Westward Expansion and the Indian Removal Act

A Project Critical Webquest

Ms. Hefty –

 

Trail of Tears
 

 


Introduction:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between 1790 and 1830 the population of Georgia increased to six times its original size!  The United States was still a very young country but they needed some “elbow room”… so they pushed west!  There was so much land!  There were so many things to be discovered!  But the western push of the settlers created a problem.  The settlers began taking Native American lands and forced them out of their homes and into the frontier. 

In 1830 the Congress of the United States passed the “Indian Removal Act.”  President Jackson quickly signed the bill into law.  The Cherokees, a Native American tribe, attempted to fight removal legally by challenging the removal laws in the Supreme Court.  After a few years of debate, the government ordered the removal the Cherokees to the “Indian Territory”, which is now the state of Oklahoma. In one of the saddest parts of our country’s history, men, women, and children were taken from their land and forced to march a thousand miles on a journey that became known as “Nunna dual Tsuny” or “The Trail of Tears”.

          Many people in the 21st century now regard this whole episode as an outrageous civil rights violation that was unconstitutional and should never have been allowed to happen. Other people feel that the policies adopted represented the views and attitudes of people of the early 19th century and should be viewed in that light. Your job will be to analyze the issues regarding the resettlement of Native Americans and the policies adopted by the U.S. government during the first half of the 19th century. It is hoped that you will gain a valuable insight into the factors that caused these actions to be taken.

Imagine yourself transported back to the 1830’s as a reporter interviewing Native Americans walking along the “trail of tears” to Oklahoma. What would you ask them? How might they respond? You can incorporate all of this into your product and report.

 

 

 

 

 


Task:

 

 

 

 

 

 

You and your group will work together to become “Expert Comparative Analyst”.  You will study the issues involved in the conflicts between Native Americans and settlers moving in from the East Coast. After developing an understanding of the issues, you will analyze the policies adopted by the U.S. government to deal with these issues. Your job is to determine how effective these policies were in meeting the objectives of the government of that era. Additionally you make a comparative analysis of these actions to the question of dealing with civil rights in today’s society. In order to prove that you’ve become Expert Comparative Analysts you will use the steps outlined in the Public Policy Analyst. Finally your group will create a PowerPoint, of at least five slides, to report to the class.  Follow the steps below….

 

 

 


Process:

 

 

 

Before starting, meet with your group must decide how you will undertake this project. Most likely, you will assign group members to do specific jobs, such as internet research, developing the PowerPoint, being responsible for completing the worksheets, etc. However you should realize that everyone receives an individual grade for the project, so that is necessary to be able to identify who did what part of the project.

 

 

Step 1: Identify the Problem

First you are going to complete worksheet 1 describing the problem of Americans wanting some “elbow room” and wanting to move westward.

 

Step 2: Gather the Evidence

In step 1, you identified the problem of Americans wanting some “elbow room” and wanting to move westward.  Here’s the thing: sometimes historians disagree about the seriousness or harmfulness of this problem.  This means that you and your group will have to use the Internet to locate at least 3 different sources of evidence to prove two things: that great amounts of Americans moved westward in the 1800s and you will prove just how serious this problem was.  Complete this worksheet 2 to show your research.

 

Step 3: Determine Causes

Just like doctors try to figure out what causes diseases, you are going to try to figure out what caused the Americans to move westward.  Why did Americans want to move west?  Use the Internet to complete this worksheet 3.

 

Step 4: Evaluate the Policy

So far, you have identified how and why Americans moved westward.  Now, you are ready to begin to analyze the “Indian Removal Act” that was passed to attempt to deal with Americans moving westward.  Use the Internet to complete this worksheet 4.

 

Step 4B:  What are the benefits and costs of the “Indian Removal Act”?

The Indian Removal Act was passed because Congress and Jackson thought it was a good idea and that it would have desirable consequences.  These good consequences are called “benefits”.  As we know there were also some bad consequences… we call those “costs”.  You will evaluate the Indian Removal Act by looking at the benefits and costs.

 

Identify the benefits using this worksheet 5

 

Identify the costs using this worksheet 6

 

Be a pro and complete this worksheet 7 for your comparative analysis.

 

In completing your research, you should consider the following points:

 

Summarize the major policies and political developments that took place during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson
(A. the conflicting ideas of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton B. Louisiana Purchase)

·        Describe the election of 1828, the importance of Jacksonian democracy, and Jackson’s actions as President (A. the spoils system, B. Jackson’s veto of the National Bank, C. Jackson’s policy of Indian Removal)

·        Describe the major land acquisitions of the US during the 1800s (A. the purchase of Florida in 1819, B. the annexation of Texas in 1845 the acquisition of the Oregon Territory in 1846 C. the territorial acquisitions resulting from the Mexican War the search for gold in California D. the Gadsden purchase of 1854)

·        Explain the concept of Manifest Destiny and its relationship to westward expansion

·        Describe the Cherokee Trail of Tears

·        Explain the importance of the Transportation Revolution of the 19th century (the building of canals, roads, bridges, turnpikes, steamboats, and railroads) including the stimulus it provided to the growth of a market economy



Step 5:  Create your PowerPoint Presentation

After all your worksheets have been checked by Ms. Hefty you are ready to create your PowerPoint Presentation. This product should be at least five slides long and include the following:

 

·        A description and pictures of Westward Expansion

·        Causes of Westward Expansion

·        A description and pictures of the Indian Removal Act.

·        A chart showing the benefits and costs of the Indian Removal Act.

·        How Cherokee people felt being forced to move to the Indian Territories

·        Your group’s final analysis of the Indian Removal Act.

 

 

Remember to be creative and clearly display the information your groups has come up with on each slide.

 

 

 


Resources:

 

1.     Cherokee Trail of Tears:

2.     Indian removal

3.     History of Cherokee Indians in Georgia

4.     "the People's Paths home page!" Accounts of the "Trail of Tears"

5.     Problems Associated with Expansion Websites:-Links to websites on U.S. expansion

6.     Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual ...

7.     Indian Treaties and the Removal Act of 1830

8.     John L. O'Sullivan on Manifest Destiny, 1839

9.     Digital History-More on Manifest Destiny

 

 

 


Evaluation:

                                                This rubric will be used to grade all Task products:

         

CATEGORY

4 EXCELLENT

3 VERY GOOD    

2  SATISFACTORY

1 UNSATISFACTORY

Content - Accuracy

At least 7 accurate facts are displayed on the power point. USES ALL STEPS OF PPA

5-6 accurate facts are displayed on the power point. USES FIVE OF THE SIX STEPS OF THE PPA

3-4 accurate facts are displayed on the power point. USES ALL STEPS OF THE PPA WITH SOME ERRORS

Less than 3 accurate facts are displayed on the power point. INCORRECTLY USES OR FAILS TO USE PPA STEPS

Graphics - Relevance

All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.

All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.

All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation.

Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation.

Presentation

Preparedness

 Group is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.

Group seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.

Group is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.

Group does not seem at all prepared to present.

Knowledge Gained

Student can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the power point and processes used to create the power point.

Student can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the power point and processes used to create the power point.

Student can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the power point and processes used to create the power point.

Student appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used in the poster.

Group Cooperation

Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively all of the time.

Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively most of the time.

Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively some of the time.

Group often is not effective in delegating tasks and/or sharing responsibility.

 

Scoring Device: 

A…..20 – 18 points

B…..17 – 16 points

C…..15 – 14 points

D…..Below 14 points

 

 

Conclusion:

          You have completed a presentation about the U.S. Government’s policy of Indian removal from lands in the Southeast during the 1830’s. Hopefully you now have an understanding of the forces and factors that result in a policy being developed by the government. You have also been able to judge the success of the policy and its long term effects. You may also have developed opinions about that policy and its effects. From this point on, you can study the results of the government’s Indian policy and how it still affects the nation today. Thanks for your research and presentation for bringing this issue before many people.

 

 

Standards Addressed: 

 

Social Studies

 

NYS Social Studies Standard 1 – History of the United States and New York

NYS Social Studies Standard 3 – Geography

NYS Social Studies Standard 4 – Economics

NYS Social Studies Standard 5 – Civics, Citizenship, and Government


LANGUAGE ARTS

 

Standard 1:

 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

 

Standard 3:

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

 

Standard 4:

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Students will use oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.