Growth of a Nation: Westward Expansion - February 10-18, 2015 (7
instructional days)
Unit Objective: Students will:
• develop a writing reflection examining the United States's decision to fulfill its "manifest
destiny" in regards to foreign nations. The writing reflection will be assessed according to the
standards of a rubric with a score of 85% or better.
Unit Questions:
•
How did the idea of manifest destiny influence westward expansion in America?
•
Did the United States achieve its manifest destiny in a fair manner?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Manifest Destiny: Words and Pictures (1 day)
Display and discuss the quote on slide 1 of the PowerPoint.
"(It is) ..our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which
Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty"
John O’Sullivan, 1845
Talking Points:
•
What is O' Sullivan talking about?
•
What is manifest destiny?
•
What is meant by "which Providence has given us?"
•
What does O'Sullivan mean by "the great experiment of liberty?"
Part 1
Place students into groups of 3. Display John Gast's American Progress (1872) and Frances
Palmer's Across the Continent (1868) (slides 2-3). Teachers could also provide each group with
copies of each painting. As a class, reflect and discuss the images and actions in each painting.
Use the following questions:
•
What is the mood in each painting?
•
Do you see movement in the paintings? Describe.
•
Describe the composition of each painting. Why did the artist choose to do it this way?
•
Where is the viewer standing in each painting? Describe why the artist put the viewer
here.
•
Look at the settlement in the paintings, what important community places are included?
Why? 6. What is the significance of community places in westward expansion?
•
How would a new railroad going through a settlement change people’s lives?
•
How do these 2 paintings help show the westward expansion? Compare and Contrast
your thoughts.
Part 2
Student groups will choose 3 characters from either painting, then develop and deliver a skit of
9 lines (3 lines per character) that highlights the actions of the painting from their characters'
perspective.
Writing reflection: How do the paintings relate to John O’Sullivan’s quote?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: The U.S. - Mexican American War (3 days)
1. Display PPT slide #1. Discuss the content and setting of each cartoon. Note: The U.S. eagle is
a Bald Eagle, and the Mexican eagle is a Golden Eagle.
•
How are the images similar? How are they different?
•
Why would each country choose the eagle as its national bird?
•
What is the author want to the viewer to know about Mexico and the United States in
1845?
2. Compare the cartoons to the official seals of the United States and Mexico (slide #2).
•
Discuss the elements of each seal.
•
How are they similar? How are they different?
•
How do the cartoon images relate to the seals?
•
What inferences can we make about each country’s belief in defense from enemies?
3. Now, share the U.S. and Mexico (1845) map (slide #3). Map discussion should include:
•
The U.S. has expanded to the Pacific Ocean (Washington/Oregon state area) by 1845.
•
What are areas of future expansion for the U.S.? (western territories occupied by
Mexico)
•
Why is Texas a separate color in the map? (Remind student about the Texas Revolution
and the formation of the Republic of Texas.)
•
Based on each country’s eagle, how is Texas statehood going to affect the relationship
between the U.S. and Mexico?
4. Share the photograph of the two eagles in the air (slide #4).
•
How does it relate to the cartoon and the map? (Demonstrates the struggle between
U.S. and Mexico)
•
What does the fish represent? (Texas)
•
What inferences can we make about the future between the United States and Mexico?
(They might be going to war.)
Teacher note about the photo: To settle territorial or food disputes, eagles indulge in a battle
called "Cartwheeling," wherein the two conflicting birds lock talons with each other and swoop
towards the ground. The bird that withdraws first loses the battle.
1. As a class, read and discuss the short background essay, Was the United States Justified in
Going to War With Mexico? Be sure to highlight the territorial changes from 1830 to 1845.
2. As a class, model the analysis of Document 1 – John O’Sullivan’s Annexation. Read the
document and use evidence from the document to answer the questions.
3. Then, place students into groups of 4. Give each group a set of the 4 remaining documents
(documents 2-5). Each member will be responsible for analyzing 1 document and use evidence
from the document to answer the questions following the document. Home/Expert Group
directions
4. Form expert groups by re-grouping your students by document. Students will discuss their
analysis of the document and questions answers. Document groups will develop a presentation
highlighting the source, opinion about the war, the key point of their document analysis, and
how their document addresses the question, was the United States Justified in Going to War
with Mexico?
5. Each document group will share their presentations with the whole class. Audience members
will complete the graphic organizer during the presentation.
Students will complete the eagle story board by drawing a cartoon using eagles that represents
both countries after the war and complete the writing reflection, was the United States
Justified in Going to War with Mexico?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Art and Literature (1 day)
Discuss the question: How do images influence the actions and opinions of an individual? Share
and discuss student responses.
Part 1
Using the PPT and graphic organizer, investigate the influences of art on the development of
the West.
Part 2
Using the American Nation textbook, read and complete the graphic organizer over American
Art and Literature. Review and discuss the primary source excerpt from Thoreau's essay, Civil
Disobedience. Writing reflection: Why was Thoreau not willing to change his beliefs even after
being arrested?
Exit ticket: In your opinion, how did art and literature affect the idea of manifest destiny?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Population Expansion: Immigration to the United States (1 day)
Use slide 1 of the PowerPoint to introduce the terms push and pull.
Take a moment to review the settlement of the 13 Colonies (slides 2-3) and apply the terms
push and pull.
1. What were the factors that caused settlers to be pushed out of England and to move to the
13 Colonies? (religious freedom, political freedom, couldn’t pay their debts)
2. What were the pull factors in the 13 Colonies that encouraged English settlers to move?
(money, land, resources, starting a new life, less government interference)
3. What was the first successful settlement, and when was it established? (Jamestown, 1607)
4. Which settlement was founded for religious freedom? Who established this settlement, and
when? (Plymouth, Pilgrims, 1620)
Display the chart on slide 4. As a class, speculate about the following questions:
• What is happening to the population of the U.S. during this time period?
• Who might be immigrating to the U. S. during this time period?
• Why might they be coming to the U.S.?
Place students into groups of three. Each group will receive set of readings about Chinese,
German, and Irish immigration (source citations) to the U.S.
Using the readings and the handout, groups will determine:
• the push factors for each immigrant group;
• the pull factors to the U.S.;
• contributions of each immigrant group to the U.S.;
• geographic movement comparisons between each groups.
Share and discuss student responses to the graphic organizer questions as a class. Hold
students accountable to the text for their observations.
Display slide 5 while giving each group a copy of the Wordle. Using different color highlighters,
groups will highlight push factors in color 1, and pull factors in color 2. Share as a class to check
for understanding.
Display slide 6. As a class, brainstorm similarities and differences between colonial settlers and
immigrant groups. This will helps students complete the SEE report.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: U.S. Territorial Expansion (2 days)
View short clip from America: The Story of US about the California Gold Rush.
•
Was the Gold Rush before or after the Mexican-American War?
•
How do you think Mexico felt about the discovery of gold in the Mexican Cession?
•
How did the discovery of gold affect the territory of California?
•
How did settlers from the East reach areas such as California in the West?
As a class, read text. This section highlights the Mormon settlement, the Forty-Niners, and the
diverse populations that moved West. Create a two-column chart to compare the settlements
of Utah and California.
Key discussion points:
•
Why did the Mormons move to Utah?
•
From our studies, what other religious groups moved for religious reasons?
•
In looking at the map on p. 400, what obstacles would a pioneer face?
•
How did the gold rush affect life in California?
•
What problems arose as a result of the gold rush?
•
Why did California develop such a diverse population?
Complete the Americans Move Westward chart using text to examine problems associated with
transportation to and in the West. Share and discuss student responses.
Then, create 8 student groups and assign 1 territorial acquisition to each group.
1. The 13 Colonies
2. Treaty of Paris 1783
3. Louisiana Purchase
4. Florida Territory
5. Texas Annexation
6. Oregon Country
7. Mexican Cession
8. The Gadsden Purchase
Using the text reading, students will research their acquisition. Groups will develop a
presentation about the acquisition. Areas to include in the presentation are:
1. Name of land acquisition
2. When did it become part of the United States?
3. How did it become part of the United States? (conflict, purchase, treaty, or a combination)
4. Why was this acquisition important to the United States?
Each group will share their presentations with the whole class. Audience members will
complete the Manifest Destiny Fulfilled graphic organizer during the presentation.
Review the John O'Sullivan quote at the beginning of this learning experience:
"(It is) ..our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which
Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty." John
O’Sullivan, 1845
Using the quote and their Manifest Destiny Fulfilled graphic organizer, student should answer
the following writing reflection: Did the U.S. fulfill its "manifest destiny" in a fair manner when
dealing with foreign nations? Use evidence to justify your answer.
Sectionalism graphic organizer notes: Students should complete the boxes about the MexicanAmerican War, canals, and the Gold Rush. The information from various learning experiences
will help them complete the boxes. As a class, discuss student descriptions to check for
accuracy and understanding.