¿Heroes y Traidores?

{Were these soldiers Deserters or Foreign Legions?}

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

[The San Patricios clash with their American counterparts.  Painting by Don Troiani.]

 

_________

Web Quest:

Ada Ortiz-Manzano, Walton High School:

email: AdaFromtheBronx@aol.com ; Ada_Millions@hotmail.com

             

                   I.  INTRODUCTION

 (A historical perspective)

     You will follow the events that followed the United States annexation of Texas in December of 1845.

As with the contemporary situation in today’s war on Iraq, the United States government had recruited soldiers from other countries to serve in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines.  Irish, Germans, French and Poles were serving as soldiers.

     On March 25, 1846 Zachary Taylor moved his troops towards the Río Grande and as he approached the river, Mexican forces, under Mariano Arista, fled the town of Santa Isabel and crossed into Matamoros, Mexico and the U.S. was able to occupy Santa Isabel.

     As with all wars there are several sides to any given confrontation and this situation was no different.  A U.S. officer recalls; “All were Mexicans, “…acknowledging none but Mexican laws.  Yet we drove those poor people away from their farms and seized their custom-house at Point Isabel. [ “The San Patricio  Brigade,” The World of Hibernia”; spring, 1996 –Page82] 

     The situation was also addressed several weeks later in the House of Representatives, when Abraham Lincoln, who was, at the time, an anti – war congressman from Illinois, “…asked his colleagues …what indeed they had expected to happen when the United States Army in marching to the Río Grande marched into a peaceful Mexican settlement and frightened the inhabitants away from their homes and growing crops…Possibly you consider these acts too small for notice.  Would you venture to so consider them had they been committed by any nation on earth against the humblest of our people?”

      When a congressman, or a civilian voice their opinions against a U.S.  Military policy it is considered freedom of speech. American citizens have a right to even protest and debate on behalf of the opposing side.  When a United States soldier opposes Military policy, regardless of his original nationality, he is considered a traitor and is subject to a dishonorable discharge.  If, due to a change of heart, or political stance, he switches sides, he is subject to a court-marshal.

                       … And so it was on August 28, 1847. 

       A total of sixty five men faced court-martial by the United States Army at the San Angel and Tacubaya prison camps in Mexico.  They were placed on trial and they were prosecuted for deserting from U.S. forces.   They were also convicted for fighting against the U.S. army. The U. S. Army was an occupying force in Mexico at that time.

    Almost all the men were convicted and sentenced to hang. 

They were known as The San Patricio Brigade {Battery H, 3rd U. S. Artillery}.  In Mexico they were known as El Batallón de San Patricio or the Foreign Legion Companies of Saint Patrick.  

                      In Mexico they are considered heroes…

                                      

                                           

                                              II.   TASK

      Your task is to review, read and gather information that will   

       help you to understand:

1.                                              Why these men deserted the United States Army and became Los soldados de San Patricio. They became decorated heroes to the Mexicans and most of them were of Irish descent

  2. The Mexican War and how Manifest Destiny was the underlying American  

       “Frontier” Policy

3. You will use The Teaching Interdisciplinary Problem Solving paradigm

             

                                                     TIPS: Teaching Interdisciplinary problem solving.

                                                                                  TIPS is “our vision for transforming teaching and learning.”

                                                   

                                                                     Web quest: A search on the Internet that will help us to explore a question.

                                 

                                                   Public Policy: A government action that determines what course of action will be taken to deal with a specific social issue or social problem.

                                                                    A Public Policy Analyst analyses a social problem and scrutinizes policies that are working to solve it.

 

4.  Assignment: You will produce a PowerPoint or a Chronology of Events {timeline- or Story board} on Poster paper. As a civilian you have the right to voice your opinion, protest and debate on behalf of or against American Military Policy. Your summary should include your opinion about the forces that shaped The Mexican War and the acquisition of United States territory under the Policy of Manifest Destiny.

Please note: Some of your resources may be in

Spanish and you may have to translate and interpret these materials.  You may write and present you project in Spanish.

                        

 

IV. The Process:

 

You will use American History Public Policy worksheets to explore this topic.

 

 

  Define the problem 

1. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppa/worksheet1us.html

 

  2. Gather evidence:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppa/worksheet2us.html

 

3. Determine causes

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppa/worksheet3us.html

 

4. Evaluating specific Public Policy    

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppa/worksheet4us.html

 

5. Solution: 

The U.S. Congress ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo- February 2, 1848

                

The Mexican Congress ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo- May 25, 1848

 

              

V. The Resources

 

 Aztec Club of 1847.  Military Society of the Mexican War-2001

http://www.aztecclub.com/nav1.htm 

            

http://www.aztecclub.com/   

 

http://www.aztecclub.com/toc.htm

 

 

 Lee, Roger A.  “The Mexican-American War” The History Guy 1998-2000.

<http://www.historyguy.com/Mexican-American_War.html>

 

   

The Annexation of Texas    

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Texas%20Annexation

 

 

Internet Resources:

 

Type in a “word” or “phrase”, surrounded by quotation marks and see what sites comes up for your topic. You will be amazed at the number of sites you will find.

The following search engines may assist you in your research.

 

·        Google
https://www.google.com

·        AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com

·        Excite
http://www.excite.com

·        www.askjeeves.com

 

 

You may also consult printed material and video resources although the stress of your research should be on Internet resources.

 

One helpful book is:         

 The Mexican War     “Mr. Polk’s War”  Written by: Charles W. Carey, Jr.     American War Series     Enslow Publishers, Inc.  Copyright, 2002   [Mexican War-1846-1848-    973.62]

 

 

VI-The Evaluation

The product of your task will be evaluated using the Rubric below.

 

Rubric

3

2

1

Content:

Excellent:   very good information

Competent:  Good Information

Fair:  Information is not clear

Organization:

Very  clear:   easy to understand

Clear:    Understandable

Poor:  Confusing

Visual:

Excellent

Good

Needs  improvement

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Grading system:   Total score

 

9=A+

8=A

7=B+

6=B

5=C+

4=C

3=D+

2=D

1=F

0=F

 

VIII. New York State Standards

 

This web quest focuses on the following New York State Standards:

 

Standard 1
Social Studies

Students will: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York

History of the United States
and New York

Key Idea 3: Study about the major social, political, economic, cultural, and religious developments in New York State and United States history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups.

Performance Indicators--Students will:

• research and analyze the major themes and developments in New York State and United States history (e.g., colonization and settlement; Revolution and New National Period; immigration; expansion and reform era; Civil War and Reconstruction; The American labor movement; Great Depression; World Wars; contemporary United States)

Standard 1
LOTE

Students will: be able to use a language other than English for communication.

Modern Languages

Key Idea: READING & WRITING are used in languages other than English for the purposes of socializing, providing and acquiring information, expressing personal feelings and opinions, and getting others to adopt a course of action.
                                             

Performance Indicators--Students will:

                                                                Checkpoint C

 • write multi-paragraphed essays, journals, personal and business letters, and creative texts in which their thoughts are unified and presented in an organized fashion; errors in form may occur, particularly when the students are writing about complex themes or issues requiring the expression of opinions, or when the topic is outside their realm of experiences

Standard 1
LOTE

Students will: be able to use a language other than English for communication.

Modern Languages

Key Idea: LISTENING & SPEAKING are primary communicative goals in modern language learning. These skills are used for the purposes of socializing, providing and acquiring information, expressing personal feelings and opinions, and getting others to adopt a course of action.
                                             

Performance Indicators--Students will:

                                                                  Checkpoint C

                                      • engage in extended discussions with native or fluent speakers on a broad range of topics that extend beyond   

                                         their daily lives and are of general interest to the target cultures

 

Languages Other Than English

Standard 2:   Cultures:  Gain knowledge and Understanding of other Cultures

Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings. 

Standard 3: Connections: Connect with other disciplines and Acquire Information. 

 

They will recognize and apply the different and distinctive viewpoints and presentation techniques, when 

 

doing research for defining, gathering evidence, identifying the causes, evaluating, and developing position

 

papers or opinions regarding solutions when problem solving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This web quest also focuses on the following English Language Arts Standards:

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

 

E1c: Reads and comprehends information materials

E4b: Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness

 

VI-The Conclusion

As a result of this Web Quest you should have learned about:

· The Mexican-American War.{1846-1848}

·  You should be able to understand the reasons why it was fought.

· Why the United States Army invaded and occupied Santa Isabel and Mexico City and its connection to Manifest Destiny.

· The controversial and the historical figures involved in the 

   war.

·  The Treaty of Guadalupe –Hidalgo {1848} - How did it affect both the United States of America as well as Mexico?

·  After examining the facts and reviewing your Public Policy worksheets you should be able to prepare your assignment and present your point of view or position based on your research. 

           ¡Manos a la obra!  ¡Buena suerte!