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Manifest Destiny
Students explore the concept of manifest destiny as practiced in the 1840s. They discuss how contemporary maps of the 1840s influenced United States expansion in the 1840s and analyze the relationship between manifest destiny and democracy.
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Manifest Destiny
Students explore the Manifest Destiny. They interpret quotations, study point of view in writing, research English words that derived from Mexico, and analyze reasons why settlers moved west. After writing journal entries in first-person...
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Social Studies: Manifest Destiny or Bust
Fifth graders explore the westward movement between 1800 and 1861 in the United States. They write narratives from the standpoint of those cultures that were repressed during this period, such as Native Americans, slaves, or Mexicans. ...
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Manifest Destiny and the Power of Perspective
Students examine the concept of Manifest Destiny and the United States. They analyze the Mexican War from the perspective of the Mexicans and the Indians. They write an essay about these different perspectives.
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Art and National Identity: Analyzing Painting and Literature from the Era of Manifest Destiny
Students begin the lesson by discussing the causes and effects of the movement west. Using primary sources, they develop their own definition for manifest destiny. In groups, they view examples of paintings and read poems on the topic. ...
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Manifest Destiny and the Commercial Conquest of the United States
Students examine the role of commerce in the United States to help fulfill Manifest Destiny. They write commercials that could have been used by the Mexicans or Americans during the Mexican War.
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Integrated Lesson Plan
An ambitious and engaging lesson on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A WebQuest is also...
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Photography and the National Park Service
During the 1800s the United States was expanding westward; land was there for the taking. Kids explore how some early photographers used their photography to influenced the US Congress to save areas like Mirror Lake. They complete a...
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Westward Expansion and the War with Mexico
Students evaluate primary sources to develop their own opinions about Westward Expansion. In this Manifest Destiny lesson, students examine and respond to questions about Gast's painting titled American Progress Students research how...
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Westward Expansion
Young scholars explore the Westward Expansion Movement of U.S. history. In this Westward movement lesson, students use primary and secondary source documents research personal accounts of those who travelled west during the era. Young...
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Westward Expansion and the Frontier
Students explore U.S. history by researching a historic map. In this westward expansion lesson, students discuss the mystery of the western U.S. in the early 1800's and the impact expansion had on Native Americans and agriculture....
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Conflict in Alabama in the 1830s: Native Americans, Settlers, and Government
To better understand the Indian Removal Act of 1830, class members examine primary source documents including letters written by Alabama governors and the Cherokee chiefs. The lesson is part of a unit on the expansion of the United...
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Art of Cynicism
Students analyze selected pieces of art and infer how they reflect a sense of disillusionment, and/or cynicism in American society in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. Then they identify and place cultural attitudes...
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The People of Kansas
Students investigate primary sources to experience first- hand accounts of Kansas pioneers. They write an historical fiction letter or skit based on territorial documents.
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That's the Spirit
Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...
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Pioneer Scramble
Students explore the concept of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Movement lesson, students study why Americans emigrated west in the 1840s and 1850s. Students create interactive timelines, write exploration reports, and complete an art...
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African-Americans in California's Heartland
Students read and view video about the pioneers moving west. In this African American pioneer lesson, students become familiar with the problems faced by the pioneers and African-American pioneers. Students complete worksheets and...
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Lord of the Rings: The Quest is Achieved
Young scholars analyze what makes a hero in The Lord of the Rings, Book Six. They discuss the characters and the aspects of their behaviors that make them heroes and write essays regarding the climax and heroic gestures of a character....
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Looking Back at Pre-Civil War Slavery
Eighth graders explain the nature of slavery, the impact of slavery on African-Americans, and how slavery intensified the conflict between the North and South that eventually led to a major cause of the Civil War.
Museum of Tolerance
The Pursuit of Democracy and Diversity: The Trial of Pro-Social Injustice in Historical Documents and Accounts
Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...
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Sadorus Lesson Plan: The American Farm as Portrayed by Artists
Students describe how artists painted American farms in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They identify idealized, nostalgic, and realistic views of farming through discussion, bringing into play their own knowledge of farms today.
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Lincoln's Spot Resolutions
Young scholars examine the controversy and varying points of view leading up to the 19th century Mexican War. They research examples of anti-war movements throughout history and write editorials about their findings.
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Making A New Nation
Eighth graders read standard road maps and topographical maps, and examine the lives of pathfinders who opened the trails to the West. They develop Living History presentations, role-playing a character from the past.
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New York on the Pacific Coast
Students explore the interaction and consequences of contact among different ethnic groups. Students examine a timeline and the important historical
events in American History. They discuss immigration and migration.