Title: The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Westward Expansion | The Clever Teacher
Headings: The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Westward Expansion
The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Westward Expansion
The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Westward Expansion
Westward Expansion Overview
What was Westward Expansion?
Why did people move West?
Land and Technology
Manifest Destiny
US Territorial Acquisitions
The Louisiana Purchase & Lewis and Clark
The Texas Revolution
The Mexican-American War
California Gold Rush
Westward Expansion Trails & the Oregon Trail
Indian Removal Act
Removal Treaties & Forced Removal
Westward Expansion & Slavery
Westward Expansion Timeline
Teacher Resources for Learning about Westward Expansion
Westward Expansion Pacing Guide
Westward Expansion Simulation and Game
3-Week Pacing Guide
Free Westward Expansion Map Lesson
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Westward Expansion Primary Sources
American Progress Painting (1872)
Description of Primary Source:
Class Discussion Questions:
Resources for this Primary Source:
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Westward Expansion Videos
The “Indian Problem” (Smithsonian NMAI)
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Westward Expansion Picture Books
Dandelions by Eve Bunting
Book Description:
Ideas for Using this Book:
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Westward Expansion Unit
Westward Expansion Interactive Lesson Plans
What’s included in the Westward Expansion Unit?
Westward Expansion Unit Table of Contents
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Content: This angered Mexican leaders who did not recognize Texas’s independence. Furthermore, there was a disagreement about the location of the US-Mexico border. Polk sent a representative to Mexico to try to settle the debate and offer to buy California. Mexico rejected the offer. In response, Polk sent troops to the disputed Texas border region in 1846. Fighting broke out and Polk used this as an excuse to declare war on May 13, 1846. The US Army invaded Mexico, seized New Mexico and California, and blockaded the Pacific coast. The war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In this treaty, Mexico ceded more than 500,000 square miles of land to the United States. Some Americans celebrated this addition, while others felt the U.S. had gained the land unfairly.