U.S. Elections | Mining Towns | Transportation Revolution | Mexican War
U.S. ElectionsThomas Jefferson won the Presidency in 1800 in what has been called a political revolution for the new Republic. The election was the first in which two parties faced one another in a presidential election, and demonstrated that Americans could peacefully change their government through the electoral process. Jefferson, after narrowly defeating John Adams in the electoral college, pledged in his inaugural address to unite the country, "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists." The two-party system that was born in this election persists until the present.
The election of Thomas Jefferson brought to power a new political party, the Democratic-Republicans. Was this party a national organization, representing the U.S. as a whole, or sectional party, representing only the South? What evidence is there for each position?
Why did a two-party system arise in the election of 1800? What effect did this system have on American political history? Was this a healthy or unhealthy development for American political life?
Write a diary as an observer from France in the United States during the Election of 1800. What are your views of the election? What do you think the election reveals about American political life? Compare America's peaceful transition to Democratic-Republican rule with political life in post-revolutionary France? How do you explain the differences?
Mining TownsMining sparked the West's first economic boom. The lure of precious metals also attracted the first mass migration of Anglo-Americans to the future territories of Colorado, Nevada, and the Black Hills of southwestern Dakota. This map shows the rapid rise and fall of mining communities searching for gold and silver. Gold mining, for example, moved quickly from California in the 1850s, to Idaho and Montana in the 1860s, and to South Dakota in the 1870s.
Estimate the average duration of gold or silver booms. List the stages of a typical mining town from the first strike to ghost town. Why did most mining towns experience this boom, decline, and bust cycle? What techniques did corporations employ to extend the profitability of some regions well into the twentieth century?
For each time period on the map, pay special attention to the changing boundaries of the United States, Mexico, and the Native American nations. How did the previous occupants of the mining areas receive the Anglo-American migrants? Where did mining rushes spark conflicts between the United States and Native Americans? How were these conflicts resolved?
Describe in a few sentences the everyday life of mining boomtowns. Characterize relations between men and women, between various ethnic and racial groups, and between upper and lower classes. Contrast this society to that of northeastern cities like Boston and southeastern cities such as Charleston.
A young relative from Philadelphia writes that he or she is tired of the crowded city and wants to join you out West. From the perspective of a miner, a farmer, or a rancher, write a letter back to your relative with a fair appraisal of the opportunities, challenges, and conditions of life in your specific region. Describe your precise location, your living quarters, surrounding countryside, climate, and social conditions. What should your relative bring? Comment on his or her prospects for marriage and family life. When you are finished, explain how your advice would change if your correspondent were Mexican, Indian, Chinese, African-American, European, male or female (pick three different scenarios). Finally, does your portrait of opportunity in a mining town support or contradict the picture of the West presented by the historian Frederick Jackson Turner in his "Frontier Thesis"?
Transportation RevolutionThe amount of railroad trackage in the United States tripled between 1850 and 1860. The Northeast developed the most comprehensive and efficient system, with twice as much trackage per square mile as the Northwest and four times as much as the South. Over time, the main "trunk lines" (shown in black) tended to displace traffic from the Erie Canal and the Mississippi River. By lessening the dependence of the West on the Mississippi, the railroads help to weaken the link between the Northwest and the South.
Why was there a greater concentration of railroads in the Northeast and Midwest than in the South? Give three hypotheses, and look for evidence on the map and in your text to back up each one. What effects would this have on sectional division and conflict?
Which cities grew up as a result of the new rail traffic? What economic impact did railroads have on the growth of cities across the North and Midwest? Which products were behind this growth in rail traffic?
Railroads in the South were fewer in number and served mostly to bring agricultural products from the hinterlands to cities and ports. Why did the railroads fail to bring about the economic changes it brought about in the North and Midwest?
You are a businessman interested in entering the railroad industry in 1840. Write a letter to Congress or to your state legislature asking for support of your project. What area of the country do you believe will offer the highest return on profit? What arguments will you make about the economic, political and social benefits of your enterprise? What assistance will you request?
You are a nineteenth century rail traveler on a cross-country journey. Write a diary of your travels, the landscape you pass, the travel experience on the railroads, and the people you meet on your trip.
Mexican WarThe Mexican war helped reshape America far more than its chief architect, President James K. Polk, could have expected. The war led to the annexation of what would become part of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada and Colorado. It brought new populations of settlers, Native Americans and Hispanic-Americans into the United States overnight. The war intensified the debate on the expansion of slavery in the U.S.
What troop movements and strategies suggest that the Mexican War was the result of a larger idea of the "manifest destiny" of the United States to control the area between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans? Did some Americans disagree over whether any or some part of the Mexican territories should be part of the U.S? Make a list of the various arguments for and against expansion into Mexico and explain the motivations for each position.
President Polk was elected on an explicitly expansionist platform, strongly supporting the annexation of Texas and settlement of the Oregon border dispute with England. What political gains did Polk hope to achieve with a war on Mexico? What did Polk's opponents charge was behind Polk's decision to go to war?
The Mexican War went largely favorably for the United States from the beginning. US troops, however, had to overcome formidable geographic obstacles and climactic conditions. Describe the obstacles faced by the various campaigns. How did the commanders of the US forces circumvent them and successfully subdue the Mexican government?
What affects did the Mexican war have on American geography, demography and politics? What did the territory gained in the war add to the United States? What new citizens did the U.S. gain as a result of the war? What cultural influences were added to the nation? What political problems might the war cause? How would the new territory effect the balance of free and slave states?
Create a diary of a soldier involved in the Mexican War (on either side). Why did you enlist? What did you expect the war to be like? What events and experiences would define this war for you? What is your opinion of the results of the war?
Textbook Resources
Chapter Activities
Teacher
Student
Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Notice before you explore our Web site. To report a technical problem with this Web site, please contact the Web Producer.
