1 Unit 1 The Great American West

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools

American History 2
The Great American West (1865 1889)
Conceptual Lens: Exploration and Growth
Author: Drew Hammill
Unit Overview:
The events of the Civil War were still fresh in the minds of Americans as hundreds of thousands. Migrated West. The American West was a place
where the untamed wilderness could be mapped, given order, and then made useful, but settlers were unprepared to deal with the landscape and
hardships that followed. To encourage westward development, the government implemented policies to encourage settlement and help farmers,
laborers, miners, and ranchers in claiming the West. Because they had already occupied the land for centuries, Native Americans and Mexicans
each had their own ideas of land ownership and often came into conflict with Western settlers. Native Americans viewed the land as sacred, while
Americans proclaimed that the land was theirs for the taking. As settlers populated the West, farmers were at the mercy of economic forces, the
weather, and politics. The Populist Party became an important weapon for frustrated farmers to influence elections and advocate for progressive
change at the national level.

[Unit 1]

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Essential Understandings (Generalizations) and Guiding (Essential) Questions:

Industrialization can impact people, the environment, and the economy.

a. How did the invention of the steel plow, mechanical reaper, and wind mill, change the environment?
b. What role did economic instability play in impacting the lives of farmers?
c. How did the invention of the railroad both positively and negatively impact the lives of individuals in the West?

The government may create policies that encourage settlement and economic growth.

a. What acts of policies were created to encourage Western settlement?

b. How did the government create crises with economic policy?
c. What impact did government policy have on the lives of Native Americans?

Different groups of people may be affected in different ways by settlement and economic growth.

a. Why did the government try to assimilate Native Americans?

b. How did Native Americans respond to western settlement?
c. In what ways did Native Americans attempt to maintain their culture heritage despite massive change?
d. How did economic instability unite farmers to address common problems?
e. How can economically and socially oppressed groups make their voice heard?

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Unit Vocabulary

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

Environment Massacre Homestead Act

Money Alliances Morrill Land Grant Act
Friend Reservation Oklahoma Land Rush
Battle Assimilate Steel Plow
Fight Inflation Barbed Wire
Farm Populism Jacksons Frontier Thesis
Speech Immigration Transcontinental Railroad
Court Settlement Sod Houses
Technology Chief Joseph
A Century of Dishonor
Dawes Act
Assimilation
Battle of Little Bighorn
Massacre at Wounded Knee
Buffalo Soldiers
Bimetallism
The Gold Standard
The Grange
Omaha Platform
Wabash vs. Illinois
Interstate Commerce Act
Munn vs. Illinois
Cross of Gold Speech
Election of 1896

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Key People
William Jennings Bryan General Custer
William McKinley Crazy Horse
Helen Hunt Jackson Sitting Bull
Fredrick Jackson Turner

By the end of this unit, students should be able to state

Identify who migrated west and what problems they experience
Explain how the experiences of settlers impacted their successes or failures
Assess why different groups of people have such varied experiences as they migrated
Map how the environment of the West impacted the success of the settlers
Evaluate how the migration of people brought about change in the West
Identify what caused individuals or groups to migrate
Assess the impact of settlement in the West and the positive or negative for the individuals
Trace the plight of the American farmer and explain how they were so different from that of other Americans
Explain why so many farmers supported Populism
Identify how economically oppressed groups make their voices heard politically
Compare technological innovations that changed the lives of farmers with new industrial technology
Assess the successes and failures of the Populist Party

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Performance Tasks and Scoring Guides/Rubric

Generalizations:
Industrialization can impact people, the environment, and the economy.
The government may create policies that encourage settlement and economic growth.
Different groups of people may be affected in different ways by settlement and economic growth.

What: At the end of the unit students will be able to explain how Westward Expansion changed Americas perceptions of themselves and their role in the World
Why: To assess understanding of the connection from the US Westward Expansion and its impact on Native Americans
How: Students will be able to create and present an exhibit for a new Museum on Westward Expansion. In this exhibit students will demonstrate their content knowledge and
ability to answer one of the five essential questions in the unit.

Performance Task Summary:

Plans to launch a Westward Expansion Museum are in the works. You are a member of the committee tasked with creating the exhibits for the museum. Your goal is to create
an exhibit for visitors giving them an overview of the important people, events, and accomplishments of the time period. The ultimate goal is for visitors (historians and
otherwise) to understand how Westward Expansion impacted Americas perception of themselves and the nations role in the World.

You will have incredible freedom as you design your exhibits as the committee has not yet decided on formats for these exhibits members have suggested modes ranging from
pamphlets to video presentations. One thing that we do know is that each small group will be responsible for answering one essential question about Expansion in their exhibit.

In order to ensure that the final exhibit proposals will be exemplary, the committee has each small group to produce drafts of their exhibit to present their ideas to another
group. Using a peer review form, each group will receive feedback about their proposed exhibit. You will be paired with other groups who have answered the same essential
question as you and ultimately advance the best idea for revisions and completion. In total, five exhibits will be featured in the museum.

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Performance Task Criteria:

1. Form small groups as directed by your teacher.

2. Select your essential question (randomly) from the following list. This is the big question your group will be addressing in your final Museum exhibit.
Why do people move?
How do geography and topography affect travel and settlement?
Why did some survive and prosper in the West while others did not?
Who were the winners and who were the losers in the settlement of the West?
What happens when cultures collide?
How did Westward Expansion change

3. Use the attached template to outline what your exhibit will look like and include. Be sure to complete each part of the template, as it will assist you in reporting out to
the other groups. (Be sure to refer back to any materials you have on Westward Expansion)

4. Present your proposal to the other groups. Use the Peer Review form to assess the other groups outlines. Each group should get between 3 and 5 minutes to pitch their
ideas. Remember that you are looking for historical content, aesthetic appeal, and whether the exhibit addressed the Essential Question. At the end of the process,
there will be one exhibit that has the greatest potential to attract and inform visitors. Since there are five groups in the class, there will be five exhibits total that are
taken to completion. The exhibit that your group chooses during this process will become the shared product of the newly formed group.

5. Using revisions suggested from the Peer Review forms, implement your groups exhibit idea to be presented to the whole committee (class). Specific roles for creating
your exhibit appear below.

6. At the conclusion of this project, each group will submit their completed exhibit outline, the peer review form(s) that they received from another group or groups and
all materials included in their final exhibit presentation.

Group Roles and Responsibilities

Team Leader
Monitors work of other group members. Facilitates discussion and fills in other roles on an as needed basis.
Expected product(s) to be submitted: written group report summarizing group members efforts throughout process of exhibit creation, final exhibit

Researcher (2)
Locates information to be included in the groups presentation both from class notes and beyond.
Expected product(s) to be submitted: research notes and works cited list

Writer
Uses researchers notes to create script / presentation. Collaborates with team leader to produce exhibit.
Expected product(s) to be submitted: draft script / exhibit

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Editor
Reviews the work of the writer and team leader. Makes necessary edits and revisions. Receives final approval for all changes from team leader.
Expected product(s) to be submitted: writers draft of exhibit and presenters draft artists statement with evidence of changes / revisions made

Presenter
Prepares artists statement explaining the choices that the group made while constructing their exhibit to the class.
Expected product(s) to be submitted: written artists statement, class presentation

Performance Task Rubric:

Expansion Museum Exhibit and Presentation Rubric

Criteria 4 3
Content Content was consistently appropriate,
accurate, and carefully chosen.
Information was drawn from multiple,
credible sources.
Perspective Answer to the Essential Question was
insightful, clear and effective. Shows a
sophisticated understanding of the
question.
Aesthetics Exhibit format was appropriate and
carefully chosen. Exhibit was
aesthetically pleasing, organized, and
free of errors.
Content was generally
appropriate, accurate, and
carefully chosen. Information
was drawn from more than one
credible source.
Answer to the Essential Question
was somewhat clear and
effective. It shows a general
understanding of the question
being asked.
Exhibit format was appropriate.
Exhibit was mostly aesthetically
pleasing and organized with few
errors.
2 1
Content was partially
appropriate, accurate, and
carefully chosen.
Information was drawn from
one credible source.
Students did not have a clear
answer to the Essential
Question.
Exhibit format was not
carefully chosen. Exhibit was
lacking in organization and
included some errors.
Content was inaccurate or
inappropriate. No credible
sources were used for
information.
Students did not attempt to
answer the essential
question.
The exhibit was not
organized and was not
aesthetically pleasing.

Creativity Exhibit was creative and original.
Showed imaginative design and use of
materials.
Pitch/Presentation Pitch was extremely persuasive and
gave the audience a clear overview of
the exhibit. Presentation of final exhibit
was engaging, detailed, and organized.
It was, clear and easy to follow.
Exhibit was mostly creative and
original. Showed a degree of
imaginative design.
Pitch was fairly persuasive and
gave the audience a somewhat
clear overview of the exhibit.
Presentation was mostly
engaging and organized. It was
mostly clear and easy to follow.
Exhibit was lacking in
creativity and originality. Did
not show imaginative design.
Pitch was lacking in
persuasive techniques and
did not give the audience a
clear overview of the exhibit.
Presentation was engaging
and organized to a limited
extent. It was difficult to
follow.
Exhibit was not creative or
original.
Pitch was not persuasive and
did not explain the museum
exhibit. Presentation was
disorganized and difficult to
follow.

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Unit Resources
Unit Number- 1
The Great American West
Resource Title
Stanford History Experiment
Short primary document sets
for all topics
Homesteading in the West
William Jennings Bryan and
the Cross of Gold
Cross of Gold Speech excerpt
Native American Removal
Native American Battles on
the Plains
Native Americans battles on
the plains
Native Americans and the
Mascot controversy
History of Native American
resistance
Frontier Life
The West PBS Video Series
Populist Political Cartoon
Index
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Location
http://sheg.stanford.edu/us
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/prairie-
settlement/file.html
http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bryan.html
http://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/william-jennings-
bryans-cross-of-gold-speech/
http://civics.sites.unc.edu/files/2012/05/IndianRemoval11.pdf
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/american-indian-
wars
http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/printable/section.asp?id=6
http://americanindiantah.com/lesson_plans/ml_mascots.html
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/indian_remov
al/removal_teacher.cfm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/frontierlife/essay1.html
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/
http://clio.missouristate.edu/wrmiller/populism/pCartoon/index.htm
Summary
Several primary document activities for essential content
for the unit
Overview of primary documents short enough to use in
class. All links work
Pictures and letters from homesteading families in
Nebraska.
Primary document analysis with images and short excerpts
Speech given by Bryan at the 1986 Democratic convention
Several activities that highlight Native American removal
using primary documents and collaboration.
Modern videos and overview with articles on Native
American resistance.
Images and short summaries of battles between the Sioux
and the American army
Plans and resources for linking Native American history to
modern day controversies. Great series of lessons that can
be edited to fit time frames.
History with maps, images, and short documents that trace
the history of Native Americans in the west
Great small essays and images for getting students to
understand the difficulties of life on the frontier.
PBS video series on The West with episode guides and
breakdown by segment.
Several common political cartoons on the Populist
movement