Lesniak Lesson Manifest Destiny

8/18/2019 Lesniak Lesson Manifest Destiny

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Manifest Destiny

Focus:

This lesson will focus on the vision of Manifest Destiny, which took place in the United States in the mid-

nineteenth century. John L. O’Sullivan first coined the phrase in 1839 in an article written in The United

States Democratic Review. Sullivan argued that America was God’s chosen nation and its people weredestined for supremacy and greatness. This could be achieved, according to Sullivan, by expanding

westward and spreading democracy along the way. This concept marked a very influential moment forour country’s development and growth. Therefore, it is vital to examine its causes and effects on the

nation at the time of westward expansion and in the years to follow. Today’s lesson will accommodate

several learning styles because it will involve visual, auditory, and written learning. The vital theme and

narrative that applies to the lesson is “Human interaction with the environment”. Americans were

discovering new land to the west and establishing themselves there. There was much interaction with theenvironment that led to economic prosperity and hardships, along with social and political developments.

The historical habit of mind that applies to this lesson is, “perceive past events and issues as they were

experienced by people at the time, to develop historical empathy as opposed to present-mindedness”. The

America in the mid-nineteenth century is very different from the America we know today. Slavery wasstill very active and enforced in the south and some parts of the west. Moving was a much more difficult

and strenuous process for families, and often times took an agonizing toll on the health and well being of

some individuals. Other aspects, such as religion and communication, played a major role in this period

of our nation’s history. It is imperative to understand the timeframe of Manifest Destiny and how it

affected the people and society as a whole at that time. Much of today’s lesson will be based around a

painting created in 1872 entitled, American Progress, by John Gast.

Vital Theme and Narrative:

Human interaction with the environment.

Historical Habit of Mind:

Perceive past events and issues as they were experienced by people at the time, to develop historicalempathy as opposed to present-mindedness.

NCSS Theme:

Time, continuity, and change.

Objectives:

• The students will gain an understanding of the causes and motivation to move west, as well as

understanding the effects this settlement had on individuals and the country as a whole.

• The students will interpret history in their own view through the analysis of a painting.

Instructional:

• Describe the means of travel in the late 1830’s and 1840’s.

• Examine the motivation for Americans to move west.• Describe the influence advertising had on Manifest Destiny.

Expressive:

• Interpret the message portrayed in Gast’s painting.

• What were the effects of this event in American history?

• If you were alive during this time period, would you have moved west? Why or why not?

Learning Standard:

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16.A.4a: Analyze and report historical events to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

Procedure:

• Much of this lesson’s procedure will be completed in small groups. After which the class will

come together as a large group for a discussion.

Set Induction (5 minutes):

• Discuss the following:

1. What can we learn from primary sources?2. How can a picture explore events in our history?

Beginning (10 minutes):

• Pass out and read aloud, the excerpt from the article by John L. O’Sullivan in, The United States

Democratic Review (see attached handout).

• On the board, write down reasons why Americans should move west based off of the reading and

other knowledge acquired in previous lessons. Point out the main ideas from the reading.

Middle (20 minutes):

• Pass out “ American Progress” analysis guide (see attached handout), while bringing up the

picture on the projector.

• Give students 5 minutes to answer the first three questions prior to the analysis of the picture.

• Have students share their responses with a partner briefly

• Discuss the first three questions as a large group

• The students will complete the remaining seven questions on the analysis guide in their small

groups I will circulate around the room and answer any questions posed by students.

End (13 minutes):

• Discuss the analysis guide answers as a large group by going around to each small group and

having them answer one of the seven questions.

• If time permits, make a list on the board of how expansion westward would create more tension

in the United States and how this affected the country. Causes of Civil War.

Assessment:

• Collect the analysis guides from the students and grade their work based on effort and

thoroughness.

Sources:

• http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/osulliva.htm excerpt from Democratic Review.

• Google Image search Painting of John Gast’s, American Progress to show on overhead

projector. ***I will have a transparency of this painting prepared in the event that technology

fails in the classroom.

• Classroom textbook - McDougal Littell, The Americans, (Illinois, 2007).

Materials:

• Students will need their notebooks to take notes reasons for westward expansion and effects of

Manifest Destiny.

• Computer access with projection or transparency with overhead projector displaying the painting.

Accommodations:

• Accommodations will be made for students with special needs by placing the stronger students in

the same groups as those students who may struggle with the assignment.

• During the beginning of the lesson, I will pose questions and provide clarification in regards to

the excerpt by John L. O’Sullivan (highlight main ideas).

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• Have seating available in the front of the classroom for those students that may struggle to see the

picture clearly from the projector.

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John L. O'Sullivan on Manifest Destiny, 1839

Excerpted from "The Great Nation of Futurity," The United States Democratic Review

The American people having derived their origin from many other nations, and the Declaration

of National Independence being entirely based on the great principle of human equality, these

facts demonstrate at once our disconnected position as regards any other nation; that we have, inreality, but little connection with the past history of any of them, and still less with all antiquity,

its glories, or its crimes. On the contrary, our national birth was the beginning of a new history,

the formation and progress of an untried political system, which separates us from the past andconnects us with the future only; and so far as regards the entire development of the natural

rights of man, in moral, political, and national life, we may confidently assume that our country

is destined to be the great nation of futurity.

It is so destined, because the principle upon which a nation is organized fixes its destiny, and that

of equality is perfect, is universal. It presides in all the operations of the physical world, and it is

also the conscious law of the soul -- the self-evident dictates of morality, which accurately

defines the duty of man to man, and consequently man's rights as man. Besides, the truthfulannals of any nation furnish abundant evidence, that its happiness, its greatness, its duration,

were always proportionate to the democratic equality in its system of government. . . .

What friend of human liberty, civilization, and refinement, can cast his view over the past history

of the monarchies and aristocracies of antiquity, and not deplore that they ever existed? What philanthropist can contemplate the oppressions, the cruelties, and injustice inflicted by them on

the masses of mankind, and not turn with moral horror from the retrospect?

America is destined for better deeds. It is our unparalleled glory that we have no reminiscences

of battle fields, but in defence of humanity, of the oppressed of all nations, of the rights ofconscience, the rights of personal enfranchisement. Our annals describe no scenes of horrid

carnage, where men were led on by hundreds of thousands to slay one another, dupes and victims

to emperors, kings, nobles, demons in the human form called heroes. We have had patriots to

defend our homes, our liberties, but no aspirants to crowns or thrones; nor have the American people ever suffered themselves to be led on by wicked ambition to depopulate the land, to

spread desolation far and wide, that a human being might be placed on a seat of supremacy.

We have no interest in the scenes of antiquity, only as lessons of avoidance of nearly all their

examples. The expansive future is our arena, and for our history. We are entering on its

untrodden space, with the truths of God in our minds, beneficent objects in our hearts, and with aclear conscience unsullied by the past. We are the nation of human progress, and who will, what

can, set limits to our onward march? Providence is with us, and no earthly power can. We point

to the everlasting truth on the first page of our national declaration, and we proclaim to themillions of other lands, that "the gates of hell" -- the powers of aristocracy and monarchy --

"shall not prevail against it."

The far-reaching, the boundless future will be the era of American greatness. In its magnificentdomain of space and time, the nation of many nations is destined to manifest to mankind the

excellence of divine principles; to establish on earth the noblest temple ever dedicated to the


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worship of the Most High -- the Sacred and the True. Its floor shall be a hemisphere -- its roof

the firmament of the star-studded heavens, and its congregation an Union of many Republics,comprising hundreds of happy millions, calling, owning no man master, but governed by God's

natural and moral law of equality, the law of brotherhood -- of "peace and good will amongst

men.". . .

Yes, we are the nation of progress, of individual freedom, of universal enfranchisement. Equality

of rights is the cynosure of our union of States, the grand exemplar of the correlative equality of

individuals; and while truth sheds its effulgence, we cannot retrograde, without dissolving theone and subverting the other. We must onward to the fulfilment of our mission -- to the entire

development of the principle of our organization -- freedom of conscience, freedom of person,

freedom of trade and business pursuits, universality of freedom and equality. This is our highdestiny, and in nature's eternal, inevitable decree of cause and effect we must accomplish it. All

this will be our future history, to establish on earth the moral dignity and salvation of man -- the

immutable truth and beneficence of God. For this blessed mission to the nations of the world,

which are shut out from the life-giving light of truth, has America been chosen; and her high

example shall smite unto death the tyranny of kings, hierarchs, and oligarchs, and carry the gladtidings of peace and good will where myriads now endure an existence scarcely more enviable

than that of beasts of the field. Who, then, can doubt that our country is destined to be the greatnation of futurity?

Source:http://www.civics-online.org/library/formatted/texts/manifest_destiny.html


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American ProgressAnalysis of John Gast’s 1872 painting

Questions to consider before analysis:

1. Why would Americans want to move west?

2. Describe the means of travel during this time period. Does this have an effect on the

decision to move west?

3. Explain the role of advertising during this time period. How is it similar and different

from today’s advertisement techniques?

Analyzing American Progress:

1. John O’Sullivan coined the phrase “Manifest Destiny” and described America as being

God’s chosen nation. How does Gast’s painting illustrate this belief?

2. Who is the intended audience?

3. What does the female figure represent?

4. What does she have in her hands and on her forehead? What do they symbolize?

5. What group is being portrayed as inferior? How do you know this?

6. What group of people is completely left out of the painting? Why?

7. Describe the use of light and shading in this painting. What is its purpose?


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American ProgressAnalysis of John Gast’s 1872 painting

Questions to consider before analysis:

1. Why would Americans want to move west?• Panic of 1837 avoid creditors and seek employment.

• Claim cheap land for farming.

• Locate harbors that could be used for possible trade depots with China.

• Spread democracy.

• Self-make achieve the “American Dream.”

2. Describe the means of travel during this time period. Does this have an effect on the

decision to move west?

• Transcontinental RR was not completed until 1869.

• Travel was through horse and buggy, carriage, and walking.

• Long journeys that required reliance on nature and the land during the

move hunting, picking fruit, (Oregon Trail stuff).

• Made decision to move west tough because of the immediate, but likely

permanent change in lifestlye.

3. Explain the role of advertising during this time period. How is it similar and different

from today’s advertisement techniques?

• George Crofutt engraved and distributed Gast’s painting widely

• Gast’s painting was not created until 1872.

•

Attempted to encourage the expansion of the United States create a morepowerful nation with larger trading networks.

• Similar exemplifies the positives, while leaving out negative side effects.

• Different ability to spread the word/ideas in a fast and efficient fashion

• Different racism evident Native Americans, African Americans.

Analyzing American Progress:

1. John O’Sullivan coined the phrase “Manifest Destiny” and described America as beingGod’s chosen nation. How does Gast’s painting illustrate this belief?

2. Who is the intended audience?

3. What does the female figure represent?

4. What does she have in her hands and on her forehead? What do they symbolize?

5. What group is being portrayed as inferior? How do you know this?


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6. What group of people is completely left out of the painting? Why?

7. Describe the use of light and shading in this painting. What is its purpose?


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1

Stev

HIS 551/Dr. Rober

e Lesniak

t Johnston

12/08/08

Manifest Destiny Through the Eyes of the Beholder

When high school students are asked to identify some key moments in American

History, they usually can rehash the conflicts that our nation has encountered: the

Revolutionary War, the Civil War, both World Wars, and perhaps the Vietnam War. These

events in our nations history have been examined thoroughly in their previous history

classes, and are often the bulk of discussion in most textbooks. They are undoubtedly

essential topics to grasp the political transformations of the United States. One vital

lingering question remains for these students. How can one fully comprehend the

magnitude of these great conflicts without first analyzing their root causes?

The basis for which I have chosen the topic for my lesson plan looks to address this

question. In this case, I have chosen Manifest Destiny to examine not only the causes of the

Civil War, but also the social transformations that affected so many. Too many students

make the false assumption that the Civil War was simply fought over slavery. They also

may believe that all northerners believed slavery was morally wrong, while all southerners

believed that the Anglo‐American race was far superior to that of African‐Americans. In

order to rectify this misunderstanding, students must first be given the opportunity to

explore sources outside of the political realm. In conjunction with this, students need to

understand how our society in America functions today, and in order to do so we must

examine the past to see how America evolved to be what it is today.

Manifest Destiny serves as an appropriate topic to examine westward expansion

because it provides the opportunity to analyze this monumental period in history through


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several different avenues. Students will be able to analyze John L. O’Sullivan’s piece printed

in The United States Democratic Review and understand the role of religion, particularly

Christianity. Issues of class and race are evident through the use of John Gast’s American

Progress. Both of the aforementioned resources provide students with the opportunity to

examine primary sources and most importantly, draw their own conclusions.

Furthermore, this analysis digs deeper than just the issues of politics and key figures, giving

students a well‐balanced account of history.

I chose Manifest Destiny as the topic for my lesson because I believe it serves as a

great rite of passage for discussion on the growth of America. Growth not only in the literal

sense (obtaining new lands from France, Mexico, and Great Britain), but also politically and

socially. In his book, What Hath God Wrought , Daniel Walker Howe examines the political

and social transformations and credits the Antebellum Era as being a “Communications

Revolution” as opposed to an “Age of Jackson.” 1 This growth fueled the tension and

division between the North and the South and I think it is essential for students to grasp

these concepts in order to better comprehend the chain of events in American History.

Lastly, the idea of Manifest Destiny is directed at the common person, rather than the elite

class, providing a natural bottom‐up approach, which has been a refreshing way to examine

history. This approach is evident in Patricia Cline Cohen’s book, The Murder of Helen

Jewett , which explained the social transformations in New York through the life of a

prostitute. Additionally, through its analysis students can see the social stratification that

existed among races, particularly through Gast’s, American Progress.

1 Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815 -1848,

(New York, 2007), 5.


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There are several primary sources to choose from to study this time period. I chose

an excerpt by John L. O’Sullivan’s piece from The United States Democratic Review , because

this will serve as an excellent set induction to get students to start thinking about why

people would move west. This source also ties in with the role of Christianity because of

the reference to America being “God’s chosen nation.” I like to raise the issue of religion in

class while analyzing this document because many students do not understand how much

religion influenced the lives of ordinary people in the 19th century. Often times, this can

initiate discussion about religion in the United States and around the World today.

Additionally, I pose questions to students about why Americans would move west and this

allows ts already know abme to assess what my studen out westward expansion.

I chose John Gast’s painting, American Progress because it offers a great opportunity

for students to draw their own conclusions and make inferences. Students have a tendency

to believe everything they read, which can lead to a misleading understanding of history.

Gast’s painting is a non‐traditional primary source, in that it is not a written document, but

rather a painting. Many students have the misconception that primary sources can only be

written documents, and this painting proves that belief to be false.

Analyzing primary sources is crucial to teaching history because it allows students

to draw their own conclusions. Rather than have the teacher tell the students what

happened, I want students to offer their own insights into these topics. I encourage them to

take a chance and make a bold statement, which may be contrary to popular belief, because

doing so forces them to think critically. This type of analysis is more beneficial to students

than rote memorization because it involves a higher level of thinking. Furthermore, it is


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simply more fun to teach this way, as opposed to using a PowerPoint presentation for

students to use to take notes.

This approach can have its setbacks, especially for students that are taking U.S.

History simply because it is a graduation requirement. These students tend to be

unmotivated when it comes to analyzing anything, and they may ask the question, “Why

should I care about something that happened so long ago?” This has and will continue to be

a constant struggle for me as a teacher, and that is why I try to relate the content and issues

to the students’ lives and the World today. Some students will struggle with the reading, or

not feel comfortable sharing answers because they feel they may be wrong. To alleviate

some of these problems, I will put students in groups and continually circulate the

classroom, ensuring that everyone is engaged in the assignment. Some students are more

comfortable talking in a smaller group setting, while others prefer the “big stage.” My

intent with this lesson is to accommodate all of my students and their various learning

strengths.

The assessment in this lesson is rather subjective because it requires that students

interpret primary sources. This method allows students to feel like they can express their

opinions as long as they can justify and support their claim with evidence. One of the

biggest struggles for students at Elk Grove High School is their lack of accountability. This

assessment puts the “ball in their court” so to speak and takes away the pressure of

selecting one correct answer. Rather it provides students with the opportunity to think

critically and receive credit for their efforts, instead of basing it solely on retaining and

rehashing content.

Documents

Lesniak Lesson Manifest Destiny