Lessons in American History Using Primary Sources
A Series of Webquests
By Laura Thompson
UPS 3: An Expanding Nation
Historical Context – Thomas Jefferson purchases a
large grant of land known as the Louisiana Purchase. This extends the new nation's
boundaries to the Mississippi River. Later, the US would acquire the Southwest
Territory which would stretch the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Driving
Question: Describe how the rapid expansion of the United States increased
American power and influence?
Part A |
The following documents present information about
the conflicts and challenges involved in the geographical expansion of the
United States of America. Examine each document carefully. In the space
provided, answer the question or questions that follow each document. |
Document
1 - Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., “Song of the Manchester
Factory Girl,” The Age of Jackson, Back Bay Books (reprint), 1988. The following is a poem is called the "Song of the Manchester Factory Girl."
She tends the loom, she watches the spindle, and
cheerfully talketh away; Mid the din of wheels, how her bright eyes kindle!
and her [heart] is ever gay |
Do you think
this an accurate picture of factory life for a woman in the early nineteenth
century? Support your answer with some examples from history.
Document
2 - Mark C. Carnes, The American Nation: A History of the United States, Combined Volume (13th Edition),
Longman, 2007. Look at the graph below. It shows how many miles of railroad
track had been laid in the United States at two different times.
Miles of Railroad in
the US, 1860 and 1873 |
|||||||||
60,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
50,000 |
|
|
North |
||||||
40,000 |
|
|
South |
||||||
30,000 |
|
|
|
|
|||||
20,000 |
|
|
|
|
|||||
10,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
1860 |
|
1873 |
|
What key
event happened between 1860 and 1873? How did this affect railroad development
in different parts of the US?
Document
3 - http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/meeting-at-promontory-point.
This picture was taken upon the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in
1896. Click to see a famous photo of the event.
What message
does the photographer hope to convey with this photograph?
Document 4 - Use
the clues to identify the place being described.
Wild and remote, this state has been nicknamed
"The Last Frontier." When US Secretary of State William Seward
bought the land from Russia in 1867, for two cents an acre, it was nicknamed
"Seward's folly." Then gold was found in its rivers and streams,
and it became an economic asset. It finally became a US state in 1959. |
Where am I?
Document
5 - http://www.answers.com/topic/the-alamo-large-image.
In 1848, Texan settlers were overwhelmed by Mexican soldiers. They took refuge
in a local fort called the Alamo. Interpret this painting
Describe some
of the important elements in the picture above. Explain what message the artist
was trying to convey.
Document
6 - Bartolomé de Las Casas, In Defense
of the Indians, (translated) Northern Illinois University Press, 1992. The
Spanish and other European settlers were cruel to the indigenous peoples they
found in the Americas. Below is a quote from Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas.
"[They] have committed acts more irrational and
ferocious than lions and tigers and rabid wolves." |
Although they
endured many acts of cruelty, that alone does not account for the high
mortality rate of Native Americans. From what you know from history, what
factors contributed to the death of countless Amerindians? Explain.
Part B |
How did the geographic expansion of the US affect
the lifestyles of people, such as Native Americans, living in the newly
acquired territories? |