Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the ads are similar and different from each other as they consider their audiences.

Concepts

the american west, the midwest, westward expansion, settlers, american history, the homestead act, primary source analysis, primary source images, primary sources

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use primary source images to analyze motives for white settlers to head West in the 1860s
• Create discussion questions to compare the experiences of white settlers with the Native American peoples they encountered

Classroom Considerations

• Easy to adapt to a variety of age groups

Pros

• Images are engaging
• Pre-made question set makes the resource easy to use in the classroom

Cons

• Lesson does not include resources that reflect the experiences of indigenous peoples
• Some links no longer work

Common Core

RH.6-8.7 RH.6-8.10