Lessons, Tips, and Resources for Westward Expansion in United States History Since 1877

This is another tricky one to teach. Many teachers question how much of Westward Expansion should they need to cover when much of it happens before 1877. Yes, it also happens after 1877, but a lot of the big things like the Homestead Act happen before 1877. So with U.S. History Since 1877 it’s important to remember that this unit is also just an overview but an important one to set up the effects of Westward Expansion in terms of the Granger Movement, Native Americans, and the growth of cities. In U.S. History to 1877 we certainly spend a great deal more time on this particular subject. I only spend a few days on this unit.

I introduce the Westward Expansion Unit with a Gallery Walk/Powerpoint. If you’re interested in purchasing it, Click Here.

For this unit, we talk about what Manifest Destiny is and what impact it would have on both settlers and Native Americans. The Louisiana Purchase is also important to remind students about from the Pre 1877 class. Since the Louisiana Purchas doubled the size of the U.S. and the federal government needed a figure out a way to maintain its claim. I often talk to my students about possession being 9/10 of the law. I explain that if they can’t prove it’s not yours and it’s in your possession, then it’s yours. This same concept can be applied to land. If you have your citizens living on the land in a particular region, it’s easier for you to claim that land as yours.

The Indian Wars are also key events to discuss. In particular, the Battle of Little Big Horn with the Sioux. Their victory of Custer’s 7th Calvary and eventual relocation to reservations play a significant role in Native American history. This is especially true when discussing the Massacre at Wounded Knee at the Sioux Reservation. The Massacre at Wounded Knee Monument in remembrance of the Native Americans who lost their lives will play a role later on in the American Indian Movement in the Civil Rights Movements unit. This is a good spot to talk about the Decimation of the Buffalo and how the dwindling herds affected the lives of Native Americans, forcing them onto reservations. Be sure to teach about the Reservation system and how it affected Native Americans. The Dawes Act is important to discuss. Don’t forget to mention the Indian Schools and the forced assimilation of Native Americans. It’s also worth mentioning the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 within this unit.

Pre 1877 U.S. History goes a great deal into the wagon trails including the Oregon Trail, but in Post 1877 there is only a brief mention of this movement. Mostly just a reminder that it happened. The Homestead Act of 1862 is important to remind students about as it played a major role in the relocation of Native Americans as well as a motive for settlers to move west.

Railroads are also a major topic within this unit. The Transcontinental Railroad is the most important to mention, it was completed at Promontory Point, UT in 1869. It’s important to mention that both the Irish and Chinese were the laborers who built this railroad because it was hard dangerous labor for low pay that others were not willing to do. The Irish and Chinese were both discriminated against for jobs, the Chinese on the West Coast and the Irish in the industrial centers on the East Coast. The Bessemer Process also made it easier to build the railroads as steel became faster to produce and became cheaper and stronger at the same time. I also mention the Chinese Exclusion Act here, I bring it up again during the Industrial and Gilded Ages.

This is where you can introduce the cattle industry. Cattle Drives began in Texas and worked their way north to railroads where the cattle would be shipped to meatpacking centers in the North. You might want to talk about the effects of the Cattle Drives on ranches and farms, and why they would want to put barbed wire up to stop cattle from crossing their land and using up their resources. This is also a good spot to transfer the lesson to farming and how the steel plow here and how it affected farmers’ productivity.

The Steel Plow transformed the lives of farmers making it easier and faster to plant crops which in turn caused an overproduction of crops. You will want to talk about supply and demand and how that would affect the price of crops when there were too many on the market. Don’t forget to mention all of the loans the farmers took out to purchase the new expensive farming equipment to keep up with their neighbors, contributing to the overproduction. Then remind them that since the farmers were not earning what they needed to pay for the loans, many started to lose the farms they had received for free with the Homestead Act.

Now you can head into the topic of the Grangers, the farmers who began as a social group and turned into a political group. Explain to students that the Grangers will come up again in the Progressive Era where they play a major role with the Populist or People’s Party.

The Gold Rushes to California and the Klondike are also only briefly mentioned. While the California Gold Rushes largely happened before 1877, the Klondike did occur post-1877. The key takeaway from these is that the possibility to strike it rich lured more settlers west, helping to contribute to Westward Expansion and fulfilling Manifest Destiny.

Since this is a short unit there are not many activities I do. I always do the Picture Cards. One of my favorite activities to review the unit and help with comprehension of vocabulary terms is what I call “Picture Cards.” This activity has been the biggest game-changer for my class. This resource helps everyone from many different levels including Sped and ELL. I created slides that I print out several to a page with groupings of pictures to represent the vocabulary terms for the unit. Then I created a worksheet with a word bank for students to reference. Each set of pictures represents a vocabulary term. Students must look at the context clues from within the images to determine which vocabulary term each set represents. Students absolutely love this activity and are excited when they see the cards on the desk, year after year this has not changed. I let the students discuss what they see with each other and what term they think each set represents. I want to hear what other people see and think, but I don’t just let them copy answers from each other. You can make this on your own, it does take some time. If you want to purchase my Westward Expansion Picture Card set ready-made to go, Click Here.

I also do a Fact or Fiction Activity. For this I cut red and green card stock into cards, you can purchase colored index cards that have red and green. I give each student a pair of each. I then put a PowerPoint up on the screen with a statement. I read the statement aloud and I ask the students if the statement is a fact or if it’s fiction. They hold up the green card for fact and red for fiction, this helps to quickly glance around the room to see who understands the concept correctly. Once I click on the slide a second time, a statement appears saying if it’s a fact or if it’s fiction. If it’s fiction, the statement is corrected with the parts changed to make it correct colored green so students can see where they made mistakes. This is a fun and easy class activity to review at the end of the unit. I have a Westward Expansion Fact or Fiction Set ready to go here for purchase, Click Here. You can of course make your own as well.

Depending on if time allows, I also have a Westward Expansion Jeopardy Game that I made in PowerPoint. Every time I’ve played this game the students have been engaged and have fun reviewing. If you’re interested in purchasing this resource, CLICK HERE.

This is a relatively quick unit much like the Early America unit is. I usually teach these two back to back and test them together. Combined I spend about 7 days between these units. Remember that these units are mostly review units to set up the remainder of U.S. History Since 1877.

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