Rails Basic

Introduction

Lesson Overview

Grade Level: 8th Grade

Subject

U.S. History I

Utah Standards

U.S. I Standard 6.1 (Territorial Expansion), U.S. I Standard 6.2 (Conflicts of Expansion)

Essential Question

Was westward expansion America's "manifest destiny" — or was it a conquest?

Objectives:

Students will compare historians' interpretations of the ideas, resources, and events that motivated territorial expansion.

Students will use primary sources representing multiple perspectives to interpret conflicts during expansion.

Students will evaluate the impact of expansion on American Indians, the debate over slavery, and American identity.

Utah State Standards Alignment

Day 2 Conflicts of Expansion

Hook (10 min) Display a map showing the displacement of American Indian tribes from 1776 to 1890. Ask: What patterns do you notice? What do you think happened to the people who lived on these lands?

Mini-Lesson (20 min) Three Conflict Zones

1. The Trail of Tears (1830s) The Indian Removal Act forced Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations off their lands. 4,000 Cherokee died on the 800-mile forced march west.

2. The Compromise of 1850 As the U.S. expanded westward, the question of whether new territories would allow slavery tore the nation apart. The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, created the Fugitive Slave Act, and let Utah and New Mexico decide for themselves (popular sovereignty).

3. Bleeding Kansas (1854-1859) The Kansas-Nebraska Act let settlers vote on slavery. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers flooded in, leading to armed conflict. Over 50 people died in what became known as "Bleeding Kansas" — a preview of the Civil War.

Student Activity (20 min) Structured Academic Controversy — Question: Was westward expansion driven more by a noble vision of spreading democracy (Manifest Destiny) or by the desire for land, resources, and power? Students work in groups of 4: pairs research each side, then debate and try to reach consensus.

Phase 01

Standards Alignment

U.S. I Standard 6.1: Students will compare and contrast historians' interpretations of the ideas, resources, and events that motivated the territorial expansion of the United States.

U.S. I Standard 6.2: Students will use primary sources representing multiple perspectives to interpret conflicts that arose during American expansion, especially as American Indians were forced from their traditional lands and as tensions grew over free and slave holding territory.

Phase 02

Hook & Mini-Lesson

Day 1: The Idea of Manifest Destiny

Hook (10 min): Display John Gast's painting "American Progress" (1872) showing Columbia leading settlers westward, with Native Americans and wildlife retreating into darkness. Ask: What story is this painting telling? Who is the hero? Who is being pushed aside?

Mini-Lesson (20 min): The Machinery of Expansion

1. The Louisiana Purchase (1803): Jefferson bought 828,000 square miles from France for $15 million — about 3 cents per acre. It doubled the size of the U.S. and opened the West.

2. Manifest Destiny (1845): Newspaper editor John O'Sullivan coined the phrase, arguing it was America's "manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence."

3. The Oregon Trail (1840s): Over 400,000 settlers traveled 2,000 miles in covered wagons. The journey took 4-6 months. One in ten died along the way.

4. The Mexican-American War (1846-1848): The U.S. gained California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado — over 500,000 square miles — through conquest. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war but created lasting tensions.

Student Activity (15 min): In pairs, analyze two primary sources: (A) John O'Sullivan's "Manifest Destiny" essay and (B) a Native American account of removal. For each: Who wrote this? What is their perspective? How would the other side respond?

Phase 03

Exit Ticket & Discussion

Exit Ticket (10 min): Write a response to a historian who argues: "Westward expansion was the inevitable growth of a great nation." Do you agree, disagree, or both? Use specific evidence from the lesson.

Discussion Questions:

Today Americans celebrate westward expansion with monuments and museum exhibits. How should we remember events like the Trail of Tears?

Was the Mexican-American War a justified war or an act of aggression?

How does the idea of "Manifest Destiny" connect to American foreign policy today?

Lesson Finale

Exit Ticket

Primary Sources:

John Gast, "American Progress" (1872 painting)

John O'Sullivan, "Manifest Destiny" (1845)

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Books:

Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Howard Zinn, A People's History (Chapter 7)

Richard White, "It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own"

Westward Expansion & Manifest Destiny