvement in world affairs prior to the creation of the Monroe Doctrine and identify shifts in American policy from 1789 to
1824.
o Analyze primary source documents (through use of a close reading protocol) to identify key concepts and ideas.
o Develop a visual model to illustrate how America’s role in world affairs shifted from the time of George Washing to the time of James
Monroe.
Essential Question addressed in this lesson:
o How have Americans’ perceptions of themselves and their role in world affairs changed over time?
Standard(s)/Unit Goal(s) to be addressed in this lesson (type each standard/goal exactly as written in the framework):
o G1. USI.26 Describe the causes, course, and consequences of America’s westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness.
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o C. the 1823 Monroe Doctrine
Instructional Resources/Tools (list all materials needed for this lesson)
o Excerpts from George Washington’s “Farewell Address”- transcript available at:
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=15&page=transcript
o James Monroe’s Message to the Senate About Latin American Independence available at:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(sj01170))
o The Monroe Doctrine transcript available at:
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=23&page=transcript
Anticipated Student Preconceptions/Misconceptions

Students may believe that the United States has been a major world power since its inception and that it has always played an active role in
international affairs.
Instructional Model

Entrance Ticket / Opening Prompt

Introduction of essential question: How have Americans’ perceptions of themselves and their role in world affairs changed over time?

Class brainstorm

Primary document work – small groups using “close reading” and “pair share” protocols

Exit Ticket / Extension Assignment to check for understanding
Instructional Tips/Strategies/Suggestions:
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Pre-Assessment
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What students need to know and are able to do coming into this lesson (including language needs):
o Students will have studied early US History beginning with the American Revolution and progressing through the period of the Early
Republic. Students should be familiar with some previous instances of US involvement in foreign affairs including (but not limited to): Jay’s
Treaty, Citizen Genet Affair, Quasi-War with France, XYZ Affair, War with the Barbary States, Embargo of 1807, War of 1812, Adams-Onis
Treaty (acquisition of Florida). Students should have also previously studied George Washington’s “Farewell Address”.
Lesson Sequence:
Entrance Ticket / Opening Prompt
o The following excerpt from George Washington’s “Farewell Address” will be displayed on the board as students enter the classroom:
o Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations…In the execution of such a plan nothing is more essential than that permanent,
inveterate antipathies against particular Nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded; and that in place of them
just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an
habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave…The Great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign Nations is in extending our
commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements let
them be fulfilled, with perfect good faith. Here let us stop…
 Available at: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=15&page=transcript
o Students will be asked to to respond in writing to the following questions: “What advice did Washington offer in this excerpt? Why
do you think he offered this advice?” The teacher will collect student responses.
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Whole Class Discussion and Brainstorm
o The teacher will lead a brief class discussion during which students will first share their reflections about the excerpt from Washington’s
“Farewell Address”. Then, the class will spend a few moments building a list of instances before 1820 in which US policy brought the
country into contact (and perhaps conflict) with other nations (possible student responses are listed in the “what students will need to know”
section above). Finally, the teacher will introduce the day’s essential question: How have Americans’ perceptions of themselves and their
role in world affairs changed over time?
Primary Document Work – Small Groups “Close Reading” and Pair Share
o Students will be given one of two documents – either James Monroe’s Message to the Senate About Latin American Independence or the
Monroe Doctrine. Students will then work in pairs to analyze their document using the following“close reading” protocol.
o Reading Tasks: Students will silently read the passage, first independently, and then following along with the text as they re-read
it aloud with their partner. The students will then work to answer a set of concise, text-dependent questions that compel students to
reread specific passages and discover the structure and meaning of their document.
o Vocabulary Tasks: Most of the meanings of words in this selection can be discovered from careful reading of the context in which
they appear. This practice is both called for by the standards and is vital. Teachers must be prepared to reinforce it constantly by
modeling and holding students accountable for looking in the context for meaning as well.
o Discussion Tasks: Students will discuss the passage in depth with their partners, performing activities that result in a close
reading of these texts. The goal is to foster student confidence when encountering complex text and to reinforce the skills they
have acquired regarding how to build and extend their understanding of a text.
o Writing Tasks: Students will paraphrase different sentences and paragraphs of each document. . Students will be afforded the
opportunity to rewrite their explanation or revise their in-class paraphrases after participating in a whole class discussion at the
end of the lesson, allowing them to refashion both their understanding of the text and their expression of that understanding.
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o Once they have completed their “close reading”, each student will meet with a student who worked on the document that they did not work on
themselves. These partner pairs will use a “pair share” model to teach one another about their documents. To be sure that students are
accountable for both their own learning and their partner’s learning during the pair share, each pair will be expected to follow the following
norms:
o Each member of the pair must keep their own paper in front of them at all times.
o Each member of the pair must explain their document to their partner orally – they may not simply pass their paper to their partner.
o Each member of the partner pair must support all of the information that they share by pointing out specific evidence from the
document that they read.
o While listening to their partner, each student must take notes in a different color of ink or pencil (or they may highlight after the fact)
to demonstrate what they have learned from their partner. The teacher will review these notes throughout the activity.
Whole Class Discussion
o The teacher will lead the class in a large group discussion to review and expand upon students’ primary document work. In addition to the
questions that students were asked to answer during their close reading of the documents, the teacher will have a series of prompts prepared to
guide this discussion. Students should be encouraged to support their responses with evidence from the text of the documents. Prompts may
include:
o Why did recent events in Latin America interest Monroe? What impact may these events may have had upon the U.S.?
o Why did Monroe take the position that he did in regard to the independence of Latin American Countries? Do you agree?
o What is the central idea of the Monroe Doctrine? Why did Monroe make this statement? Did the US have the power to enforce it at
the time?
o What had US relations with the European nations named in the documents been like prior to 1823? How might these statements have
altered these relations?
Exit Ticket / Extension Assignment
o Students will be asked produce a visual model to answer the following question: How did Americans’ views of their country’s role in
world affairs shift from the time of Washington’s Farewell Address to the creation of the Monroe Doctrine? Students may choose one
of the following three formats for their visual model:
 Create a political cartoon
 Design a computer slide(s) (resource: www.sliderocket.com)
 Create a graphic organizer
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Formative assessments:
o Student entrance tickets
o Teacher observations and completed student “close reading” of their primary source document
o Students’ notes from “pair sharing” protocol
o Student exit tickets / extension assignment
Preview outcomes for the next lesson:
Students will understand the evolving views of Americans’ of their nation and its role in world affairs – particularly the Western Hemisphere. In the
following lessons, students will explore how Americans’ changing views of themselves and their nation’s role in world affairs brought them into
conflict with Mexico.
Summative Assessment:
o CEPA Activity (Expansion Museum Presentation)
o End of Unit Exam
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Resources for Lesson 2
The Monroe Doctrine
Available at: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=23&page=transcript
(P1)…as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent
condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. . .
(P2) …Of events in that quarter of the globe, with which we have so much intercourse and from which we derive our origin, we have always been
anxious and interested spectators. The citizens of the United States cherish sentiments the most friendly in favor of the liberty and happiness of their
fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part, nor does
it comport with our policy to do so. It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparation for our
defense.
(P3) With the movements in this hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all
enlightened and impartial observers…We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those
powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace
and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the
Governments who have declared their independence and maintain it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles,
acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any
European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States…
= from now on
= contact
= fit; align
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= honesty
= interference; involvement
(P4) It is impossible that the allied powers [of Europe] should extend their political system to any portion of either continent without endangering
our peace and happiness; nor can anyone believe that our southern brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord. It is equally
impossible, therefore, that we should behold such interposition in any form with indifference. If we look to the comparative strength and resources of
Spain and those new Governments, and their distance from each other, it must be obvious that she can never subdue them. It is still the true policy of
the United States to leave the parties to themselves, in hope that other powers will pursue the same course. . . .
= brothers, fellow men
= choice
Questions
1. Rewrite P1 in your own words. What is the main idea?
2. Look at P2. Which “quarter of the globe” does Monroe speak of? How does he describe the US’ relationship with this region?
3. In P2, what role does Monroe say the US has had in European affairs? When will the US act in these matters?
4. In P3, how does Monroe describe the US’ relationship with “this hemisphere”? How and why is this relationship different from the US’
relationship with Europe?
5. In P4, what word (or phrase) does Monroe use to describe the nations of Latin America? Why did he choose this word? How does it connect with
the central theme/idea of the Monroe Doctrine?
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James Monroe’s Message to the Senate about Latin American Independence
Available at: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28sj01170%29%29
The following written message was received from the President of the United States…
To the Senate of the United States:
(P1)…I consider it my duty to invite the attention of Congress to a very important subject, and to communicate the sentiments of the Executive on it,
that, should Congress entertain similar sentiments, there may be such co-operation between the two departments of the government as their respective
rights and duties may require.
(P2) The revolutionary movement in the Spanish provinces in this hemisphere attracted the attention and excited the sympathy of our fellow citizens
from its commencement. This feeling was natural and honorable to them, from causes which need not be communicated to you…
(P3)As soon as the movement assumed such a steady and consistent form as to make the success of the provinces probable, the rights to which they
were entitled by the law of nations, as equal parties to a civil war, were extended to them, Each party was permitted to enter our ports with its public
and private ships, and to take from them every article which was the subject of commerce with other nations…Through the whole of this contest the
United States have remained neutral, and have fulfilled with the utmost impartiality all the obligations incident to that character.
(P4) This contest has now reached such a stage, and been attended with such decisive success on the part of the provinces, that it merits the most
profound consideration
= particular; individual
= beginning
= trade
= fairness; neutrality
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= clear; definitive
= serious
whether their right to the rank of independent nations, with all the advantages incident to it, in their intercourse with the United States, is not
complete… it is manifest, that all those provinces are not only in the full enjoyment of their independence, but, considering the state of the war and
other circumstances, that there is not the most remote prospect of their being deprived of it.
(P5) When the result of such a contest is manifestly settled, the new governments have a claim to recognition by other powers, which ought not to be
resisted…The provinces belonging to this hemisphere are our neighbors…
JAMES MONROE.
Washington, March 8, 1822.
= contact
= obvious
= denied
Questions
1. In P1, what is Monroe’s stated purpose for sending this message to Congress?
2. Rewrite P2 in your own words. What is the main idea of this paragraph?
3. Look at P3. What relationship has the U.S. had with the Latin American “provinces” throughout this period? Why does Monroe feel this
relationship is proper?
4. In P4, Monroe chooses to include the words “decisive” and “manifest” in his description of the state of the Latin American revolutions. Why did
he choose these particular words for his message?
5. What feeling does Monroe aim to create about the provinces of Latin America in P5? Why?
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Lesson 3: The Trails West
Brief Overview: In this lesson, students will hold a discussion, using the Save the Last Word protocol, on the article from the previous day’s lesson.
The article is an activator for understanding the concept of Manifest Destiny and how it played a role in Westward Expansion. After debriefing the
article, students will watch a You Tube trailer for the Oregon Trail and complete a Think Aloud on a map of the Trails West. Students will mark up
the map and determine how geography influences decisions.
Prior Knowledge Required: Students will have a working definition for the term Manifest Destiny.
Estimated Time: Approximately 90 minutes (2 class periods)
Resources for Lesson: Map of the Trails West, You Tube video and projection, Secondary Source on the Trails West, Eno Board, Chart Paper,
Article
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Content Area/Course: United States History I
Unit: Westward Expansion
Time (minutes): Approximately 90 minutes
Lesson: The Trails West
Overview:
By the end of this lesson students will know and be able to:
•
Analyze maps for purpose and information
•
Explain why Americans moved West and how geography influenced their decisions
Essential Question addressed in this lesson:
E1. Why do people move?
E2. How do geography and topography affect travel and settlement?
Standard(s)/Unit Goal(s) to be addressed in this lesson (type each standard/goal exactly as written in the framework):
G1. USI.26 Describe the causes, course, and consequences of America’s westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness. Use a map of
North America to trace America’s expansion to the Civil War, including the location of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails (H, E, G).
A. the War of 1812
B. the purchase of Florida in 1819
C. the 1823 Monroe Doctrine
D. the Cherokees’ Trail of Tears E. the annexation of Texas in 1845
E. the annexation of Texas in 1845
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F. the concept of Manifest Destiny and its relationship to westward expansion
G. the acquisition of the Oregon Territory in 1846
H. the territorial acquisitions resulting from the Mexican War
I. the search for gold in California
J. the Gadsden Purchase of 1854
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1a Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation
by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1d Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when
warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Instructional Resources/Tools (list all materials needed for this lesson)



Eno/Smart Board with Projection and Video Capabilities (YouTube Trailer)
Handouts of Map
Protocol: Save the Last Word
Anticipated Student Preconceptions/Misconceptions
Students may still have confusions about the term Manifest Destiny. They may also have a hard time making the connection between the
Current Events article and the push for Westward Expansion in the 1800’s.
Instructional Model: Gradual Release, Think/Write/Pair/Share, Small Group Work, Collaboration, Discussion Protocol
Instructional Tips/Strategies/Suggestions:


Think/Write/Pair/Share
Save the Last Word
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

Mark Up the Text
Think Aloud
What students need to know and are able to do coming into this lesson (including language needs):
Students should be familiar with Marking up a Text. They should also have a working definition of the term Manifest Destiny. It will be useful to
have the Frayer Model out and on their desk for this lesson.
Lesson Sequence:
Opener: What questions does this article (from last night’s homework) raise about manifest destiny? Write at least two “research questions” that you
need answered to understand more about the article and the argument.
1. Whole Class: Debrief as whole class and generate a class list of questions. This can be done on the ENO board, chart paper, etc. Discuss what
makes a good/valuable question. Have students think about what questions do not have easy answers and need to be discovered.
2. Pair/Confer: Students should have their Frayer Model from the previous lesson on the desk before beginning the Pair/Confer portion of the lesson.
After the list of questions (4 or 5) have been generated, have students work on answers to these questions in pairs/small groups. While they may not
have access to vast amounts of information at their fingertips, they should be able to make some educated guests, inferences. Debrief quickly as a
whole class and talk about how these questions are important in understanding the different viewpoints Americans had on the idea of manifest
destiny.
3. Save the Last Word: Students will complete a Save the Last Word Protocol on the Article from last night’s homework in groups of 4. Teacher
should review the protocol before beginning. Students were asked the night before to identify one point they agreed with or disagreed with from the
article and one argument that surprised them. Instruct students that the purpose of this strategy is to hold a structured discussion on the article and
listen to other students’ thoughts about what they read.
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Probable Break for beginning of Day 2:
4. Whole Class: As a whole class, watch the YouTube trailer for the fake Oregon Trail Movie. Use the Frame/Focus/Follow Up Model.
Frame: Make sure students understand that the video itself is made for humor but many of the ideas are realistic.
Focus: Have students answer the question: What factors would you need to consider if you were planning a trip West like these families? What
obstacles might you face?
Follow Up: What does this video have to do with Manifest Destiny?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHps2SecuDk
5. Whole Class Instruction: Think Aloud on a map of the Trails West. Teacher should model “marking up” the map with their observations,
questions, etc. A good place to start may be the Title and Key of the map (things the students may otherwise ignore).
6. Independent Work: Gradually release students to continue marking up the map with their questions, connections, inferences, etc based on ability
level. At the bottom of the map, students should answer the question: How does geography influence decisions?
7. After marking up the map and answering the question at the bottom, students will be given a short secondary source on the Trails West. Students
should do a quick mark up of the text and answer the same question at the bottom: How does geography influence decisions?
Formative assessment:
Revisit the Frayer Model on Manifest Destiny and add to each section based on any new understandings. .
Summative Assessment:
Literacy Reflection: Students should answer the following questions in a paragraph for homework.
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


What did you miss when just looking at the map that you learned from the reading?
What was easier to understand from the map than from the reading?
Reflect on your own learning. Which did you prefer to learn from: the Map or the Reading? Why? Explain what works for you.
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Lesson 4
Brief Overview: In this lesson, students will look at what it was like to be a Gold Digger during the California Gold Rush. They will have an
opportunity to illustrate their ideas of a gold digger and will take an interactive journey on the Smithsonian site, “On the Water’. When completed,
students will write a journal entry from the perspective of someone who made the trek. Throughout the interactive journey, students will look at
Primary Sources dealing with the California Gold Rush.
Prior Knowledge Required: Students will have a working definition of the term Manifest Destiny and will have traced the Trails West by marking
up a map.
Estimated Time: Two Class Periods
Resources for Lesson: Technology: Laptops/Computer Lab/etc., Word Cards, Drawing Paper and Materials, Student Worksheet from Online
Interactive
Content Area/Course: United States History I
Unit: Westward Expansion
Time (minutes): Two Class Periods
Lesson: The Gold Rush
Overview:
By the end of this lesson students will know and be able to:
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•
•
Analyze maps for purpose and information
Explain why Americans moved West and how geography influenced their decisions
Essential Question addressed in this lesson:
E1. Why do people move?
E2. How do geography and topography affect travel and settlement?
Standard(s)/Unit Goal(s) to be addressed in this lesson (type each standard/goal exactly as written in the framework):
G1. USI.26 Describe the causes, course, and consequences of America’s westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness. Use a map of
North America to trace America’s expansion to the Civil War, including the location of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails (H, E, G).
A. the War of 1812
B. the purchase of Florida in 1819
C. the 1823 Monroe Doctrine
D. the Cherokees’ Trail of Tears E. the annexation of Texas in 1845
E. the annexation of Texas in 1845
F. the concept of Manifest Destiny and its relationship to westward expansion
G. the acquisition of the Oregon Territory in 1846
H. the territorial acquisitions resulting from the Mexican War
I. the search for gold in California
J. the Gadsden Purchase of 1854
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop
experiences, events, and/or characters.
Instructional Resources/Tools (list all materials needed for this lesson)
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Technology: Laptops/Computer Lab/etc.
Word Cards
Drawing Paper and Materials
Student Worksheet from Online Interactive
Anticipated Student Preconceptions/Misconceptions
Students may not know what a Gold Digger is and may have no background knowledge on the California Gold Rush. They may also have the idea
that it was a positive experience for people seeking gold.
Instructional Model: Gradual Release/Technology Exploration
Instructional Tips/Strategies/Suggestions:
Online Interactive Journey, Word Cards, Preview Drawing, Primary Sources
What students need to know and are able to do coming into this lesson (including language needs):
Students should have an understanding of looking at primary sources and a toolbox of strategies to use when looking at primary sources.
Information for Teacher
Teachers will want to have the “drawing” supplies somewhere where students can access them for the Do Now.
Lesson Sequence
Do Now: We will be looking at the lives of Gold Diggers/Hunters in the mid 1800's. Sketch a quick picture of what you think a Gold digger/hunter
might look like. What might they have with them? Be as detailed as possible in the time allotted. We will come back to your drawings later in the
lesson.
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1. Now look at "The independent Gold Hunter on his way to California" and compare it to your own drawing. What are some similarities? What are
some differences? Which character (the one you drew or the one in the painting) has a better chance of striking it rich in California? Why? What
makes him the best prepared? After answering the questions on your own, turn and talk to a partner. Discuss the differences between all the visuals
and add some of your partner's thoughts to your own notes in a different color. You will have a chance to go back to these answers at the end.
2. Now preview the following vocabulary specific to the Gold Rush. Students should complete Word Cards for each term. Words Cards can be
done on Index Cards, on slips of papers, on powerpoint slides, or using other technology. Each Word Card should include the term in the middle, a
definition in one corner, a visual representation, and connections to other words/experiences. These cards can be used throughout the lesson to check
in or in a review activity at the end.
*pioneer
*Forty-Niners
*Miner Pan*
*Clipper Card
*argonaut
*claim
*Boom Town
*Gold Fever
*Nugget
*Pan Out
3. Students should explore the Smithsonian's "On the Water", an interactive journey through Alexander Van Halen's Gold Rush experiences.
Students should download the Student Worksheet to record their answers as they trace his journey. They should also complete the journal writing
activity at the end (if time allows). As students navigate the site, they should be instructed to click on the additional primary sources at the bottom of
the page.
Formative assessment:
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Revisit the illustration from the Do Now. Ask students: Has your concept/idea of a gold digger changed? Students can choose to re-draw their
illustration or write a reflection based on their new understandings.
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Content Area/Course: Westward Expansion, USI
Unit: Westward Expansion
Time (minutes): 50 minutes
Lesson #5: Texas Annexation
Overview: In this lesson, students will be given a brief history of Texas
independence and then decide if there are more reasons for or against
annexing Texas to the United States.
By the end of this lesson students will know and be able to:
-
Define and illustrate key terms and people
Mark up primary and secondary readings on the annexation of Texas
debate
Interpret historical maps to look for geographic benefits and
controversies for the US to annex Texas
Evaluate pros and cons of annexing Texas and determine what would
be in the best interest of the United States
Write an informative persuasive proposal using evidence on their
opinion over the annexation of Texas controversy
Essential Question addressed in this lesson:
E4. Who were the winners and who were the losers in the settlement of the
West?
E5. What happens when cultures collide?
E6. How have Americans’ perceptions of themselves and their role in world
affairs changed over time?
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Standard(s)/Unit Goal(s) to be addressed in this lesson (type each
standard/goal exactly as written in the framework):
G1. USI.26 Describe the causes, course, and consequences of America’s
westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness. Use a map of
North America to trace America’s expansion to the Civil War, including the
location of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails (H, E, G).
E. the annexation of Texas in 1845
F. the concept of Manifest Destiny and its relationship to westward
expansion
Instructional Resources/Tools (list all materials needed for this lesson)
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_texas.html
Texas historical maps
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/polk.asp
James K. Polk’s inaugural address – mentions Texas issue
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/texan01.asp
Texas annexation Resolution
http://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pagevieweridx?c=amwh;cc=amwh;rgn=full%20text;idno=amwh00011;didno=amwh0001-1;view=image;seq=00083;node=amwh0001-1%3A1
Henry Clay the Texas issue
petitions for and against Texas annexation – Vermont and Pennsylvania
Petition from Citizens of Pennsylvania in Favor of the Annexation
of Texas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/6482097611/
http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=595387
Petition from Citizens of Vermont Against Annexation of Texas
http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=595416&jScript
=true
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/6482100177/
Lesson Sequence
http://www.anselm.edu/academic/history/hdubrulle/civwar/text/documents/d
oc7.htm
John Sullivan promotes Texas annexation and manifest destiny
http://college.cengage.com/history/us/resources/students/primary/manifestde
stiny.htm
Preview/Opener/”Do Now:” In the southwestern states of the US, some
areas along the border with Mexico have more Mexican immigrants
living in them than American citizens. Should the US give that land to
Mexico? Why or why not?
Anticipated Student Preconceptions/Misconceptions
-Texas was always part of the United States
- The decision to annex Texas was overwhelmingly supported by the
United States
Mini-Lesson/Class Notes:
-
Key terms: annexation, republic, controversy,
Students will view a brief video clip on the Alamo, to act as an
introduction to American involvement in this part of Mexico – use
frame, focus, follow-up strategy
http://www.history.com/topics/texas/videos#the-alamo
-
Close Reading on a secondary reading of Texas independence
history. Students will mark this up. Possible options:
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/ilessons/51/ils_gr5
CA_u5_c11_l3.pdf
or
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h306.html
-
Students will think-write-pair-share on the connection of annexing
Texas to westward expansion, Manifest Destiny, and the Monroe
Doctrine, building on their notes from earlier in the unit
Annotate a timeline of major events from settling in Texas through
the push for annexation – what happens when cultures collide?
Guided Inquiry – students will be given six-seven primary source
documents on reasons for and against annexing Texas. In groups,
they will be assigned one document and will read, mark up, and
complete an APPARTS chart on their assigned document
Instructional Model
-Modeling, Close reading, inquiry, text mark up, focus, frame and follow up
Instructional Tips/Strategies/Suggestions:
Graphic organizers, timeline, primary source documents
Pre-Assessment
What students need to know and are able to do coming into this lesson
(including language needs):
Key terms: annexation, republic, controversy. The role of manifest destiny
on westward expansion, the value of land and the consequences of claiming
land
Information for Teacher
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
-
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-
Each group will determine if their document is for or against Texas
annexation, and write a summary explaining their reasoning
- Each group will share out with the class their assigned document and
decision, then overall the class will determine if there are more
compelling pro or con reasons for the US to annex Texas
- They will then each provide a written recommendation to President
James K. Polk on what would be best for the country, to annex Texas
or not
- Teacher will model marking up and analyzing one of the documents
to guide students on the process and model determining the point of
view – pro/con for Texas annexation
Formative assessment:
-
Text mark up, timeline annotation, key terms, inquiry on Texas
annexation documents
Preview outcomes for the next lesson:
The role of Manifest Destiny in westward expansion, tensions with Mexico
Summative Assessment:
Acting as White House consultants, students will write a proposal to
President James K. Polk and the United States government with their
recommendation of whether the US should annex Texas or not, citing
evidence from the documents analyzed in class. They will connect the idea
to Manifest Destiny: do they personally agree with this idea? Use evidence
from this lesson and earlier lessons on westward expansion
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Resources for Lesson 5
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/ilessons/5/ils_gr5a_u5_c11_l3.pdf
Secondary reading of the summary of Texas annexation
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/timeline_flash.html
interactive timeline from PBS
Timeline
Name: ____________________________________________________Date: ________________
U.S. History I – College Prep
Texas Independence
Timeline: Texas History, from Missionary System to Independence
Directions: You will create a timeline for the major events from Chapter 9, Section 2 on a separate piece of paper. For each item on your timeline, list a title for
the event/entry and the main idea and details with key terms. The basic information is provided for you below. You must fill in the missing parts for each entry on
your timeline. The first entry is done for you.
-
1500s: the Spanish settle Texas. Spanish claim Texas, but don’t settle many people there and leave the Native Americans alone. The Spanish don’t think
the land is worth much
-
1689 - Mission System
-
1762 - French and Indian War
-
1820 - _____________________________: American banker Moses Austin, started the Texas Venture, where he settled Texas in return for some land.
Son Stephen F. Austin took over when Moses died
-
1821 – Mexican Independence from Spain
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-
1827 - General Manuel de Mier y Teran was sent to assess the situation in Texas
-
1827 - Joel Poinsett, U.S. Minister to Mexico, sent to try to buy part of Texas
-
1830 - ________________________________: More than a dozen colonies were started in Texas by this time, with over 30,000 settlers living there,
attracted by cheap, farmable land. Most of the population was American, including thousands of slaves and Tejanos.
-
1832 – American Protests in Texas
-
1835 -_________________: This battle started the Texas Revolution, after years of tension between Mexicans and Texans and the election of the new
Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
-
1836 - Remember the Alamo
-
1836 – Battle of San Jacinto and the creation of the Republic of Texas
APPARTS ANALYSIS CHART
Analytical Questions
Answer and Evidence
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Author: Who created the source?
Place: Where and when was it
created?
Prior Knowledge:
What do you already
know about it?
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Audience:
For whom was this
source created?
Reason: Why was this source
produced?
The Main Idea:
What point is it conveying?
Significance: Why is this
source important?
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Primary Source Documents
1). Annexation of Texas. Joint Resolution of the Congress of the United States, March 1, 1845
Joint Resolution of the Congress of the United States, March 1, 1845
28th Congress Second Session
Begun and held at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, on Monday the second day of December, eighteen hundred and forty-four.
Joint Resolution for annexing Texas to the United States.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress doth consent that the
territory properly included within, and rightfully belonging to the Republic of Texas, may be erected into a new state, to be called the state of Texas, with a
republican form of government, to be adopted by the people of said republic, by deputies in Convention assembled, with the consent of the existing
government, in order that the same may be admitted as one of the states of this Union.
2. And be it further resolved, That the foregoing consent of Congress is given upon the following conditions, and with the following guarantees, to wit:
First-said state to be formed, subject to the adjustment by this government of all questions of boundary that may arise with other governments; and the
constitution thereof, with the proper evidence of its adoption by the people of said republic of Texas, shall be transmitted to the President of the United
States, to be laid before Congress for its final action, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six. Second-said state,
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when admitted into the Union, after ceding to the United States all public edifices, fortifications, barracks, ports and harbors, navy and navy-yards, docks,
magazines, arms, armaments, and all other property and means pertaining to the public defence belonging to said republic of Texas, shall retain all the
public funds, debts, taxes, and dues of every kind which may belong to or be due and owing said republic; and shall also retain all the vacant and
unappropriated lands lying within its limits, to be applied to the payment of the debts and liabilities of said republic of Texas; and the residue of said lands,
after discharging said debts and liabilities, to be disposed of as said state may direct; but in no event are said debts and liabilities to become a charge upon
the government of the United States. Third- New states, of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to said state of Texas, and having
sufficient population, may hereafter, by the consent of said state, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the
provisions of the federal constitution. And such states as may be formed out of that portion of said territory lying south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes
north latitude, commonly known as the Missouri compromise line, shall be admitted into the Union with or without slavery, as the people of each state
asking admission may desire. And in such state or states as shall be formed out of said territory north of said Missouri compromise line, slavery, or
involuntary servitude, (except for crime,) shall be prohibited.
3. And be it further resolved, That if the President of the United States shall in his judgment and discretion deem it most advisable, instead of
proceeding to submit the foregoing resolution to the Republic of Texas, as an overture on the part of the United States for admission, to negotiate with that
Republic; then, Be it resolved, that a state, to be formed out of the present Republic of Texas, with suitable extent and boundaries, and with two
representatives in Congress, until the next apportionment of representation, shall be admitted into the Union, by virtue of this act, on an equal footing with
the existing states, as soon as the terms and conditions of such admission, and the cession of the remaining Texan territory to the United States shall be
agreed upon by the governments of Texas and the United States: And that the sum of one hundred thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated
to defray the expenses of missions and negotiations, to agree upon the terms of said admission and cession, either by treaty to be submitted to the Senate, or
by articles to be submitted to the two Houses of Congress, as the President may direct.
J W JONES
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
WILLIE P. MANGUM
President, pro tempore, of the Senate.
Approv'd March 1. 1845
JOHN TYLER
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2). http://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=amwh;cc=amwh;rgn=full%20text;idno=amwh0001-1;didno=amwh00011;view=image;seq=00083;node=amwh0001-1%3A1
Mr. Clay – The Texas Question
3). Web Document: Primary Source
John L. O'Sullivan Promotes "Manifest Destiny" (1845)
ANNEXATION
Source
It is time now for opposition to the Annexation of Texas to cease, all further agitation of the waters of bitterness and strife, at least in connexion with this question .
. . It is time for the common duty of Patriotism to the Country to succeed;— if this claim will not be recognized, it is at least time for common sense to acquiesce
with decent grace in the inevitable and the irrevocable.
Texas is now ours. Already, before these words are written, her Convention has undoubtedly ratified the acceptance, by her Congress, of our proffered invitation
into the Union; and made the requisite changes in her already republican form of constitution to adopt it to its future federal relations. Her star and her stripe may
already be said to have taken their place in the glorious blazon of our common nationality; and the sweep of our eagle's wing already includes within its circuit the
wide extent of her fair and fertile land. . . .
Why, were other reasoning wanting, in favor of now elevating this question of the reception of Texas into the Union, out of the lower region of our past party
dissensions, up to its proper level of a high and broad nationality, it surely is to be found, found abundantly, in the manner in which other nations have undertaken
to intrude themselves into it, between us and the proper parties to the case, in a spirit of hostile interference against us, for the avowed object of thwarting our
policy and hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for
the free development of our yearly multiplying millions. This we have seen done by England, our old rival and enemy; and by France, strangely coupled with her
against us. . . .
It is wholly untrue, and unjust to ourselves, the pretence that the Annexation has been a measure of spoliation, unrightful and unrighteous— military conquest
under forms of peace and law— territorial aggrandizement at the expense of justice, and justice due by a double sanctity to the weak. This view of the question is
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wholly unfounded, and has been before so amply refuted in these pages, as well as in a thousand other modes, that we shall not again dwell upon it. The
independence of Texas was complete and absolute. It was an independence, not only in fact but of right. No obligation of duty towards Mexico tended in the least
degree to restrain our right to effect the desired recovery of the fair province once our own— motives of policy might have prompted a more deferential
consideration of her feelings and her pride, as involved in the question. If Texas became peopled with an American population, it was by no contrivance of our
government, but on the express invitation of that of Mexico herself; accompanied with such guaranties of State independence, and the maintenance of a federal
system analogous to our own, as constituted a compact fully justifying the strongest measures of redress on the part of those afterwards deceived in this guaranty,
and sought to be enslaved under the yoke imposed by its violation. She was released, rightfully and absolutely released, from all Mexican allegiance, or duty of
cohesion to the Mexican political body, by the acts and fault of Mexico herself, and Mexico alone. There never was a clearer case. . . .
Nor is there any just foundation for the charge that Annexation is a great pro-slavery measure— to increase and perpetuate that institution. Slavery had nothing to
do with it. Opinions were and are greatly divided, both at the North and South, as to the influence to be exerted by it on Slavery and the Slave States. That it will
tend to facilitate and hasten the disappearance of Slavery from all the northern tier of the present Slave States, cannot surely admit of serious question. The greater
value in Texas of the slave labor now employed in those States, must soon produce the effect of draining off that labor southwardly, by the same unvarying law
that bids water descend the slope that invites it. Every new Slave State in Texas will make at least one Free State from among those in which that institution now
exists— say nothing of those portions of Texas on which slavery cannot spring and grow— say nothing of the far more rapid growth of new States in the free West
and Northwest, as these fine regions are overspread by the emigration fast flowing over them from Europe, as well as from the Northern and Eastern States of the
Union as it exists. On the other hand, it is undeniably much gained for the cause of the eventual voluntary abolition of slavery, that it should have been thus
drained off towards the only outlet which appeared to furnish much probability of it the ultimate disappearance of the negro race from our borders. The SpanishIndian-American populations of Mexico, Central America and South America, afford the only receptacle capable of absorbing that race whenever we shall be
prepared to slough it off— emancipate it from slavery, and (simultaneously necessary) to remove it from the midst of our own. Themselves already of mixed and
confused blood, and free from the "prejudices" which among us so insuperably forbid the social amalgamation which can alone elevate the Negro race out of a
virtually servile degradation even though legally free, the regions occupied by those populations must strongly attract the black race in that direction; and as soon
as the destined hour of emancipation shall arrive, will relieve the question of one of its worst difficulties, if not absolutely the greatest.
. . . [T]here is a great deal of Annexation yet to take place, within the life of the present generation, along the whole line of our northern border. Texas has been
absorbed into the Union in the inevitable fulfilment of the general law which is rolling our population westward, the connexion of which with that ratio of growth
in population which is destined within a hundred years to swell our numbers to the enormous population of two hundred and fifty millions (if not more), is too
evident to leave us in doubt of the manifest design of Providence in regard to the occupation of this continent. It was disintegrated from Mexico in the natural
course of events, by a process perfectly legitimate on its own part, blameless on ours; and in which all the censures due to wrong, perfidy and folly, rest on Mexico
alone. And possessed as it was by a population which was in truth but a colonial detachment from our own, and which was still bound by myriad ties of the very
heart-strings to its old relations, domestic and political, their incorporation into the Union was not only inevitable, but the most natural, right and proper thing in
the world— it is only astonishing that there should be any among ourselves to say it nay.
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4). Inaugural Address of James Knox Polk
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1845
Fellow-Citizens:
Without solicitation on my part, I have been chosen by the free and voluntary suffrages of my countrymen to the most honorable and most responsible
office on earth. I am deeply impressed with gratitude for the confidence reposed in me. Honored with this distinguished consideration at an earlier period of
life than any of my predecessors, I can not disguise the diffidence with which I am about to enter on the discharge of my official duties.
If the more aged and experienced men who have filled the office of President of the United States even in the infancy of the Republic distrusted their
ability to discharge the duties of that exalted station, what ought not to be the apprehensions of one so much younger and less endowed now that our domain
extends from ocean to ocean, that our people have so greatly increased in numbers, and at a time when so great diversity of opinion prevails in regard to the
principles and policy which should characterize the administration of our Government? Well may the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring
responsibilities on which may depend our country's peace and prosperity, and in some degree the hopes and happiness of the whole human family.
In assuming responsibilities so vast I fervently invoke the aid of that Almighty Ruler of the Universe in whose hands are the destinies of nations and of
men to guard this Heaven-favored land against the mischiefs which without His guidance might arise from an unwise public policy. With a firm reliance
upon the wisdom of Omnipotence to sustain and direct me in the path of duty which I am appointed to pursue, I stand in the presence of this assembled
multitude of my countrymen to take upon myself the solemn obligation "to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend theConstitution of the
United States."
A concise enumeration of the principles which will guide me in the administrative policy of the Government is not only in accordance with the
examples set me by all my predecessors, but is eminently befitting the occasion.
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The Constitution itself, plainly written as it is, the safeguard of our federative compact, the offspring of concession and compromise, binding together in
the bonds of peace and union this great and increasing family of free and independent States, will be the chart by which I shall be directed.
It will be my first care to administer the Government in the true spirit of that instrument, and to assume no powers not expressly granted or clearly
implied in its terms. The Government of the United States is one of delegated and limited powers, and it is by a strict adherence to the clearly granted
powers and by abstaining from the exercise of doubtful or unauthorized implied powers that we have the only sure guaranty against the recurrence of those
unfortunate collisions between the Federal and State authorities which have occasionally so much disturbed the harmony of our system and even threatened
the perpetuity of our glorious Union.
"To the States, respectively, or to the people" have been reserved "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it
to the States." Each State is a complete sovereignty within the sphere of its reserved powers. The Government of the Union, acting within the sphere of its
delegated authority, is also a complete sovereignty. While the General Government should abstain from the exercise of authority not clearly delegated to it,
the States should be equally careful that in the maintenance of their rights they do not overstep the limits of powers reserved to them. One of the most
distinguished of my predecessors attached deserved importance to "the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent
administration for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwark against antirepublican tendencies," and to the "preservation of the General Government in
its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad."
To the Government of the United States has been intrusted the exclusive management of our foreign affairs. Beyond that it wields a few general
enumerated powers. It does not force reform on the States. It leaves individuals, over whom it casts its protecting influence, entirely free to improve their
own condition by the legitimate exercise of all their mental and physical powers. It is a common protector of each and all the States; of every man who lives
upon our soil, whether of native or foreign birth; of every religious sect, in their worship of the Almighty according to the dictates of their own conscience;
of every shade of opinion, and the most free inquiry; of every art, trade, and occupation consistent with the laws of the States. And we rejoice in the general
happiness, prosperity, and advancement of our country, which have been the offspring of freedom, and not of power.
This most admirable and wisest system of well-regulated self- government among men ever devised by human minds has been tested by its successful
operation for more than half a century, and if preserved from the usurpations of the Federal Government on the one hand and the exercise by the States of
powers not reserved to them on the other, will, I fervently hope and believe, endure for ages to come and dispense the blessings of civil and religious liberty
to distant generations. To effect objects so dear to every patriot I shall devote myself with anxious solicitude. It will be my desire to guard against that most
fruitful source of danger to the harmonious action of our system which consists in substituting the mere discretion and caprice of the Executive or of
majorities in the legislative department of the Government for powers which have been withheld from the Federal Government by the Constitution. By the
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theory of our Government majorities rule, but this right is not an arbitrary or unlimited one. It is a right to be exercised in subordination to
the Constitution and in conformity to it. One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their
just rights. Minorities have a right to appeal to the Constitution as a shield against such oppression.
That the blessings of liberty which our Constitution secures may be enjoyed alike by minorities and majorities, the Executive has been wisely invested
with a qualified veto upon the acts of the Legislature. It is a negative power, and is conservative in its character. It arrests for the time hasty, inconsiderate,
or unConstitutional legislation, invites reconsideration, and transfers questions at issue between the legislative and executive departments to the tribunal of
the people. Like all other powers, it is subject to be abused. When judiciously and properly exercised, the Constitution itself may be saved from infraction
and the rights of all preserved and protected.
The inestimable value of our Federal Union is felt and acknowledged by all. By this system of united and confederated States our people are permitted
collectively and individually to seek their own happiness in their own way, and the consequences have been most auspicious. Since the Union was formed
the number of the States has increased from thirteen to twenty-eight; two of these have taken their position as members of the Confederacy within the last
week. Our population has increased from three to twenty millions. New communities and States are seeking protection under its aegis, and multitudes from
the Old World are flocking to our shores to participate in its blessings. Beneath its benign sway peace and prosperity prevail. Freed from the burdens and
miseries of war, our trade and intercourse have extended throughout the world. Mind, no longer tasked in devising means to accomplish or resist schemes of
ambition, usurpation, or conquest, is devoting itself to man's true interests in developing his faculties and powers and the capacity of nature to minister to
his enjoyments. Genius is free to announce its inventions and discoveries, and the hand is free to accomplish whatever the head conceives not incompatible
with the rights of a fellow-being. All distinctions of birth or of rank have been abolished. All citizens, whether native or adopted, are placed upon terms of
precise equality. All are entitled to equal rights and equal protection. No union exists between church and state, and perfect freedom of opinion is
guaranteed to all sects and creeds.
These are some of the blessings secured to our happy land by our Federal Union. To perpetuate them it is our sacred duty to preserve it. Who shall
assign limits to the achievements of free minds and free hands under the protection of this glorious Union? No treason to mankind since the organization of
society would be equal in atrocity to that of him who would lift his hand to destroy it. He would overthrow the noblest structure of human wisdom, which
protects himself and his fellow-man. He would stop the progress of free government and involve his country either in anarchy or despotism. He would
extinguish the fire of liberty, which warms and animates the hearts of happy millions and invites all the nations of the earth to imitate our example. If he say
that error and wrong are committed in the administration of the Government, let him remember that nothing human can be perfect, and that under no other
system of government revealed by Heaven or devised by man has reason been allowed so free and broad a scope to combat error. Has the sword of despots
proved to be a safer or surer instrument of reform in government than enlightened reason? Does he expect to find among the ruins of this Union a happier
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abode for our swarming millions than they now have under it? Every lover of his country must shudder at the thought of the possibility of its dissolution,
and will be ready to adopt the patriotic sentiment, "Our Federal Union--it must be preserved." To preserve it the compromises which alone enabled our
fathers to form a commonConstitution for the government and protection of so many States and distinct communities, of such diversified habits, interests,
and domestic institutions, must be sacredly and religiously observed. Any attempt to disturb or destroy these compromises, being terms of the compact of
union, can lead to none other than the most ruinous and disastrous consequences.
It is a source of deep regret that in some sections of our country misguided persons have occasionally indulged in schemes and agitations whose object
is the destruction of domestic institutions existing in other sections--institutions which existed at the adoption of the Constitution and were recognized and
protected by it. All must see that if it were possible for them to be successful in attaining their object the dissolution of the Union and the consequent
destruction of our happy form of government must speedily follow.
I am happy to believe that at every period of our existence as a nation there has existed, and continues to exist, among the great mass of our people a
devotion to the Union of the States which will shield and protect it against the moral treason of any who would seriously contemplate its destruction. To
secure a continuance of that devotion the compromises of the Constitution must not only be preserved, but sectional jealousies and heartburnings must be
discountenanced, and all should remember that they are members of the same political family, having a common destiny. To increase the attachment of our
people to the Union, our laws should be just. Any policy which shall tend to favor monopolies or the peculiar interests of sections or classes must operate to
the prejudice of the interest of their fellow- citizens, and should be avoided. If the compromises of the Constitution be preserved, if sectional jealousies and
heartburnings be discountenanced, if our laws be just and the Government be practically administered strictly within the limits of power prescribed to it, we
may discard all apprehensions for the safety of the Union.
With these views of the nature, character, and objects of the Government and the value of the Union, I shall steadily oppose the creation of those
institutions and systems which in their nature tend to pervert it from its legitimate purposes and make it the instrument of sections, classes, and individuals.
We need no national banks or other extraneous institutions planted around the Government to control or strengthen it in opposition to the will of its authors.
Experience has taught us how unnecessary they are as auxiliaries of the public authorities--how impotent for good and how powerful for mischief.
Ours was intended to be a plain and frugal government, and I shall regard it to be my duty to recommend to Congress and, as far as the Executive is
concerned, to enforce by all the means within my power the strictest economy in the expenditure of the public money which may be compatible with the
public interests.
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A national debt has become almost an institution of European monarchies. It is viewed in some of them as an essential prop to existing governments.
Melancholy is the condition of that people whose government can be sustained only by a system which periodically transfers large amounts from the labor
of the many to the coffers of the few. Such a system is incompatible with the ends for which our republican Government was instituted. Under a wise policy
the debts contracted in our Revolution and during the War of 1812 have been happily extinguished. By a judicious application of the revenues not required
for other necessary purposes, it is not doubted that the debt which has grown out of the circumstances of the last few years may be speedily paid off.
I congratulate my fellow-citizens on the entire restoration of the credit of the General Government of the Union and that of many of the States. Happy
would it be for the indebted States if they were freed from their liabilities, many of which were incautiously contracted. Although the Government of the
Union is neither in a legal nor a moral sense bound for the debts of the States, and it would be a violation of our compact of union to assume them, yet we
can not but feel a deep interest in seeing all the States meet their public liabilities and pay off their just debts at the earliest practicable period. That they will
do so as soon as it can be done without imposing too heavy burdens on their citizens there is no reason to doubt. The sound moral and honorable feeling of
the people of the indebted States can not be questioned, and we are happy to perceive a settled disposition on their part, as their ability returns after a season
of unexampled pecuniary embarrassment, to pay off all just demands and to acquiesce in any reasonable measures to accomplish that object.
One of the difficulties which we have had to encounter in the practical administration of the Government consists in the adjustment of our revenue laws
and the levy of the taxes necessary for the support of Government. In the general proposition that no more money shall be collected than the necessities of
an economical administration shall require all parties seem to acquiesce. Nor does there seem to be any material difference of opinion as to the absence of
right in the Government to tax one section of country, or one class of citizens, or one occupation, for the mere profit of another. "Justice and sound policy
forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of another
portion of our common country." I have heretofore declared to my fellow-citizens that "in my judgment it is the duty of the Government to extend, as far as
it may be practicable to do so, by its revenue laws and all other means within its power, fair and just protection to all of the great interests of the whole
Union, embracing agriculture, manufactures, the mechanic arts, commerce, and navigation." I have also declared my opinion to be "in favor of a tariff for
revenue," and that "in adjusting the details of such a tariff I have sanctioned such moderate discriminating duties as would produce the amount of revenue
needed and at the same time afford reasonable incidental protection to our home industry," and that I was "opposed to a tariff for protection merely, and not
for revenue."
The power "to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises" was an indispensable one to be conferred on the Federal Government, which without
it would possess no means of providing for its own support. In executing this power by levying a tariff of duties for the support of Government, the raising
of revenue should be the object and protection the incident. To reverse this principle and make protection the object and revenue the incident would be to
inflict manifest injustice upon all other than the protected interests. In levying duties for revenue it is doubtless proper to make such discriminations within
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the revenue principle as will afford incidental protection to our home interests. Within the revenue limit there is a discretion to discriminate; beyond that
limit the rightful exercise of the power is not conceded. The incidental protection afforded to our home interests by discriminations within the revenue range
it is believed will be ample. In making discriminations all our home interests should as far as practicable be equally protected. The largest portion of our
people are agriculturists. Others are employed in manufactures, commerce, navigation, and the mechanic arts. They are all engaged in their respective
pursuits and their joint labors constitute the national or home industry. To tax one branch of this home industry for the benefit of another would be unjust.
No one of these interests can rightfully claim an advantage over the others, or to be enriched by impoverishing the others. All are equally entitled to the
fostering care and protection of the Government. In exercising a sound discretion in levying discriminating duties within the limit prescribed, care should be
taken that it be done in a manner not to benefit the wealthy few at the expense of the toiling millions by taxing lowest the luxuries of life, or articles of
superior quality and high price, which can only be consumed by the wealthy, and highest the necessaries of life, or articles of coarse quality and low price,
which the poor and great mass of our people must consume. The burdens of government should as far as practicable be distributed justly and equally among
all classes of our population. These general views, long entertained on this subject, I have deemed it proper to reiterate. It is a subject upon which
conflicting interests of sections and occupations are supposed to exist, and a spirit of mutual concession and compromise in adjusting its details should be
cherished by every part of our widespread country as the only means of preserving harmony and a cheerful acquiescence of all in the operation of our
revenue laws. Our patriotic citizens in every part of the Union will readily submit to the payment of such taxes as shall be needed for the support of their
Government, whether in peace or in war, if they are so levied as to distribute the burdens as equally as possible among them.
The Republic of Texas has made known her desire to come into our Union, to form a part of our Confederacy and enjoy with us the blessings of liberty
secured and guaranteed by our Constitution. Texas was once a part of our country--was unwisely ceded away to a foreign power--is now independent, and
possesses an undoubted right to dispose of a part or the whole of her territory and to merge her sovereignty as a separate and independent state in ours. I
congratulate my country that by an act of the late Congress of the United States the assent of this Government has been given to the reunion, and it only
remains for the two countries to agree upon the terms to consummate an object so important to both.
I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas. They are independent powers competent to contract, and
foreign nations have no right to interfere with them or to take exceptions to their reunion. Foreign powers do not seem to appreciate the true character of our
Government. Our Union is a confederation of independent States, whose policy is peace with each other and all the world. To enlarge its limits is to extend
the dominions of peace over additional territories and increasing millions. The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our Government. While
the Chief Magistrate and the popular branch of Congress are elected for short terms by the suffrages of those millions who must in their own persons bear
all the burdens and miseries of war, our Government can not be otherwise than pacific. Foreign powers should therefore look on the annexation of Texas to
the United States not as the conquest of a nation seeking to extend her dominions by arms and violence, but as the peaceful acquisition of a territory once
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her own, by adding another member to our confederation, with the consent of that member, thereby diminishing the chances of war and opening to them
new and ever-increasing markets for their products.
To Texas the reunion is important, because the strong protecting arm of our Government would be extended over her, and the vast resources of her
fertile soil and genial climate would be speedily developed, while the safety of New Orleans and of our whole southwestern frontier against hostile
aggression, as well as the interests of the whole Union, would be promoted by it.
In the earlier stages of our national existence the opinion prevailed with some that our system of confederated States could not operate successfully over
an extended territory, and serious objections have at different times been made to the enlargement of our boundaries. These objections were earnestly urged
when we acquired Louisiana. Experience has shown that they were not well founded. The title of numerous Indian tribes to vast tracts of country has been
extinguished; new States have been admitted into the Union; new Territories have been created and our jurisdiction and laws extended over them. As our
population has expanded, the Union has been cemented and strengthened. AS our boundaries have been enlarged and our agricultural population has been
spread over a large surface, our federative system has acquired additional strength and security. It may well be doubted whether it would not be in greater
danger of overthrow if our present population were confined to the comparatively narrow limits of the original thirteen States than it is now that they are
sparsely settled over a more expanded territory. It is confidently believed that our system may be safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial
limits, and that as it shall be extended the bonds of our Union, so far from being weakened, will become stronger.
None can fail to see the danger to our safety and future peace if Texas remains an independent state or becomes an ally or dependency of some foreign
nation more powerful than herself. Is there one among our citizens who would not prefer perpetual peace with Texas to occasional wars, which so often
occur between bordering independent nations? Is there one who would not prefer free intercourse with her to high duties on all our products and
manufactures which enter her ports or cross her frontiers? Is there one who would not prefer an unrestricted communication with her citizens to the frontier
obstructions which must occur if she remains out of the Union? Whatever is good or evil in the local institutions of Texas will remain her own whether
annexed to the United States or not. None of the present States will be responsible for them any more than they are for the local institutions of each other.
They have confederated together for certain specified objects. Upon the same principle that they would refuse to form a perpetual union with Texas because
of her local institutions our forefathers would have been prevented from forming our present Union. Perceiving no valid objection to the measure and many
reasons for its adoption vitally affecting the peace, the safety, and the prosperity of both countries, I shall on the broad principle which formed the basis and
produced the adoption of our Constitution, and not in any narrow spirit of sectional policy, endeavor by all Constitutional, honorable, and appropriate
means to consummate the expressed will of the people and Government of the United States by the reannexation of Texas to our Union at the earliest
practicable period.
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Nor will it become in a less degree my duty to assert and maintain by all Constitutional means the right of the United States to that portion of our
territory which lies beyond the Rocky Mountains. Our title to the country of the Oregon is "clear and unquestionable," and already are our people preparing
to perfect that title by occupying it with their wives and children. But eighty years ago our population was confined on the west by the ridge of the
Alleghanies. Within that period--within the lifetime, I might say, of some of my hearers--our people, increasing to many millions, have filled the eastern
valley of the Mississippi, adventurously ascended the Missouri to its headsprings, and are already engaged in establishing the blessings of self-government
in valleys of which the rivers flow to the Pacific. The world beholds the peaceful triumphs of the industry of our emigrants. To us belongs the duty of
protecting them adequately wherever they may be upon our soil. The jurisdiction of our laws and the benefits of our republican institutions should be
extended over them in the distant regions which they have selected for their homes. The increasing facilities of intercourse will easily bring the States, of
which the formation in that part of our territory can not be long delayed, within the sphere of our federative Union. In the meantime every obligation
imposed by treaty or conventional stipulations should be sacredly respected.
In the management of our foreign relations it will be my aim to observe a careful respect for the rights of other nations, while our own will be the
subject of constant watchfulness. Equal and exact justice should characterize all our intercourse with foreign countries. All alliances having a tendency to
jeopard the welfare and honor of our country or sacrifice any one of the national interests will be studiously avoided, and yet no opportunity will be lost to
cultivate a favorable understanding with foreign governments by which our navigation and commerce may be extended and the ample products of our
fertile soil, as well as the manufactures of our skillful artisans, find a ready market and remunerating prices in foreign countries.
In taking "care that the laws be faithfully executed," a strict performance of duty will be exacted from all public officers. From those officers,
especially, who are charged with the collection and disbursement of the public revenue will prompt and rigid accountability be required. Any culpable
failure or delay on their part to account for the moneys intrusted to them at the times and in the manner required by law will in every instance terminate the
official connection of such defaulting officer with the Government.
Although in our country the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his
official action he should not be the President of a part only, but of the whole people of the United States. While he executes the laws with an impartial hand,
shrinks from no proper responsibility, and faithfully carries out in the executive department of the Government the principles and policy of those who have
chosen him, he should not be unmindful that our fellow-citizens who have differed with him in opinion are entitled to the full and free exercise of their
opinions and judgments, and that the rights of all are entitled to respect and regard.
Confidently relying upon the aid and assistance of the coordinate departments of the Government in conducting our public affairs, I enter upon the
discharge of the high duties which have been assigned me by the people, again humbly supplicating that Divine Being who has watched over and protected
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our beloved country from its infancy to the present hour to continue His gracious benedictions upon us, that we may continue to be a prosperous and happy
people.
5).
Petition from Citizens of Pennsylvania in Favor of the Annexation of Texas, 1844
6. Petition from Citizens of Vermont Against Annexation of Texas, 04/1844
7). http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_texas.html
Texas historical maps
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Name: ___________________________
Date: ______________Westward Expansion – Texas AnnexationPro-Con of Texas
Document #__
Document #__
Document #___
Document #___
xation
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Lesson #6: War with Mexico Lesson
G1. USI.26 Describe the causes, course, and consequences of America’s
westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness. Use a map of
North America to trace America’s expansion to the Civil War, including the
location of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails (H, E, G).
E. the annexation of Texas in 1845
F. the concept of Manifest Destiny and its relationship to westward
expansion
Overview:
H. the territorial acquisitions resulting from the Mexican War
J. the Gadsden Purchase of 1854
Content Area/Course: Westward Expansion, USI
Unit: Westward Expansion
Time (minutes): 50 minutes
By the end of this lesson students will know and be able to:
-
Mark up primary and secondary readings on the war with Mexico to
evaluate the justification for the US going to war
Explain the balance of American values and interests around an
assigned theme of the Mexican War in a small group discussion
Analyze whether the war with Mexican was justified in a written
summary
Essential Question addressed in this lesson:
E4. Who were the winners and who were the losers in the settlement of the
West?
E5. What happens when cultures collide?
E6. How have Americans’ perceptions of themselves and their role in world
affairs changed over time?
Standard(s)/Unit Goal(s) to be addressed in this lesson (type each
standard/goal exactly as written in the framework):
Instructional Resources/Tools (list all materials needed for this lesson)
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/resources/video_library.html
http://www.uen.org/themepark/liberty/mexicanamericanwar.shtml
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb23.html
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/mexicanwar/
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lincoln-resolutions/index.html
http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/resources.htm
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_texas.html
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mexican-war-maps.htm
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/resources/primary_sources.html
#
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/picamer/paMexican.html
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Mexican+War%2C+18461848&sp=3
Anticipated Student Preconceptions/Misconceptions
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Mexico provoked the US into starting a war
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-
The US is always justified to fight for what they want
There is always a justified reason to go to war
Politicians are always supportive when their country goes to
war
Manifest Destiny was the only reason for westward expansion
Instructional Model
Modeling, graphic organizers, Frayer model, analyzing primary source
readings and visuals
Instructional Tips/Strategies/Suggestions:
Graphic organizers, primary and secondary sources, data interpretation,
political cartoons
Pre-Assessment
What students need to know and are able to do coming into this lesson
(including language needs):
Key terms: values, interests, justification, controversy, the role of Manifest
Destiny in westward expansion, foreign policy issues
Preview/Opener/”Do Now:”
What is a just war? Can war ever be justified? Examples?
Students will think, write, pair and share this question. Then the class will
debrief as a whole and try to reach a consensus.
Introduction to the War with Mexico:
-Frame, focus, follow up: video clip
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/resources/video_library.html
The United States declares war on Mexico
Students will use the video as their frame for background
reading on the war with Mexico. The focus will be with the
summary reading they complete after the video on the war.
They will follow this up by adding causes and effects from the
video to their notes at the end of the reading.
Background reading on the War with Mexico, focusing on causes and
effects. Students mark this up and identify the causes and effects of
the war, using a graphic organizer.
-
Venn diagram – students define and compare and contrast
American values and interests, with teacher guidance, then
connect back to Manifest Destiny
-
Inquiry – in small groups, students will be given a variety of
several primary source documents based on a general theme:
economics, political, land acquisition, social/society, the
media, military, and the president’s point of view, Polk.
Information for Teacher
The theme of justification for war works for many different topics and can be
used for the units after this on the Civil War. The discussion protocol
directions are listed on the DESE Model curriculum website in PDF form.
Lesson Sequence
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They will evaluate these documents determining the interests
and values in each category. They will record their notes in a
graphic organizer.
-Notetaking and graphic organizers
-
They will decide if the war with Mexico balanced American’s
values and interests from their theme
This will help students prepare for the CEPA by providing a wide array of
primary sources and providing practice for preparing information and then
sharing and presenting it to the class, similar to a museum exhibit.
-
Individually, students will write a paragraph on whether they
think the war with Mexico was justified.
Summative Assessment:
-
Students will be placed in to a small group of 6, with one
student from each theme represented. They will hold a small
group discussion on their opinion over whether the war with
Mexico was justified or not, focusing on American values and
interests. Students may use the “Talking Stick” or the “Simple
Jigsaw” method of small group discussion
-
After the discussion, students will revise their paragraph on
whether the war with Mexico was justified and followed
American ideals and values
-
Optional assignment: Students will create a Mind Map within
their group of their documents and their identification of the
values and interests listed, and then their determination if they
are balanced in going to war with Mexico or not
-
Preview outcomes for the next lesson:
Was the war with Mexico justified? Explain how it either did or did not
balance American values and interests. Use at least four examples: at least
two sources from your own group and then two additional sources from the
rest of the class.
Formative assessment:
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Resources for Lesson 6
Possible background secondary reading, from PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/index_flash.html
Prelude to War:
Overview
In the years preceding the U.S.-Mexican War, the United States and Mexico were two nations headed in opposite directions.
The United States, fueled by new technological breakthroughs and inspired by the concept of "Manifest Destiny," confidently expanded its territories westward. The young country
was regarded as a "go-ahead" nation, looking forward to a future of seemingly endless possibilities for itself and its people. Meanwhile, Mexico struggled to maintain control over the
vast expanses of land it had inherited from Spain following its long war for independence. Lacking the resources to settle much of its territory and suffering from deep internal
political divisions, Mexico looked to the past for its sense of meaning, back to a time when "New Spain" had once promised to be the continental power of the New World.
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War Overview (1846-1848)
Between 1846 and 1848, two neighbors, the United States and Mexico, went to war. It was a defining event for both nations, transforming a continent and forging a new identity for
its peoples. By the war's end, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, the present American Southwest from Texas to California, and the United States became a continental power.
The Aftermath of War
Graham Pilecki Collection
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The legacy of any important historical event must be measured from many viewpoints. The discussion of the legacy is an on-going process because history, after all, is never final,
as succeeding generations confront for themselves the forces and ideas that shape our lives.
The issues raised during the U.S.-Mexican War are ones that are still valid today: the contradiction between stated ideals and actual practice; the distinction between a "just" and an
"unjust" war; the ways citizenship is defined and identified in a multicultural society; and the challenges in building progressive and democratic nations.
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Inquiry Graphic Organizer
Group Topic: ____________________________
What are American values and interests are at stake in your topic?
A. Values:
B. Interests:
How might these values and interests be threatened by going to war with Mexico?
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SOURCE TITLE
SOURCE
AUTHOR AND
DATE
SUMMARY OF MAIN
VALUES/INTERESTS CCQS
INFORMATION/POINT
OF VIEW
Conclusion: Based on the documents your group analyzed, was going to war with Mexico justified? Did it balance American values and interests for
your topic?
Economic Documents
1). Comparing the US and Mexico at the start of the war periodical article from the New Englander
http://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=nwng;cc=nwng;rgn=full%20text;idno=nwng0004-3;didno=nwng00043;view=image;seq=00440;node=nwng0004-3%3A1
2) Casualties and wounded from the war, both sides:
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/mexicanamericanwar/a/MexicanEnd.htm
3). Financial costs of the war, secondary summary
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/aftermath/war.html
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4). Pricniples of a “just war” from St. Augustine, rules for military combat:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~jasingle/justwar.html
5). Range of statistics for the war
http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/mwstats.htm
Political Documents
1). Lincoln’s Spot Resolutions
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/000/0007000/malpage.db&recNum=0
"The war with Mexico was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced by thePresident"
-Abraham Lincoln
"The principle of waging war against a neighboring people to compel them to sell their country, is not only dishonorable, but disgraceful and
infamous"
-Congressman Alexander Stephens (GA)
2) Polk’s war announcement speech
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/rbpebib:@field(NUMBER+@band(rbpe+19800400))
3). Statue summary of how Congress voted to approve the war
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=009/llsl009.db&recNum=36
4) Treaty of Hidalgo exert, in English and spanish.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=009/llsl009.db&recNum=975
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5). Daniel Webster’s speech against the war with Mexico
http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=webster;idno=web000051
“I believe it to be a war of pretexts, a war in which the true motive is not distinctly avowed, but in which pretenses, afterthoughts, evasions and
other methods are employed to put a case before the community which is not the true case.”
—Daniel Webster, September 1847
Social/Society Documents
1). Maid of Monterary song, from a Mexican woman’s point of view
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/resources/primary_source_window/posters4.html
2). Zachary Taylor for president political cartoon, 1848
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Whig_primary_1848d.jpg/250px-Whig_primary_1848d.jpg
3) The Mexican Eagle plucked cartoon
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695264/
4). The Issue joined political cartoon
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008661466/
5). Speeches of Clay – bran bread is riz cartoon
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008661476/
Military Documents
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1) Army recruitment poster 1848
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/resources/primary_source_window/posters7.html
2) A sketch of the war hero Zachary Taylor
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/resources/primary_source_window/posters8.html
3) The Battle of Palto Alto cartoon
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b00000/3b04000/3b04300/3b04364r.jpg
4) Battles of Mexico
http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/images/maps/mexcity.gif
Media Documents
1) Mobile newspaper article about the start of the war
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/rbpebib:@field(NUMBER%2B@band(rbpe%2B00101000))
2) Death of Ringold song
http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/ampage?collId=mussm&fileName=sm2/sm1857/611000/611580/mussm611580.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?mussm:3:./temp/~ammem
_ordj::&linkText=0
Land Documents
1) 12 maps of the war with Mexico
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mexican-war-maps.htm
2). Map of the United States and Mexico used in the Treaty of Guadalupe
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/reform/jb_reform_guadalup_1_e.html
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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What is Mind Mapping?
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/mindmap/index.html
Mind mapping is a strategy for helping students order and structure their thinking through mentally mapping words or/and concepts. Mind
maps were developed by Tony Buzanas a way of helping students make notes that used only key words and images. They are much quicker
to make, and because of their visual quality much easier to remember and review. The difference between concept maps and mind maps is
that a mind map has only one main concept, while a concept map may have several.
What is its purpose?
This strategy helps students quickly relate a central word or concept. The mind forms associations almost instantaneously and 'mapping'
allows you to write your ideas quicker, using only words or phrases.
How do I do it?
To make a mind map, start in the centre of the page with the main idea, and work outward in all directions, producing a growing and
organised structure composed of key words and key images. Key features are:
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Organisation
Key Words
Association
Clustering
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Visual Memory - Print the key words, use color, symbols, icons, 3D-effects,arrows and outlining groups of words
Outstandingness - every Mind Map needs a unique centre
Conscious involvement
Mind Maps help organise information. This can allow students to develop a strategy for note-taking, creative writing, report writing, studying
the easy way, studying as a group, meetings, think tanks and can allevaite writer's block.
The Process
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Teacher models the process with prompted contributions e.g. a mindmap for 'Myself'
Children extend their ability to make contributions
Children begin to work through the process with increasing independence perhaps with the support of the main/smaller branches
o Mind Mapping - Basic Rules
o How to Mind Map
Improving Your Mind Maps
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Use single words or simple phrases for information
Print words
Use colour to separate different ideas
Use of symbols and images
Use shapes, circles and boundaries to connect information
Use arrows to show cause and effect
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How
1. Start in the Center
2. Add Branches
3. Add Details
4. Personalize it – Draw Pictures, color, size, shapes
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