In Class Notes: Westward Expansion & The Age of Jackson

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4 questions

Note from the author:

Classwork Directions: Please follow along as we learn about the Louisiana Purchase and analyze John Gast’s “American Progress” painting (1872). 

Instructions

Classwork Directions: Please follow along as we learn about the Louisiana Purchase and analyze John Gast’s “American Progress” painting (1872). 

Welcome to Unit 2: Westward Expansion & the Age of Jackson. In this unit, we are going to explore the ways in which the expansion of the United States territory set the scene for what would eventually turn into the worst crisis in our country's history: the Civil War. We are also going to look at how our government significantly changed during the presidency of one of our most controversial leaders, Andrew Jackson. 

Although we are skipping over the first few presidencies to focus on more modern parts of our history, there is one important event that we need to discuss. During _______ presidency, he made a historic deal with France, which greatly expanded the territory of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 was a land deal with France that cost the United States $15 million to _______  the size of the country for the bargain of _______ cents per acre.
For context:
One cent in 1803 = 73 cents today
One football field = 1.32 acres

Shade the boundaries of The Louisiana Purchase in with your favorite color on the image below.

Once the new territory of the United States was established, thousands of colonists moved to the new territory to find wealth out West. This is known as the time period of Westward Expansion. Let's take a look at a famous painting that symbolizes this era. 

Circle at least three key details of the painting that you observe. Be ready to discuss them with the class!

Many historians believe that John Gast's painting depicts the key concept of Manifest Destiny, a term that emerged in the _______ as a widespread belief that the United States had a _______ right to "overspread" or _______ across the entire continent (North America). 