Westward Expansion through Pictures

During the first half of the 19th century, the United States acquired millions of acres of new territory, and its citizens quickly began heading west to settle these new lands.

This week , you will be looking at images and videos to build your background knowledge of this period in American History.

Task A: Create a table with three headings in your content area notebook with: What I feel, What I notice, What I want to find out more about.

Look at the following images and fill in the table with your impressions:

ANDREW MELROSE--WESTWARD THE STAR OF EMPIRE TAKES ITS WAY--NEAR COUNCIL BLUFFS IOWA, 1867

JOHN GAST' - "AMERICAN PROGRESS," (1872)

WILLIAM RANNEY - "BOONE'S FIRST VIEW OF KENTUCKY" ; 1849.

GEORGE CALEB BINGHAM - "DANIEL BOONE ESCORTING SETTLERS THROUGH THE CUMBERLAND GAP," ( 1850-51)

First View of the Big Colorado River, from Summit of Mountain Between Camps 31 and 32 (1853)

Ho! For California! (1851)

Task B: After analyzing the photos and jotting down your impressions in a table. Begin preliminary reading on Western Expansion to find out exactly what it was and how it affected American History. At the end of your reading today, you should have one paragraph in your notebooks telling the reader what was the Western Expansion and Manifest Destiny in American History.

Visit the following websites to begin your reading:
Westward Expansion for Kids
All About Westward Expansion
Videos and Articles on History.com