Overview

In this experience, students first review the growth of U.S. territory and generate questions. Then, they explore why Americans settled in Texas and how the Republic of Texas became a state. Next, they create a brief timeline showing how California became a state and learn about travel on the Oregon Trail. Finally, they analyze the painting American Progress and explain how it represents the idea of Manifest Destiny.

If you have access to leveled readers that include stories about the California Gold Rush or the Oregon Trail, assign them to students in parallel with this experience.

Estimated duration: 40-50 minutes

Discovery Reading

A printable Discovery Reading is included in the student pack as a support for understanding the experience’s core content and concepts. This Discovery Reading is not necessary to complete the experience and serves as an optional support resource.

Vocabulary Words:

These vocabulary words are used in the experience or connect closely to the standards and content students examine. Students should understand these terms as they work through the experience.

territorial expansion: the growth of the United States as it added more land and stretched farther west.
land grant: land given by a government to settlers, often if they agreed to live there and follow the laws.
annex: to add land or a country to another country; the United States annexed Texas in 1845.
Republic of Texas: the independent country formed by Texas after it declared independence from Mexico in 1836 and before it became a U.S. state.
Oregon Trail: a long overland route that many settlers used to travel west to Oregon in covered wagons.
Manifest Destiny: the belief that the United States was meant to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Gold Rush: a time when large numbers of people rushed to a place because gold had been discovered there, such as in California in 1848.

Objectives

Describe the territorial expansion of the United States before the Civil War
Analyze the concept of Manifest Destiny

Engage

From the time the United States became independent, immigrants have continued to come to the new nation. The country also continued to grow. New travel methods made it easier for families to move west. Many families hoped to find land where they could build homes and farms. However, much of this land was already home to Indigenous nations. In the South, farms and plantations grew as people continued to buy more cotton. In the North, factories grew and needed more workers. Immigrants and people from rural areas came to these factories looking for jobs. In this experience, you will learn about three important parts of the nation’s growth westward: the United States adding Texas, the California Gold Rush, and travel along the Oregon Trail.

Objectives

Describe the territorial expansion of the United States before the Civil War
Analyze the concept of Manifest Destiny

photograph of a covered wagon pulled by oxen; two women sitting on wagon, two men walking alongside it

Family heading westward in a covered wagon, ca. 1921

Look at the timeline: A territorial history of the United States. Focus on the years 1800–1850.

List a question that you have about the information in the timeline.

Use student questions as an indicator of what students want to know about territorial expansion. Choose a few guiding questions to help summarize the unit for students.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.

Territorial Expansion