The new century saw the United States transformed by exponential growth through land acquisitions in the West. This expansion resulted in harm to Native Americans and continued the debate on the “peculiar institution” of slavery. To understand the impact of westward expansion on the United States as a whole, the student will utilize the knowledge and skills set forth in the following indicators:
Standards and Indicators
4-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of westward expansion of the United States and its impact on the institution of slavery.
4-5.1: Summarize the major expeditions that played a role in westward expansion including those of Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Zebulon Pike.
4-5.2: Explain the motivations and methods of migrants and immigrants, who moved West, including economic opportunities, the availability of rich land, and the country’s belief in Manifest Destiny.
4-5.3: Explain the purpose, location, and impact of key United States acquisitions in the first half of the nineteenth century, including the Louisiana Purchase, the Florida Purchase, the Oregon Treaty, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican Cession.
4-5.4: Summarize how territorial expansion, related land policies, and specific legislation affected Native Americans, including the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
4-5.5: Explain how the Missouri Compromise, the fugitive slave laws, the annexation of Texas, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision affected the institution of slavery in the United States and its territories.