06: Expansion and Sectionalism

06: Expansion and Sectionalism

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Original Sources - An Anti-Slavery Protest (1837)
Original Sources - An Anti-Slavery Protest (1837)
William Channing's letter to Henry Clay opposing the annexation of Texas not only makes arguments against the spread of slavery, but shows a different understanding of the "purpose" of the "forwarding of the Revolution", the elevation of society and the working class - this language can support a progressive vision of government or white supremacy in promoting white labor over slavery
Original Sources - An Anti-Slavery Protest (1837)
The war in Texas; a review of facts and circumstances, showing that this contest in the result of a long premeditated crusade against the government, set on foot by slaveholders, land speculators, &c. with the view of re-establishing, extending, and perpe
The war in Texas; a review of facts and circumstances, showing that this contest in the result of a long premeditated crusade against the government, set on foot by slaveholders, land speculators, &c. with the view of re-establishing, extending, and perpe
Ben Lundy, the man who inspired William Lloyd Garrison and then was forgotten by the taught narrative canon, argues against Texas Annexation and support for Texas in its war for Independence against Mexico. The language in this 62 page document includes descriptions of the slave power conspiracy - detailing how those opposed to slavery saw a concerted operation between "hirelings" in the press to distort Texas independence as a fight for liberty when it was exactly the opposite. He describes the cooperation between the executive and legislative branches of government, controlled by slave owners.
The war in Texas; a review of facts and circumstances, showing that this contest in the result of a long premeditated crusade against the government, set on foot by slaveholders, land speculators, &c. with the view of re-establishing, extending, and perpe
Mexican-American War - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints
Mexican-American War - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints
The last two paragraphs of this description of the Mexican-American war presents a perspective of the War ignored by the taught narrative canon. To Mormons who had escaped the United States to Utah to practice their religion in peace, the Mexican War brought them again under the control of the US government, putting them again in the position of defending their right to practice their religion
Mexican-American War - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints
Affidavits on Pottawatomie Massacre
Affidavits on Pottawatomie Massacre
This is the affidavit of both Martha and John Doyle. Martha's husband James, and her sons William and Drury were murdered by John Brown and his sons in June of 1855. This evidence can be put alongside the failed Harper's Ferry raid in an effort to understand who John Brown was, what he did - and how we can remember him.
Affidavits on Pottawatomie Massacre
A Congressman "Pleads the Case of White Men" · Wilmot's "White Man's Proviso"
A Congressman "Pleads the Case of White Men" · Wilmot's "White Man's Proviso"
How many teachers reveal the backstory to Wilmot's "proviso". It's easy and safe to only say that this is an attempt by northern congressmen to stop the expansion of slavery. It is more difficult to call this a racist attempt to keep black people out of the west. Which of these two radically different interpretations is the intended effect and which is the collateral effect?
A Congressman "Pleads the Case of White Men" · Wilmot's "White Man's Proviso"
Westward Expansion, 1790–1850 | PBS LearningMedia
Westward Expansion, 1790–1850 | PBS LearningMedia
Interactive maps that allows users to set elements (canals, railroads, states, cities, territories) across seven different decades. Informative and easy to manipulate.
Westward Expansion, 1790–1850 | PBS LearningMedia
Westward Expansion, 1860–1890 | PBS LearningMedia
Westward Expansion, 1860–1890 | PBS LearningMedia
Interactive maps that allows users to set elements (canals, railroads, states, cities, territories) across seven different decades. Informative and easy to manipulate.
Westward Expansion, 1860–1890 | PBS LearningMedia
The Gaze on Vimeo
The Gaze on Vimeo
This video has no narrative, no speech, it's just music and image. These are extended shots of the cast of the Amazon series "The Underground Railroad" shot to capture the look of the ancestors of the cast, crew, writers & directors. History teachers struggle to bring the humanity of history to their students just like these filmakers are trying to capture the humanity of their ancestors, lost to history or merely labeled as "enslaved"
The Gaze on Vimeo
Network to Freedom (U.S. National Park Service)
Network to Freedom (U.S. National Park Service)
This is the home site to the National Park Service's effort to recognize and commemorate the underground railroad. The fact that this effort did not surface until 1998 shows how history is as much about the present as it is about the past. This country has slavery for hundreds of years, yet there was no collective, public effort to interpret the stories of those who escaped slavery until the end of the 20th century
Network to Freedom (U.S. National Park Service)
1836: A new Battle of the Alamo? - Current
1836: A new Battle of the Alamo? - Current
Short essay on the recent book "Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth" and the reaction of Texas Governor Abbott. Teachers who plow through their three bullet points on the Alamo without recognizing this bar fight over the history they're teaching are doing students a terrible disservice.
1836: A new Battle of the Alamo? - Current
Nottoway Resort - Largest Antebellum Mansion
Nottoway Resort - Largest Antebellum Mansion
Here's an easy lesson with minimal teacher work and maximum student learning. But the teacher has to have the courage to go after learning without a discernable destination. Who knows where it will go? Just have students research this house, who lived there, how many enslaved people were incarcerated here?
Nottoway Resort - Largest Antebellum Mansion
Freedom on the Move Teacher Webinar on Vimeo
Freedom on the Move Teacher Webinar on Vimeo
An hour-long video on the Freedom on the Move project, making a great case for more fugitive slave lessons to demonstrate the agency of enslaved people fighting for freedom themselves
Freedom on the Move Teacher Webinar on Vimeo
Home - National Trail of Tears Association
Home - National Trail of Tears Association
Students should know about organizations like this trying to preserve the past and share it with students today. There is also a great deal of videos and papers here to show students how deep the scholarship can go behind what for them might be a one (or two) day lesson
Home - National Trail of Tears Association
Impact of Native American Removal | Teacher Resource
Impact of Native American Removal | Teacher Resource
Several elements of this source are effective. The 3 minute video is great for 5th grade students - the Historians Perspective reading is better than any textbook summary of the Removal. Great for contextual background of another lesson
Impact of Native American Removal | Teacher Resource
Season 2: What is Manifest Destiny? - Consolation Prize
Season 2: What is Manifest Destiny? - Consolation Prize
For teachers certainly and maybe students as well. Historians show how much more there is to the term so easily thrown around in US History I classes. Sections of this could be provided to students to give them a glimpse of the complexity behind the bullet point
Season 2: What is Manifest Destiny? - Consolation Prize
Lincoln-Douglas Jonesboro Debate | C-SPAN.org
Lincoln-Douglas Jonesboro Debate | C-SPAN.org
Although most teachers and students could not sit through all three hours of this debate reenactment, both should watch about 3 minutes of the actor playing Abraham Lincoln. The tome, pitch and accent of his voice matches most contemporary descriptions
Lincoln-Douglas Jonesboro Debate | C-SPAN.org
About this Collection | Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 | Digital Collections | Library of Congress
About this Collection | Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 | Digital Collections | Library of Congress
There is an extensive exhibit at the Library of Congress explain the collection and describing the advantages and disadvantages of using it to understand the past. This is a link to digitized copies. Why not have students dig into the raw material of the narratives themselves to see what they can find?
About this Collection | Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 | Digital Collections | Library of Congress
Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions | Sydney Howard Gay’s "Record of Fugitives"
Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions | Sydney Howard Gay’s "Record of Fugitives"
The Record of Fugitives is a treasure trove of information about how and why slaves escaped, who assisted them, and where they were sent from New York. It contains references to well-known individuals like Harriet Tubman, who passed through New York City twice during these years, and little-known figures such as Louis Napoleon, a black porter who worked in Gay’s office and was the key operative in meeting fugitives who arrived in New York and assisting them on their journeys to freedom. But at its heart lie the arresting stories of the fugitives themselves, as Gay, an accomplished journalist, recorded them.
Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions | Sydney Howard Gay’s "Record of Fugitives"
“The Whole Land is Full of Blood”: The Thomas Sims Case (U.S. National Park Service)
“The Whole Land is Full of Blood”: The Thomas Sims Case (U.S. National Park Service)
Follow the remarkable life of one man to learn about slavery, the fugitive slave clause and how difficult it is to judge people of the past - Look for Charles Devens - the US Marshall that returned Sims to slavery alter hired him as a messenger at the Justice Dept
“The Whole Land is Full of Blood”: The Thomas Sims Case (U.S. National Park Service)
The corrupt nostalgia of “My Old Kentucky Home” | Salon.com
The corrupt nostalgia of “My Old Kentucky Home” | Salon.com
What do American have to understand about the past to make sense of their present? This reading is vehicle that uses a popular cultural icon of tradition in a national sporting event to explore that question
The corrupt nostalgia of “My Old Kentucky Home” | Salon.com
My Old Kentucky Home, Porch Session No.1 on Vimeo
My Old Kentucky Home, Porch Session No.1 on Vimeo
Teachers can see if students recognize all that's wrong in this short video of a musical presentation on the back porch of the tourist site promoted as "My Old Kentucky Home". This is a mythologized, sanitized representation of music written by Stephen Foster.
My Old Kentucky Home, Porch Session No.1 on Vimeo