Westward
Expansion and the Indian Removal Act
A
Project Critical Webquest
Ms.
Hefty –
Introduction:
Between 1790 and 1830 the
population of Georgia increased to six times its original size! The
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:
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.