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 activity is part of a unit on the expansion of the United...
Curated OER
Headin' West! The Life of a Pioneer
Students explore the life of a pioneer and the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and pioneering. Students complete activities, maps, writing and reading to experience pioneer life. Handouts and worksheets are included...
Curated OER
New American Diplomacy
Students explore the presidential era of Teddy Roosevelt. They read about American diplomacy in Asia, the Caribbean, and discuss the Panama Canal and the Roosevelt Corollary. As a class, students take notes and create a bubble map for...
Curated OER
Baltimoreans in the California Gold Rush
Eleventh graders explore the reasons for migration to California during the Gold Rush. In this American History lesson, 11th graders read letters about the opportunities and obstacles people faced. Students create a map of...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
A Whole New World
Students examine a timeline of a sequence of events displaying how the colonies were founded. They analyze Jamestown and Plymouth recruitment posters, write journal entries, and play a Jeopardy game with questions about the colonies.
Curated OER
Lincoln's Spot Resolutions
Learners 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.
Curated OER
The Kanaka Village at Fort Vancouver: Crossroads of the Columbia River
Students study the interaction between Native American and European cultures in the Pacific Northwest in the 1800s. They focus their study on the Hudson's Bay Company and Fort Vancouver.
Curated OER
The American West-Knowledge Test
In this American West worksheet, students complete a 24 questions test about the American West. Answers are included beneath questions on worksheet.
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Manifest Destiny
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students use primary source documents to investigate central historical questions. In this investigation students use nineteenth-century maps and art, and consider the roots of American exceptionalism.
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Manifest Destiny
From twentieth-century posters, monuments, and letters to nineteenth-century maps, biographies, and paintings, this set allows students to gain a greater understanding of how perceptions of manifest destiny have changed over time.
Other
The Story of the Us Told in 141 Maps
This collection of United States maps includes a year-by-year. Beginning from the Declaration of Independence and extending to present-day, students will learn explore and interact with these maps that change year-by-year.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Learning Lab: The Expansion of the United States, 1846 48
This online lesson plan shows students through primary sources how the borders of the U.S. changed in just a few years. They are asked to analyze maps and use map skills. All maps and worksheets are included as well as additional resources.
Other
Dmwv: The u.s. Mexican War: 1846 1848
Dedicated to the memory of U.S. veterans who fought in the U.S.-Mexican War, this website provides documents, images, maps, and FAQs.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: North America, 1840
A map of North America in 1840 at the time when the concept of "Manifest Destiny" was being applied to annex the Oregon Territory, Texas, and much of northern Mexico into the United States. The map is color-coded to show the extent of...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Hard Road to Texas 1836 1845: Aftermath the Reckoning
What happened in the 15 years that followed the annexation of Texas? How did the Mexican War end? Read this article to learn about the aftermath of the annexation, and check out primary documents--a "moral map" of the United States and a...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: The Nation Expands: Mexican Cession, 1848
See a map of the land acquired by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, called the Mexican Cession. From Annenberg Media.
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Journeys West
A series of lessons utilizing primary texts, including narratives, photographs, and maps, through which learners explore the following question: "What motivated thousands of people to journey west during the 1800s?"