Friday, Feb 27

Today we had a quick discussion about what you already know as a class about the Civil War. It is always good to try and stimulate prior knowledge before you begin a subject. I know MS was a long time ago but there still was a few things floating around in your head about the Civil War.

Next we started work on the term list (handout #1) on the Civil War. Hopefully this will help you as we start to introduce topics on the Civil War by giving you some more prior knowledge. Also, when it comes time to review you will not need to spend so much time with simply terms. Most of the terms on handout #1 can be found in textbook chapters 10-11-12. Only the first two on the list are not in those chapters and you will need to look in previous chapters to find those.

Have a nice weekend. See you again next month.

Thursday, Feb 26

Test today. Whoo hoo. Gotta love the test.

**Extra Credit: I will give 5 bonus points on the test for anyone that replies with a comment to any of my posts. The comment can be about the blog, the test, my incredible good looks. Just be nice please.

Wednesday, Feb 25

Today we focused primarily on the start of the Mexican War and James K Polk's role in starting the war. Polk was a little known politician that rose to prominence by promising the American people that he would achieve Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the belief that America would expand from sea to sea. What Polk had to say was what Americans wanted to hear and he was elected President.

After Polk became President he then had to deliver. He quickly got Congress to annex Texas and he settled Oregon with an agreement with the British. However, when he tried to buy California from Mexico he was refused. To get Cali he would have to start a war.

Polk starts war with Mexico by using disputed territory at the border of Texas and Mexico. The disputed territory was between the Rio Grande River and the Nueces River. Polk sent American troops onto this land and they were fired upon by the Mexican army. Now Polk could go to Congress and get them to declare war on Mexico and thus War was on. We can certainly assume Polk knew full well what his decisions would lead to.

You should complete the handout #24. The bottom half notes should look like this:

Polk wanted to buy California
--- Mexico refused
--- but he still wanted to achieve Manifest Destiny
Polk started War
--- border dispute was what he used to start war
--- you should be able to sketch this out
Mexican War
--- war is over in 16 months
--- Mexican Cession is the result

You should also answer the questions on handout #26. These questions ask you to think about the role Polk played in this conflict and how important the concept of Manifest Destiny was in the war with Mexico and the getting of California as part of the United States. Also you should comment on what type of President James Polk was-a visionary leader or a bully.

Also, TEST TOMORROW!!!!

Tuesday, Feb 24

Today we moved on from the American Revolution. We started off looking at a map that showed North America in 1783. This was the original U.S. The Western boundary was the Mississippi River. Florida was yet to become part of the U.S. and the northern border of Maine and Minnesota had yet to be decided. This is the starting point for the topic of today and tomorrow - Manifest Destiny.

Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States and the American people were pre-destined to grow and expand to the Pacific Ocean. People that believed in this idea thought that America was a special place and its citizens special people. If America could expand to the Pacific then it would help U.S. trade immensely because we now could trade easily with Asia. Also, the west was filled with resources for our ever growing country. Unfortunately we would have to shove aside other peoples in our quest for Manifest Destiny.

In class today we completed a map to show the land gains America had to complete its growth to the Pacific. On handout #23 you should show these land gains. Start off by drawing in the original U.S. as described above. Then you should add in the following land gains:

Louisiana Purchase - 1803 - from France - purchase for $15 million
Florida - 1819 - from Spain - Spain ceded (gave) it to the U.S.
Annexation of Texas - 1845 - The Republic of Texas was simply added (annexed) to the U.S.
Oregon Territory - 1846 - We worked out an agreement with the British to divide Oregon Territory
Mexican Cession - 1848 - We took this land from Mexico in war and also paid Mexico $15 million
Gadsden Purchase - 1853 - from Mexico - purchase for $10 million

These land gains also is what is recorded on handout #24 at the top half of the page.

Lastly, you should use the backside of handout #24 to do some "Quick Facts" over the Mexican War. Read page 308 to 311 in your book and take down a couple of facts per book section. Pay particular attention to how President James Polk started the war against Mexico and then how the war went for the U.S.

Wed, Feb 11th

Today the subject is the Declaration of Independence. Yesterday we talked about Thomas Paine's contributions to Independence. Today we discussed the importance of John Locke. Locke wrote about the Social Contract Theory of government back in 1688. His beliefs become the basis for our Declaration and our form of government. Locke believed all people has natural rights. This means these rights are given to everybody from birth. Locke believed these rights were: life, liberty and property. He theorized that the reasons governments were created is for the protection of these rights and since people came together to form the governments then the power of government rests with the people. Government by the consent of the governed is the basis of our government. In America we vote every November to give our consent to our government.

You should add to the note outline on handout #19 this info on Locke's Social Contract Theory. This should be right under Paine's Common Sense.

To finish out the notes outline, the Declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson with help from the "Committee of Five". The parts to the Declaration of Independence are: 1)Preamble, 2)Declaration of Rights, 3)List of Grievances, 4)Formal statement of Declaration. These parts of the Declaration are important and you should look in your textbook to skim through these. The Declaration is on page 134.

Today we also worked extensively on the most important part to the Declaration and that is the Declaration of Natural Rights. In this section Jefferson gave his philosophical statement on why the colonists had the right to declare independence and what type of governmental system the newly created country would have. Essentially this section describes us as a country!

You should be able to pick out the parts of this section that come directly from John Locke. We did this in class. Also, you should try and rewrite this section in your own words. This will be important for understanding and to effectively complete the Declaration activity that we will do in groups.

Tuesday, Feb 10

Quiz today!! Make sure if you were out to make up the quiz ASAP while the info is still fresh in your minds.

After the quiz we ended our discussions on the American Revolution by talking about Yorktown. You should have read handout #17 and answered the questions on handout #18. In addition, it is very helpful for you to draw a picture of this event. Handout #17 gives you a map but on your diagram think about what is would like if this was a mapquest picture and you hit the zoom button about 5 or 6 times. You map should have the location of the British, the location of the French fleet and the location of Washington's army all shown. In regards to Yorktown make sure you understand the role geography played in the battle. Also understand how important the French fleet was in the battle and in helping to force a British surrender.

We also started today our learning on the Declaration of Independence. I showed a slide with a picture of colonists toppling a statue of King George and talked about why this act alarmed both revolutionaries and loyalists. It is because throwing off a ruling government even if it is an unjust one can be a scary thing. Who will rule next? What laws will they have? Will they be able to protect the people? These are all questions that need to be answered. Think of the American military taking down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, Iraq back in 2003. President Bush said that night that the "war had been won". Still six years later we are still struggling in Iraq to help establish a new government that can protect the people's rights.

We started the notes outline on the Declaration of Independence. We completed about half of handout #19. Reasons the colonists wanted to separate were: colonial bloodshed, tyranny of the King, chance for foreign aid. A reason they were hesitant to separate was: fear of mob rule. We talked about one "cause" of the Declaration. Thomas Paine's Common Sense was very instrumental in getting the colonists to act on independence. Paine was a very effective writer and urged people to declare independence. He did this by making his readers feel some emotion if they read Common Sense.

You should read an excerpt from Common Sense on handout #20. Hi-lite or underline words, phrases or sentences where you feel Paine is trying to make readers feel some emotion. At the end there are two questions for you to answer.

Monday, Feb 9

Hey guys, only one more week until vacation. We can all make it. Today in class we focused on the battles of the American Revolution. You should have a completed battle map on handout #16. The battle map should show the location of the battle, the winner, the year the battle was fought and one key fact about the battle. The battles that should be plotted on the map are: Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, New York, Trenton, Brandwine, Saratoga, Charles Towne, King Mountain and Yorktown. Here are some key facts about each:

Lexington and Concord - first battle
Bunker Hill - first major battle and an American moral victory
New York - huge American defeat, Washington had to keep retreating to keep his army alive
Trenton - GW defeats the Hessians the day after XMas in 1776
Brandywine - the British control Phily and scatter the Continental Congress
Saratoga - considered the turning point because the French officially ally with America
Charles Towne - the British took the fight to the south because more loyalists were there
Kings Mountain - the Americans turn back the British in the S. Carolina backcounty
Yorktown - the final battle

You should also read handout #17 on the battle of Yorktown and answer the questions on handout #18. We will discuss this battle on Tuesday.

Don't forget the Lexington and Concord essay is due tomorrow and we will also have a quiz tomorrow.

Friday, Feb 6th

Gotta love Fridays. Anybody else looking forward to the weekend. Today we began working on some of the most well known battles of the American Revolution and also talked about the advantages and disadvantages each side had at the start of the war. You should complete the web diagram that is handout #15. The answers that go on the web is as follows: professional army, volunteer army, cause, unpopular war, native-american tactics, money and supplies, little money and supplies, far from home, resourceful leaders, home-field advantage, navy. It is your job to use your prior knowledge, the text book and your common sense to put these answers in the correct location on the web diagram on handout #15.

We also started compiling a battle map of key battles during the American Revolution. This will be on handout #16. You should plot the following battles: Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, New York, Trenton, Brandywine, Saratoga, Charles Town, Kings Mountain and Yorktown. You should show the winner of each battle by color and also include the date of the battle. On the back of handout #16 you should write one key fact (the most important fact hopefully) about each battle.

Lastly we talked about essay format for your essay on Lexington and Concord. The prompt for the essay is on handout #11 and the essay format is on handout #12. Essays will be due on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend! See you on Monday.

Thurs, Feb 5th

Whew, most of you are through the first role play. If you have not given your role play you must prepare to do so soon.

The topic for today were the battles at Lexington and Concord. These were the first battles of the American Revolution. They were small battles but of great importance. You should read about the battles in your book on page 130. Look at your map in the book too as it will help you get a feel for the geography. You should take "Quick Facts" on the battles at Lexington and Concord and put the quick facts on handout #9. Lastly you should think about Emerson's poem The Concord Hymn and how he labeled these battles "the shot heard round the world." We will be writing essays on this quote. You can look at handout #11 and #12 for further directions on the essay. It will be due next Monday.

For homework tonight you should complete the reading assignment that is handout #14.

Wed, Feb 4th

We are moving along a little closer to actual war between the colonists and the British. Today we talked about the Boston Massacre where hostilities between angry colonists and an increasing British troop presence finally boiled over into violence. We reread the section in the textbook on the Boston Massacre on page 123 and took down some "quick facts" on handout #9. When doing Quick Facts simply read the selection and note the important facts about the event. After doing this you should have a good idea of what happened that March night in 1770. Here are some key points: it happened at night, the colonists were taunting the British soldiers and throwing snowballs and ice chunks at them, the incident began with just a few young Bostonians and a couple of British soldiers and escalated from there, 5 people died as a result and 6 were wounded, the first to die was Crispus Attucks who was part African-American and part Native American, the British soldiers and the their captain, Thomas Preston, were not found to be at fault in court after the event.

We then looked at Paul Revere's engraving of the event. This picture is on p. 124 in your book. Yes, Paul Revere, the famous midnight rider to Lexington and Concord was also a Boston silversmith and he was asked by the Sons of Liberty to create a picture of the Boston Massacre. He engraved this picture in silver and it was later distributed around the American colonies. Revere doesn't portray the event exactly like it occurred. You should be able to notice at least 5 things about the picture that doesn't fit with the facts.

The big question is then, why? Revere wanted to make the British look like tyrants and would randomly kill innocent people. Not everyone in the colonies supported the Patriot cause. In fact just as many people were loyalists (33%) as Patriots. Also there was another 33% that were very much undecided as to whether or not to support a move to independence. Revere wanted to influence these people to come to the Patriot cause. You should be able to complete handout #13 and define: Patriots, Loyalists and Tories and also know the percentage of each in colonial America.

We also completed handout #10 which is a notes outline. The bubbles are set in a cause and effect manner. They should go as follows: French and Indian War, British debt and British troops in America (Proclamation of 1763), Taxing on the colonists, Colonists rebel by smuggling, boycotting, harassing tax collectors, writing and organizing (Taxation wo/Representation is tyranny), More and more British troops in America to enforce the laws, More friction and violence with the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party, and Outbreak of War at Lexington and Concord.

Role plays will be conducted tomorrow first thing.

Tuesday, Feb 3

Today was the second day of "Taxes and Protest". You should now be able to not only know various British Acts that were place on the colonists along with the colonial reaction but also how some of these events relate to one another. You should complete handout #5 to practice the cause and effect relationship between these events. On the front side of handout #5 the following three things go in the "cause" boxes: French and Indian War, Colonists being taxed and the Stamp Act. On the back side of handout #5 the following three things go in the "effects" boxes: Proclamation of 1763, Colonists being taxed and More and more British troops in America.

We also started our first role play. On this role play you will take either the role of a colonist or a member of British parliament. The topic is the imposing of taxes on the colonies. You and your partner will work together to compose a speech in the role that you have been given. The speech should last at least 60 seconds. A rubric for the role play can be found on handout #8. Role plays are designed for you to show you know the history of a particular time period and also to be able to formulate an argumentative speech and then to give that speech in an effective manner. Make sure you have your speech parts done for class tomorrow.

One more thing - handout #7 is due for tomorrow.

Monday, Feb 2

Happy Groundhog's Day! We got into the swing of things today talking about the American "Revolution" which John Adams said took place before blood was shed at Lexington. To start off it is important to understand the initial relationship between the American colonists and the British. It was expected that the colonies would provide raw materials for British industry. This was the system of mercantilism. You should complete handout #2/#3 in your notebook. If you need a another explanation of mercantilism you should look on page 98 of your book.

When the British beat the French in the the French and Indian War it gave them control of North America but also left them in debt and with troops in America that needed to be paid for. British parliament decided to tax the colonists in order to pay for what the British felt was the defense of the colonies. You should be able to explain some of the British acts placed upon the colonists and also the colonial responses. Handout #4 should be completed where you should list some of the acts passed by the British and the colonial protests that ensued after each act. The acts I will focus on are: The Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts and the Tea Act.

Looking ahead reading assignment #2 (handout #7) will be due on Wednesday.