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PPT
Tom Richey

Tom Richey: Conquest of the American West

For Students 9th - 10th
This PowerPoint presentation will thoroughly illustrate the significant role the transcontinental railroad played in the economic and cultural development of the nation as it expanded west. What did the political leadership of the nation...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Manifest Destiny

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will learn about the ideology of Manifest Destiny and how it affected different populations and demographics of the U.S. during its expansion.
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Activity
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Western Migration Towards the Interior

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides an essay discussing the migration of American colonists into the Ohio River Valley and the impact on the Native Americans living in the area.
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Free Soil or Slave? The Dilemma of the West

For Students 11th - 12th
By reading this section of a chapter on "Westward Expansion," students will be able to describe the terms of the Wilmot Proviso and the Compromise of 1850, discuss why the Free-Soil Party objected to the westward expansion of slavery and...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Lewis and Clark

For Students 11th - 12th
By reading this section of a chapter on "Westward Expansion," students will be able to explain the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and describe the terms of the Adams-Onis Treaty and the role played by the filibuster in American...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: The Loss of American Indian Life and Culture

For Students 11th - 12th
Read this section from a chapter on "Westward Expansion" to learn about the methods that the U.S. government used to address the "Indian threat" during the settlement of the West and explain the process of "Americanization" as it applied...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: The Missouri Crisis

For Students 11th - 12th
This section of a chapter on "Westward Expansion" explains why the North and South differed over the admission of Missouri as a state and how the admission of new states to the Union threatened to upset the balance between free and slave...
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Website
Agriculture in the Classroom

U.s. Department of Agriculture: Agriculture in the Classroom

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about agriculture and agricultural practice in America. You can explore specific states or issues that are national in scope. The "Growing a Nation" page helps you understand the role of the American farm in westward expansion.
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Website
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: The Path to Women's Suffrage

For Students 9th - 10th
Students analyze maps and primary documents and share stories of the Westward Expansion relating to gaining women's suffrage.
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Lesson Plan
US Mint

U.s. Mint: We're Going on a Bison Hunt [Pdf]

For Teachers K - 1st
In this four-part activity, examine the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's Expedition. Then take the students on a simulated bison hunt to understand the importance of the bison as a food and materials source in...
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Lesson Plan
US Mint

U.s Mint: Which Side Is Which [Pdf]

For Teachers K - 1st
Introduce learners to the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's Expedition. Then take a look at the Peace Medal nickel and differentiate between heads and the tails sides. Finally, do a coin-flip activity, and record and analyze the...
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Activity
Other

Gateway New Orleans: Louisiana Purchase

For Students 9th - 10th
Read a description of the terms of the Louisiana Purchase. There is a map to show the land that was included in this deal.
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Website
Other

At Home in the Heartland: At Home on the Fringes of the Prairie (1800 1850)

For Students 3rd - 5th
Interactive site offers information and pictures pertaining to early pioneer life. See advertisements in the paper, furniture, glassware, and food preparation tools. Read stories of individuals who lived during that time and make...
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Website
Other

Oregon California Trails Association: New Light on the Donner Party

For Students 9th - 10th
The myths, mysteries, and facts are revealed at this Donner Party site. At the beginning of November 1846, a group of California-bound immigrants was trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada. By the time the last member reached safety six...
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Handout
Curated OER

National Park Service: Fort Necessity National Battlefield: The National Road

For Students 9th - 10th
A discussion of the building of the National Road, its route, and importance to the opening of the West. From the National Park Service.
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Handout
The White House

The White House: Presidents: Franklin Pierce

For Students 9th - 10th
Details Franklin Pierce's career as the 14th President of the United States and his background information. A portrait is included.
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Activity
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: The Nation Expands: Mexican Cession, 1848

For Students 9th - 10th
See a map of the land acquired by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, called the Mexican Cession. From Annenberg Media.
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Handout
Utah Education Network

Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Donner Party

For Students 9th - 10th
This article recounts the tragic Donner Party, a wagon train bound for California in 1846 whose members resorted to cannibalism after getting stuck in the winter snow.
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Handout
Kansas Historical Society

Beyond Lewis & Clark: The Army Explores the West

For Students 9th - 10th
This website looks at military explorers from Lewis and Clark (1804) to George Custer (1874).
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Activity
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Louisiana Purchase

For Students 3rd - 8th
This Library of Congress timeline series discusses the Louisiana Purchase.
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Handout
Other

Conner Prairie: Road Through the Wilderness: The Making of the National Road

For Students 9th - 10th
Information on the building of the National Road and its historical significance.
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Primary
Other

Emigrant Wagons Roll Westward

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource is an excerpt from the memoirs of David Arthur of his traveling to Oregon by wagon train with his parents. It was originally published in an Oregon newspaper in 1889.
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Southwest Literacy Unit

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart is a literacy unit based around a Southwest / Westward Expansion Theme. Native Americans, pioneers, and the old west is covered. 8 different literacy strategies are taught with FULL...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Whose Land Is This? Webisode 8

For Students 9th - 10th
From Joy Hakim's marvelous set of books, A History of US, this webisode offers narrative, pictures, and teaching guides for the settling of the West after the Civil War.

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