By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify key examples of partisan wrangling between the Federalists and Democratic-RepublicansDescribe how foreign relations affected American politicsAssess the importance of the Louisiana Purchase

The United States was founded on the principles of natural rights, equality, and classical republicanism, but how well did it actually live up to these ideals? In this lecture, Professor Rob McDonald of the US Military Academy at West Point describes the conflict between the ideals of the American Revolution and the unfortunate realities of the time.

Students will examine population density maps of the United States during the 1800s. They will learn about the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to make and evaluate predictions about the changes in population density that resulted from this event, identifying shifts in boundaries and in areas of population density, and drawing conclusions. Students will then write a paragraph summarizing the impact of the Louisiana Purchase on the United States.

In this lesson students will analyze a private letter that President Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) sent to Robert Livingston (1746–1813), his minister plenipotentiary (ambassador) to France, regarding the negotiations for what would become the Louisiana Purchase. Livingston and James Monroe (1758–1831, 6th president of the US) negotiated the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. It is important to note that at the time this letter was written — April 18, 1802 — the area had not yet been offered for sale.

In this letter Jefferson, unaware of the possibility of outright purchase, focuses upon retaining commercial access to the Mississippi River and rights of deposit (economic access) in New Orleans. He also comments upon the danger of an aggressive France locating outposts just across the Mississippi River from the United States. While some historians characterize Jefferson as a Francophile, in this letter Jefferson sees France as a potential enemy to the United States.

This lesson allows students to contextualize what will become the Louisiana Purchase prior to its acquisition by viewing the Purchase through a lens of national economic and military defense rather than an act of territorial expansion. As Jefferson considers the possibility of an aggressive France led by Napoleon Bonaparte on America’s doorstep, he states, “…perhaps nothing since the revolutionary war has produced more uneasy sensations through the body of the nation.” Original spellings and punctuation are retained.

This lesson is divided into two parts, both accessible below. The text is accompanied by close reading questions, student interactives, and an optional follow-up assignment. The teacher’s guide includes a background note, the text analysis with responses to the close reading questions, access to the interactive exercises, and the follow-up assignment. The student’s version, an interactive PDF, contains all of the above except the responses to the close reading questions and the follow-up assignment.

This lesson presents 13 documents and photos related to the 1804-6 expedition into the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. The documents include a list of Indian presents Lewis purchased, his receipts for wine and tobacco, Jefferson's letter to Madison announcing the purchase of Louisiana, and Jefferson's message to Congress communicating the discoveries of the expedition.

The Louisiana Purchase is a landmark event in American history, one that had a lasting impact not only on the size of the United States, but also on its economic, cultural, and political makeup. This presentation focuses on the various documents - from maps to newspapers to cultural artifacts - that help to describe the region of North America that stretched from as far east as Alabama into what is now the state of Montana.

In the United States, the nineteenth century was a time of tremendous growth and change. The new nation experienced a shift from a farming economy to an industrial one, major westward expansion, displacement of native peoples, rapid advances in technology and transportation, and a civil war. In this lesson, works of art from the nineteenth century are paired with written documents, including literary selections, a letter, and a speech. As budding historians, students can use these primary sources from the nineteenth century to reconstruct the influence of technology, geography, economics, and politics on daily life.
In this lesson students will: Learn about daily life in the United States in the 1800s through visual art and literature; Understand some of the ways in which nineteenth-century life was affected by technology, geography, economics, and politics; Apply critical-thinking skills to consider the various choices artists and writers have made in depicting daily life around them; Make personal connections to the nineteenth century by placing themselves in the contexts of works of art and readings.

This Lesson will help instruct the student to compare and contrast arguments/ideas by Democratic-Republicans and Federalists about the acquisition of Louisiana Purchase through the use of graphic organizers, debates, written reports and/or videos.

Unit 4 primarily cover topics dealing with westward expansion during the nineteenth century. The exceptions are the lessons on Nat Turner and Irish immigration. These are included for chronological reasons, and to show students how historical trends can occur simultaneously. Both themes (slavery and immigration) are revisited in Units 5 and 6. This unit features several elaborate lesson structures: a Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) and and Inquiry. In the SAC on Lewis and Clark, students debate whether or not Lewis and Clark were respectful to the Native Americans they encountered on their journey, while the Inquiry asks students to investigate what motivated Texans to declare their independence. Several lessons, especially on Manifest Destiny and Indian Removal, ask students to consider the perspectives of historical actors whose world views may seem foreign or even incomprehensible.

 U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz

Lewis and ClarkThe Missouri CrisisIndependence for TexasThe Mexican-American War, 1846–1848Free Soil or Slave? The Dilemma of the West

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify key examples of partisan wrangling between the Federalists and Democratic-RepublicansDescribe how foreign relations affected American politicsAssess the importance of the Louisiana Purchase