How and Why Did the U. S. Expand Westward? The 1830s and 1840s
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July 2015 
About the Common Assignment Study The Common Assignment Study (CAS) represents an effort to strengthen instruction through the integrated development of curriculum, instructional supports, and embedded assessments. Led by teachers in Colorado and Kentucky, CAS produced multiple high-quality instructional units in science, history, and English language arts. As new academic standards and assessments are being adopted across the states, CAS showcases teachers’ pivotal role in translating these larger initiatives into rigorous and relevant classroom experiences for their students. The CAS instructional units—which include classroom activities, assessments, and rubrics for scoring student work—were developed using the Understanding by Design framework. Each unit was strengthened by integrating a Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) module to help scaffold and support the development of students’ content literacy. Over a two-year period, the teachers developed, taught, and revised the units with the support and leadership of The Colorado Education Initiative and The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky; the subject matter expertise provided by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity; and the research support of the Center for Assessment. Throughout the study, which was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Westat provided technical assistance and support and collected student work samples and scores from each unit. The units contain shared elements (“common assignments”) that were collaboratively developed and used by teachers in both states. However, teachers maintained flexibility and autonomy to tailor the units to meet local needs and make contextualized instructional choices. Teacher-leaders have taken active roles in facilitating the collaborative design process. Teachers have reported that newly developed tools and strategies have better engaged their students and provided them with richer opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the material. Research for Action has studied the implementation of the CAS units and gathered feedback to improve how districts and schools can use CAS resources to support the integrated use of teacher-developed curricula, instructional supports, and embedded assessments.
Table of Contents
Desired Results Established Goals/Standards
RH.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. RH.6-8.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source … . WHST.6-8.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. Colorado History SS8.1.2.c: Examine factors that motivated the military and economic expansion from the American Revolution to Reconstruction. SS8.1.2.d: Evaluate the impact of different factors—on topics to include but not limited to gender, age, ethnicity, and class—on groups and individuals in this time period and the impact of these groups and individuals on the events of the time period. Geography SS8.2.1.a: Interpret maps and other geographic tools as a primary source to analyze a historic issue. SS.8.2.2.c: Interpret from a geographic perspective the expansion of the United States by addressing issues of land, security, and sovereignty. Kentucky SS-08-4.3.2: Students will explain why and give examples of how human populations changed and/or migrated because of factors such as war, disease, economic opportunity and technology in the United States prior to Reconstruction. DOK 3 SS-08-2.3.1: Students will explain how conflict and competition (e.g., political, economic, religious, ethnic) occurred among individuals and groups in the United States prior to Reconstruction. DOK 2 SS-08-5.1.1: Students will use a variety of tools (e.g., primary and secondary sources) to describe and explain historical events and conditions and to analyze the perspectives of different individuals and groups (e.g., gender, race, region, ethnic group, age, economic status, religion, political group) in U.S. history prior to Reconstruction. DOK 3 SS-08-5.2.3: Students will explain how the growth of democracy and geographic expansion occurred and were significant to the development of the United States prior to Reconstruction. DOK 3 SS-08-5.1.2: Students will explain how history is a series of connected events shaped by multiple cause-and-effect relationships and give examples of those relationships. DOK 3 Transfer Students will be able to independently use their learning to ... Analyze primary and secondary accounts to form evidence-based interpretations of historical events. Consider and discuss multiple causes for historical events. Discuss how geographic and economic factors matter to understanding human settlement. Meaning Understandings/Big Ideas Students will understand … Events and ideas significant to westward expansion in the antebellum era. How and why the United States acquired western lands. That the use of authentic primary source documents enriches our understanding of historical events and ideas. Essential Questions Students will keep considering … How and why were western lands acquired? How does analyzing primary and secondary sources help us to understand the past?
What were expansion’s impacts on varied groups? Acquisition Know (Content) Students will know … The definition of manifest destiny. Key events in westward expansion during the 1830s–50s, with emphasis on acquiring Texas and the Mexican-American War. The connection between westward expansion and debates over slavery. Westward movement impacted varied groups in multiple ways.
Students will be skilled at … Discipline Skills Identifying and explaining multiple causation and cause-effect. Identifying and understanding multiple perspectives. Using maps and timelines to situate historical events in their time and space (context).
Literacy Skills Accurately analyzing primary and secondary sources. Citing and explaining specific textual evidence to support this analysis. Argumentative writing.
Acceptable Evidence of Results Assessments
Argumentative Task 2 Prompt: Considering the historical perspectives on the Mexican-American War, was President Polk justified when he declared war in 1846? After reading primary and secondary sources given in class, write an essay in which you address the question and argue whether Polk was justified in his decision to declare war with Mexico. Support your position with evidence from the text(s).
Evaluative Criteria
Supports/Scaffolding Modified primary sources Sentence starters Graphic organizers Group and partner work
Vocabulary collection tool Learning Experiences and Instruction Unit Texts and Materials For Instruction John Gast’s painting of the story of the western frontier, 1872 (http://picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/item.php?item_id=180 Map that shows expansion and PowerPoint slides on expansion Lesson on Manifest Destiny (from Reading Like a Historian For Common Assignments Texas Independence Constructed Response Texas Independence lesson from Reading Like a Historian Document A: Texas Declaration of Independence Document B: Letter by Manchola Document C: Colonel Seguin’s Burial Speech Document D: Lundy’s Pamphlet Document E: John Quincy Adams Document F: Joint Resolution of Congress to Annex Texas Mexican-American War LDC sources Document 1: Polk’s Inaugural Document 2: Thoreau Document 3: Polk’s Letter Document 4: Polk’s Special Message Document 5: Giddings Document 6: Sumner Document 7: Historian Haynes See CoreTools  for all resources.
Moving West Summative Response “America: The Story of Us” “Westward” episode, about 44 minutes History Alive sources on groups moving westward Assessment Tasks Mid-Assessment Common Assignment 1: Texas Independence and Annexation Constructed Responses Short answer questions on primary source documents that get at multiple causes of involvement in Texas. Resources Documents A–F (primary sources representing perspectives for and against Texas independence and annexation) Discussion questions Graphic organizers for scaffolding reading of the six sources Rubric (0, 1, 2) adapted from KY SAQ rubric
Common Assignment 2: Mexican-American War LDC Module: Argumentative task based on primary sources and one secondary source representing different perspectives on whether the United States should have entered the Mexican-American War. Resources Documents 1–7 Reading for understanding questions Graphic organizer for scaffolding reading of the seven sources Essay organizer for planning essay LDC Argumentative Scoring Rubric Common Assignment 3: Moving West Summative Response Summative Response Question Part A. Explain, in detail, how the United States acquired two territories. Part B. Choose two groups that were affected by westward expansion and describe the impact of expansion on those groups.
“America: The Story of Us” “Westward” episode, about 44 minutes “TCI History Alive! The United States through Industrialism”—Unit 5, Section 16: “Life in the West” minidramas Rubric for Summative Response adapted from Kentucky Extended Response Question rubric (0, 1, 2, 3, 4)
Teacher Instructions Listed below are the resources in this section with notes about how to use them. Use these resources and notes to craft lessons tailored for your students that will help set context for the subsequent learning activities. Gast Painting Analysis: Introduce the unit using this engaging and rich image. See here The What and When
Understanding Manifest Destiny
John Gast Painting Analysis 
John Gast painted this picture in 1872. He painted it for a publisher who included it in a popular series of western travel guides. Possible Questions Looking Closely Sketch what you see in the painting. What different groups of people do you see? List those that appear in order from left to right. What different modes of transportation do you see? What items is the woman holding?
What might these symbolize? Reading and Analysis Who created this painting? When? For what? Who was the audience for this painting? What message does this painting convey about the West and westward migration? Explain using details from the painting. Do you think this was a new message for the people who saw it? Why or why not?
Common Core: RH.6-8.1 The What and When of U.S. Territorial Expansion PowerPoint
Understanding Manifest Destiny PowerPoint 
Access the full PowerPoint here: http://collegeready.gatesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Manifest-destiny.ppt
Texas Independence PowerPoint Use this PowerPoint to walk students through territorial expansion. Students fill out their own “Texas Independence Timeline” (included below) from the information in this PowerPoint presentation. 
Access the full PowerPoint here: http://collegeready.gatesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CAS-TEXAS-INDEPENDENCE-copy.ppt
Key for Texas Independence Timeline 1819 1822 1829 1836 1844 1837 1519–21 Conquistador Hernan Cortes conquers Aztec Empire (Mexico) for Spain. Adams-Onis Treaty: U.S. acquires Florida from Spain. Mexico gains its independence from Spain—Spain is no longer present in North America. Stephen F. Austin settles 300 American families in Texas with permission from Mexico. Settlers must obey Mexican laws and convert to Catholicism. Mexico outlaws slavery. Texas annexation defeated in Senate. Texas declares independence. Sam Houston defeats Santa Anna and wins Texas independence. Outgoing President John Tyler signs a congressional joint resolution to annex Texas and make it part of the union. (Joint resolutions only require a simple majority vote instead of 2/3 majority.) Abolitionists in the Senate block Texas annexation again—by one vote (the vote was 35-16, but 36 votes were needed). 1833 Santa Anna comes to power and throws out Mexico’s Constitution. 1830 Mexico bans Anglo immigration. 1821 1845 Santa Anna defeats Texans at Alamo. Texas Independence and Annexation Lesson Plan Note: Use the lesson produced for the Stanford History Education Group’s (SHEG) Reading Like a Historian curriculum. Then modify and extend that lesson as is noted in this document.
First, download directions and documents for the SHEG plan at https://sheg.stanford.edu/ texas-independence . (You will need to create a free account.) Then read through that plan. Finally, see our modifications and extensions to that plan explained below. These additions extend the plan to include the annexation of Texas.
Modification: Substitute the United Streaming Video segment that is available only through subscription with: The History Channel’s “The Founding of Texas” Part 1 (a segment of “The Real West”) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA3smbU2b4k and/or The History Channel’s “The Founding of Texas” Part 2 (a segment of “The Real West”) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFJIR0YYI2A Extension: , tools, and instructional steps provided. These are: Documents E and F Texas Annexation Graphic Organizer Additional instructional steps that follow Step 4 in the SHEG lesson
Implement the SHEG lesson and then continue with the following instructional steps. Step 4—discussion questions—is the last step in the SHEG lesson, and the additional instructional steps follow. Discussion questions Why did Texans declare independence? Were Texans justified in declaring independence? Were these honorable men, fighting for freedom or greedy slaveholders? What evidence from the documents supports your position? Which of these pieces of evidence do you find more/less trustworthy? Why? Why do historians still debate this question? Hand out documents E and F. Students read documents and fill out Texas annexation graphic organizer. Annexation discussion questions Once Texas declared and won its independence, is the United States free to annex it? Why would Mexico object to the American annexation of Texas? Why was Texas’ annexation denied twice before becoming a reality? Students independently write answers to two constructed response questions. Ideas for further study and learning Have students discuss the situation in the Alamo and write a letter to the people of Texas asking for helping in defending the Alamo and stopping or delaying Santa Anna’s army. Show students William Barret Travis’ primary source to compare to their letter. Show clips from two Hollywood movies of the Alamo where Travis’ letter is used. These two movies are John Wayne’s "The Alamo" and John Lee Hancock’s, "The Alamo," starring Billy Bob Thornton. Both movies use a version of Travis’ letter with reference to the underlined sentences. In John Wayne’s version, the Mexican army comes to the fort and reads a message from Santa Anna demanding surrender, and Travis uses his cigar to light a cannon in response to the demand. In the Billy Bob Thornton version, Jim Bowie is in a discussion with Mexican officers who are demanding surrender when Travis fires the cannon in his general direction. Common Assessment Constructed Response Rubric Why did Texans declare independence from Mexico in 1836? Use evidence from the texts to support your answer and explain your reasoning.
Common Assessment Constructed Response Rubric Texas declared and won its independence and applied for statehood. Using evidence from the texts and logical reasoning, why did Mexico and some Americans object to Texas annexation?
Texas Independence Timeline 1819 1822 1829 1836 1844 1837 1519–21 1833 1830 1821 1845 Document E: John Quincy Adams The treaty for the annexation of Texas to this Union was this day sent in to the Senate; and with it went the freedom of the human race.
Document F: Joint Resolution of Congress to Annex Texas (Modified) Note: This is an excerpt from a Resolution that was passed by the U.S. Congress on March 1, 1985. It approved the admission of Texas as a state to the United States. It also laid out the requirements of that admission. Below is one of those requirements. Joint Resolution for annexing [adding] Texas to the United States. . . . 2. Be it further resolved, that the consent of Congress is given upon the following conditions, and with the following guarantees:. . . New states, of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to the state of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, be formed out of the territory, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the federal constitution. And such states as may be formed out of that portion of this territory lying south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, commonly known as the Missouri compromise line, shall be admitted into the Union with or without slavery, as the people of each state asking admission may desire. And in such state or states as shall be formed out of this territory north of said Missouri compromise line, slavery, or involuntary servitude, (except for crime,) shall be prohibited. Texas Annexation Graphic Organizer
Name: Texas Independence and Annexation Directions: Using the documents and completed graphic organizer (documents A, B, C, D), answer the following question using evidence from the text. Why did Texans declare independence from Mexico in 1836? Use evidence from the texts to support your answer and explain your reasoning. Directions: Use the documents and completed graphic organizer (documents D, E, F) to answer the following question using evidence from the text and logical reasoning. Texas declared and won its independence and applied for statehood. Why would Mexico and some Americans object to Texas annexation? Document for Further Study and Learning—Travis’ Letter Commandancy of the Alamo Bexar, Fby. 24th, 1836 To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world Fellow Citizens & Compatriots, I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender nor retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death William Barret Travis Lt. Col. Comdt. P. S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves. Travis
g.Incorporating Quotes PowerPoint a.LDC Documents (Excerpts) i.Polk’s Inaugural
ii.Thoreau iii.Polk’s Letter
iv.Polk’s Special Message v.Giddings
vi.Sumner vii.Historian Haynes
b.Reading Tools i.Mexican War LDC Documents 1–7 Comprehension Reading Questions
ii.Vocabulary Collection Tool c.Graphic Organizer
d.Introducing Quotes Practice e.Essay Organizer: Outline
f.Peer Review Tool Notes to the Teacher Find all materials and more detailed instructions in CoreTools If students need help with understanding the LDC documents, use the Reading Tools (Comprehension Reading Questions and Vocabulary Collection Tool) to help them understand the main points of each document and learn difficult vocabulary. After using these tools, students should use the Graphic Organizer to help them analyze the documents in relation to the prompt. Use the Introducing Quotes PowerPoint with the Introducing Quotes Practice Tool to help students with this skill. Emphasize that the information a student includes to introduce a quote should help the reader understand the authority or perspective of the source. Use these tools after reading activities and before writing activities. Before writing the essay, students create an outline or graphic organizer based on their notes and reading in which they state their claim, sequence their points, and note their supporting evidence. The Essay Organizer: Outline is a tool that can support this, or use a tool of your own. Incorporating Quotes PowerPoint
Document 1: Polk’s Inaugural
[E]ighty years ago our population was confined on the west by the ridge of the Alleghenies. Within that period . . . our people . . . have filled the eastern valley of the Mississippi, adventurously ascended the Missouri to its headsprings, and are already engaged in establishing the blessings of self-government in valleys of which the rivers flow to the Pacific. The world beholds the peaceful triumphs of the industry of our emigrants. To us belongs the duty of protecting them adequately wherever they may be upon our soil. Document 2: Thoreau Source: Excerpt from Henry David Thoreau’s book, Civil Disobedience. He wrote it in prison between 1846-1848 and it was originally published in 1849. … Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure … … In other words, when a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army… Thoreau: http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil1.html
Document 3: Polk’s Letter Source: Excerpt from Letter from President James K. Polk to his agent in Mexico, John Slidell. November 10, 1845. I am extremely desirous to acquire California…. If unfortunately, you should fail to effect a satisfactory adjustment of the pending differences between the two countries…I will call on Congress to provide the proper remedies. Document 4: Polk’s Special Message (Modified)
Mexico has repeatedly threatened to make war upon us, for the purpose of reconquering Texas. In the meantime, we have tried every effort at reconciliation. The cup of forbearance [restraint] has been exhausted, even before the recent information from the frontier of the Del Norte. But now, after repeated threats, Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American soil. She has proclaimed that hostilities have commenced, and that the two nations are now at war.. . . We are called upon, by every consideration of duty and patriotism, to defend the honor, the rights, and the interests of our country. Document 5: Giddings (Modified) Source: Excerpt from Congressman Joshua Giddings speech during the Debate on the Mexican War, House of Representatives, Washington D.C., May 13, 1846. Sir, no man regards this war as just. We know, the country knows, and the civilized worlds are conscious that it has resulted from a desire to extend and sustain an institution on which the Almighty [does not approve]. Mexico has long since abolished slavery and purified herself from its crimes and its guilt. Slaves now find asylum in the southwest and it has therefore become necessary to extend our people into Mexico in order to render slavery secure.. . . This war is waged against an unoffending people, without just or adequate cause, for the purpose of conquest, with the design to extend slavery; in violation of the Constitution, against the dictates of justice, of humanity and the sentiments of the age in which we live and the [beliefs] of the religion we profess. I will not aid, no support whatever. I will not bathe my hands in the blood of the people of Mexico, nor will I participate in the guilt of those murders which have been and which will [later] be committed by our army there. For these reasons, I shall vote against the bill under consideration and all others calculated to support this war. Document 6: Sumner Source: Excerpt from a speech Representative Charles Sumner delivered about the Mexican War at Tremont Temple in Boston, MA, on November 5, 1846. The Mexican War is an enormity born of slavery. Base in object, atrocious in beginning, immoral in all its influences, vainly prodigal of treasure and life, it is a war of infamy, which must blot the pages of our history. Glossary
Document 7: Historian Haynes Source: Excerpt from “Manifest Destiny” written by Historian Sam W. Haynes for PBS.org’s series, “U.S.-Mexican War” in 2006. Expansionists were also motivated by more immediate, practical considerations. Southerners anxious to enlarge the slave empire were among the most ardent champions of the crusade for more territory. New slave states would enhance the South’s political power in Washington and, equally important, serve as an outlet for its growing slave population. For American commercial interests, expansion offered greater access to lucrative foreign markets. Washington policy-makers, anxious to compete with Great Britain for the Asia trade, had long been convinced of the strategic and commercial advantages of San Francisco and other ports on the Pacific coastline of Mexican-owned California. The disastrous Panic of 1837, which had resulted in huge surpluses and depressed prices for American farm products, also focused attention on the need to develop new foreign markets. Haynes: http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/md_manifest_destiny.html
Mexican War LDC Documents 1–7 Comprehension Reading Questions Document 1: Polk’s Inaugural
Document 2: Thoreau
Document 3: Polk’s Letter
Document 4: Polk’s Special Message
Document 5: Giddings
Document 6: Sumner
Document 7: Historian Haynes
Name: Vocabulary Collection Tool
Name: Should the United States have gone to war with Mexico?
Name: Introducing Quotes Practice Directions: Using the authors, publications, and quotes given, write a sentence in which you incorporate all pertinent information. Remember, you can introduce a quote at the beginning or the end of a sentence. Instead of “said,” try:
Example: Mr. Cosby, an 8th grade teacher, Beaumont Gazette, “Although I do enjoy reading about princesses and dragons, my favorite kinds of stories are mysteries.”
Name: Mexican-American War LDC: Outline First Body Paragraph: One reason for your side of the argument Topic sentence or claim: Evidence (information and/or quotes): Explanation of how evidence supports your argument: Second Body Paragraph: Second reason for your side of the argument Topic sentence or claim: Evidence (information and/or quotes): Explanation of how evidence supports your argument: Third Body Paragraph: Opposing argument Topic sentence or claim: Explanation of opposing argument: Evidence that supports opposing argument: Reason and explanation detailing why your argument is stronger than this opposing argument:
Your conclusion paragraph should slightly mirror your intro paragraph. Start with a transition into a conclusion of your essay. Readdress or summarize key aspects of your essay for your audience.
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How and Why Did the U.S. Expand Westward? The 1830s and 1840s
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