Manifest Destiny and the U.S.-Mexican War: Then and Now

Transcription

1 Manifest Destiny and the U.S.-Mexican War: Then and Nw Grade Level(s): 6-12 Subject Area(s) Language Arts - Reading and Writing, Civics, Gegraphy, U.S. Histry Estimated Time One t tw minute class perids Overview Manifest Destiny was an extremely pwerful idea in the 19th century United States. The essence f Manifest Destiny was that Nrth America was intended by Gd t be ppulated and gverned by Angl-Saxn Americans. This meant that the spread f U.S. demcracy and industry was part f the Divine plan. Of curse, there were ther peple n the Nrth American cntinent wh disagreed with this ntin. In this lessn, students will explre the idea f Manifest Destiny. Summary At the time f the U.S.-Mexican War (and the height f the ppularity f Manifest Destiny), there were sme Americans wh spke ut against what they regarded as a war f aggressin. Hwever, fr the mst part, the American public supprted the war and the idea f Manifest Destiny itself. Tday many histrians see things differently. Histrian David Pletcher writes f the U.S.-Mexican War: "This war was an aggressive war in which we attacked a neighbr and hwever much we wn frm the war, we d nt like t lk at the way in which we wn it." Pletcher's idea may be brne ut by the fllwing tw facts: there is still nt a federally-funded memrial t thse wh fught in the U.S.-Mexican War and this war is s little studied and knwn abut in the United States. In this activity, students will explre different American pinins abut the U.S.-Mexican War (and by extensin, Manifest Destiny) frm bth the 19th century and tday. Students will then apply their knwledge by having a debate n the tpic. Objectives Students will: Cnsider the elements f Manifest Destiny that were attractive and exciting t Americans. Learn abut sme f the vices that at the time ppsed the U.S.-Mexican War and the idea f Manifest Destiny. Research American histrical perspectives (then and nw) n the war and Manifest Destiny. Wrk in a team t prepare their research t be used in a debate. Participate in a debate with their classmates, with ne side representing the cnsensus mid-19th century view n Manifest Destiny and the ther representing mdern-day perspectives. The U.S.-Mexican War ( ) Page 1 f 6

2 Materials Needed This activity can be cmpleted using a cmputer lab where students can access the vide clips and handuts themselves via The U.S.-Mexican War website. It can als be cnducted by using ne classrm cmputer with a prjectin device. In the secnd scenari, yu will need t prvide the students with the fllwing handuts: Then and Nw wrksheet An Ideal r a Justificatin ( Vide Clips Library ( Vide clips used: The war and slavery: Sme American vices f dissent Lking back: A just war? Prcedure Pre-viewing Activity: Briefly review the previus activity. Then ask students t read the brief article An Ideal r a Justificatin frm the U.S.-Mexican War site. Discuss the cmplexity f Manifest Destiny with the students. Reference the dichtmy cited in the article, in which Pletcher discusses hw Manifest Destiny was bth racist and idealist. Briefly review the tw qutatins n the Then and Nw wrksheet and g ver the fllwing questins with students befre they watch the vide clips: What d yu think was the general view f bth the war and the idea f Manifest Destiny in the mid- 19th century United States? What d yu think Americans liked abut the idea f Manifest Destiny then? While ppnents t the war and Manifest Destiny were in the minrity at the time, what were sme f their arguments? What is yur sense f mdern-day perspectives n Manifest Destiny? Why d yu think that the U.S.-Mexican War is s little studied tday? Explain t the students that after they have dne their research, they will be engaging in a debate abut the idea f Manifest Destiny, with ne side representing the cnsensus mid-19th century view and the ther representing mdern-day perspectives f the histrians they have read. Break the students int the tw grups nw r after the viewing activity. Viewing Activity: Tell students t g t The U.S.-Mexican War website t access the vide clips The war and slavery: Sme American vices f dissent, Lking back: A just war? (r display the vides with a prjectin device in yur classrm). Ask students t pay special attentin t the cntent abut peple's attitudes tward the war and Manifest Destiny. Have the students use the Then and Nw wrksheet t fcus their viewing as they watch the vides. The U.S.-Mexican War ( ) Page 2 f 6

3 Pst-viewing Activity: Have the tw grups get ready fr their debate. Ask each grup t prepare a twminute pening statement fr their side f the debate. Als ask them t create a list f fur pints that they wuld like t address during the debate and t share that list with the ther grup. Once the grups have cmpleted their preparatins, have the students begin the debate by making their pening statements. Then have the grups g back and frth presenting each f their fur main pints, always allwing the ppsitin t respnd t each pint. Finally, have ne persn frm each grup summarize their side's psitin. After the debate, ask the students t share their respnses t the experience. Ask them t cnsider hw attitudes tward Manifest Destiny and the U.S.-Mexican war have changed thrugh time. Ask them t cnsider a ppular mdern-day ideal and questin whether attitudes tward that ideal might als change ver time. What might accunt fr thse changes? Is it easy r hard t imagine thse changes? Classrm Assessment T assess the students' wrk, cnsider the fllwing: Did the students shw that they had a gd grasp f the histrical perspectives n the war and Manifest Destiny? Did the students make their arguments clearly and persuasively? Did the students n each side wrk well tgether as a team? Did the students shw an understanding f the material in the questins that they asked the ther side? T further assess the students' wrk, yu might use the questins n the wrksheet (and any additinal nes yu wuld like t add) as a graded assessment. Extensins and Applicatins Have students research mre f the articles n the U.S.-Mexican War site t mre deeply explre Mexican and Indian attitudes tward Manifest Destiny. These articles are a gd starting pint: The Pwer f an Idea Native American Displacement Amid U.S. Expansin Have the students read the Declaratin f Independence (especially the 2nd paragraph) and analyze whether Manifest Destiny was a realizatin f the American ideal r a betrayal f it. They can find the Declaratin f Independence here: Anther pssibility is t have students use the interactive timeline n the U.S.-Mexican War site as a starting pint fr research n the histry f slavery in the United States. Further research culd als be dne here: Fr yunger students: Much f this activity can be taught t yunger children as it is. Hwever, yu may cnsider having a classrm discussin rather than a debate arund the different histrical perspectives. Anther pssibility wuld be t have yunger students lk at the painting "Westward Angel," which can be fund here: The U.S.-Mexican War ( ) Page 3 f 6

4 Ask the students t think abut the cmpnents f the painting and what they represent in terms f Manifest Destiny. Can they imagine such a painting being created tday? Why r why nt? (A study f this painting culd als be successfully incrprated int the main activity fr lder children.) Natinal Standards McRel K-12 Standards Addressed: Language Arts Standard 4: Gathers and uses infrmatin fr research purpses. Standard 5: Uses the general skills and strategies f the reading prcess. Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies fr different purpses. Civics Standard 14: Understands issues cncerning the disparities between ideals and reality in American plitical and scial life. Standard 23: Understands the impact f significant plitical and nnplitical develpments n the United States and ther natins. Gegraphy Standard 6: Understands that culture and experience influence peple's perceptins f places and regins. Standard 9: Understands the nature, distributin and migratin f human ppulatins n Earth's surface. Standard 12: Understands the patterns f human settlement and their causes. Standard 13: Understands the frces f cperatin and cnflict that shape the divisins f Earth's surface. U.S. Histry Standard 9: Understands the United States territrial expansin between 1801 and 1861, and hw it affected relatins with external pwers and Native Americans. Standard 10: Understands hw the industrial revlutin, increasing immigratin, the rapid expansin f slavery, and the westward mvement changed American lives and led t reginal tensins. Standard 11: Understands the extensin, restrictin and rerganizatin f plitical demcracy after Online Resurces Belw are the links fr sites referenced in this activity: The U.S.-Mexican War ( ) The U.S.-Mexican War ( ) Page 4 f 6

5 The Declaratin f Independence An American slavery timeline The painting "Westward Angel" The U.S.-Mexican War ( ) Page 5 f 6

6 Then and Nw Wrksheet Think abut these tw qutes while yu watch the vide clips: "We lve t indulge in thughts f the future extent and pwer f this Republic - because with its increase is the increase f human happiness and liberty.... What has miserable, inefficient Mexic - with her superstitin, her burlesque upn freedm, her actual tyranny by the few ver the many - what has she t d with the great missin f pepling the New Wrld with a nble race? Be it urs, t achieve that missin!" Walt Whitman, Editrial, Brklyn Daily Eagle, July 7, 1846 "This war was an aggressive war in which we attacked a neighbr and hwever much we wn frm the war, we d nt like t lk at the way in which we wn it." David Pletcher, American Histrian, 1998 Cnsider these questins as yu watch the vides. Yu will address sme f them in the debate. 1. What d yu think was the general view f bth the war and the idea f Manifest Destiny in the mid-19th century United States? 2. What d yu think Americans liked abut the idea f Manifest Destiny then? 3. While ppnents t the war and Manifest Destiny were in the minrity at the time, what were sme f their arguments? 4. What is yur sense f mdern-day perspectives n Manifest Destiny? 5. Why d yu think that the U.S.-Mexican War is s little studied tday? The U.S.-Mexican War ( ) Page 6 f 6