Students define the concept of manifest destiny, discuss how contemporary maps of the 1840s influenced United States expansion in the 1840s, and analyze the relationship between manifest destiny and democracy.

At the time of the U.S.-Mexican War (and the height of the popularity of Manifest Destiny), there were some Americans who spoke out against what they regarded as a war of aggression. However, for the most part, the American public supported the war and the idea of Manifest Destiny itself. Today many historians see things differently. Historian David Pletcher writes of the U.S.-Mexican War: "This war was an aggressive war in which we attacked a neighbor and however much we won from the war, we do not like to look at the way in which we won it." Pletcher's idea may be borne out by the following two facts: there is still not a federally-funded memorial to those who fought in the U.S.-Mexican War and this war is so little studied and known about in the United States. In this activity, students will explore different American opinions about the U.S.-Mexican War (and by extension, Manifest Destiny) from both the 19th century and today. Students will then apply their knowledge by having a debate on the topic.

Students learn to interpret the built environment through text and image. They also study maps as a key way of shaping territory and transmitting cultural knowledge. This lesson explores the landscape of New England as a way of understanding the contrasting ways that the Europeans and Indians understood the land and how to use it.

Historical maps provide insight into how people in the past understood the world around them. In this lesson, students study two 17th-century maps of Virginia and think critically about how the differences in the maps reveal insights into how the English perspective on land and relations with Native Americans changed over time.

A chapter from The American Yawp open source history textbook focusing on, "The Market Revolution."

This video portrays how the values, ideas, and actions of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson influenced relationships with Native Americans and directed the westward expansion of the United States. A panel of experts offer perspectives on these topics.

Explore the spatial patterns of Native American lands in 1819 and the decrease in size of those lands through the current Native American reservations.

Looking at historic maps of the West, students can begin to appreciate the immensity and mystery of the mission Lewis and Clark accepted.

In this lesson, students will use debate to determine the advantages and drawbacks of traveling west using original sources and descriptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of the pioneers.

A chapter from The American Yawp open source history textbook focusing on, "Reconstruction."

In this lesson, students will be able to compare Cherokee experience with Seminole experience under the Indian Removal Act and make inferences about different points of view of the Second Seminole War using primary documents, assuming a role of historical figure in the war and by role playing an interview with Harper's Weekly Reporter.

In this activity students compare an eighteenth-century print of a slave ship and a table of data about the voyages of the slave ship to draw facts and make inferences about the transatlantic slave trade. This activity was designed for the Smartboard, but it can be completed without a Smartboard.

Explore the network of places and routes that made up the Underground Railroad.

In the lesson, student groups play the role of either urban families in need of fresh food or rural families in need of buyers. The role play provides a forum for discussing the concept of supply and demand in various markets, and also personalizes the historical context to engage student interest. At the end of the lesson, students consider the “losers” in westward expansion--buffalo and Native Americans--and the collusion of the U.S. government in this process.

This interactive timeline highlights the stories of the women of Vance Birthplace in the mountains of North Carolina. From prehistory to the twentieth century, students can explore each woman's experience of life in the Reems Creek Valley through videos, primary and secondary sources, and graphics.

Students will learn about the variation of toponyms in different regions of the Americas.

GeoInquiries are designed to be fast and easy-to-use instructional resources that incorporate advanced web mapping technology. Each 15-minute activity in a collection is intended to be presented by the instructor from a single computer/projector classroom arrangement. No installation, fees, or logins are necessary to use these materials and software.