The Great American West

It's "Cowboys and Indians" time, APUSH Gang! Yee-haw! This week, we will look at the time after the Civil War when the United States government made a concerted effort to push west to the Pacific, eventually displacing thousands of natives along the way in the name of economic prosperity and civilization.

On my McKeel website, you will find the five documents that make up "This Land Is Ours" from the "A Place at the Table: Struggles for Equality in America" curriculum from the Southern Poverty Law Center. This episode details the story of the Ponca tribe of Nebraska, who were threatened with expulsion from their ancestral home in the 1870s. As you read their story, answer the following questions on a Microsoft Word document and submit them to me by Friday, February 4th:

“This Land Is Ours” – Chapter 4 from “A Place at the Table: Struggles for Equality in America”

1.) What factors contributed to the U.S. government’s policy of forcibly removing Native Americans from their ancestral lands?

2.) Explain the title of this story – “This Land Is Ours.”
a.) What are some other possible interpretations?
b.) Do you see a possible irony in the title? If so, explain what it is.

3.) How did the legal principle of habeas corpus advance the cause of the Ponca? What arguments did the government use against it?

4.) How much did you know about the story of Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca before you read “This Land Is Ours”?
a.) What reasons can you give for your answer?
b.) What do you know about the other Native American chiefs and leaders mentioned in the story?

5.) How has our society’s understanding of the phrase “all men are created equal” changed since it was first written in the Declaration of Independence?
a.) How does the Ponca’s story contribute to that understanding?
b.) Are there limits to our understanding of the phrase today? Explain.

Also, we will be looking at a DBQ on the Old West this week in class. All DBQ essays are due on Tuesday, February 8th.

Industrialization & Immigration

After the Civil War, the United States began to finally flex its economic muscles and become a world leader in industry. With the economy booming, opportunities arose for people from all over the world to come make their own destinies in the New World. And over 43 million did...

Captains of industry, robber barons, the nouveau riche, immigrant workers, child laborers...all played a vital role in this next chapter of American History.

Assignments (1/18-1/28):
1.) "A People's History of the United States" - Ch. 11 Questions ("Robber Barons & Rebels"), due Tues., 1/25

2.) DBQ - choose "Captains of Industry" or "The New Immigrants", due Wed., 1/26

3.) Ch. 24 & Ch. 25 Guidebooks, due Fri., 1/28

4.) Exam on Ch. 24 & Ch. 25, Fri., 1/28

Reconstruction, 1865-1877

After the Civil War, the United States government began the long & arduous process of Reconstruction. The next dozen years saw former slaves reach new heights socially, economically, and politically, but not without resistance among white Southerners. Then, upon the inauguration of new President Rutherford B. Hayes in March 1877, Reconstruction abruptly ended. Was the work the federal government began to remake the South truly finished, or was the end premature?

There is a wealth of information to learn about Reconstruction, and not much class time to do it in. It is truly a fascinating topic, one that I think helps to explain race relations regional differences still alive today in the United States. And yet, it is such a little known topic.

The following are due dates that you have in APUSH for the next two weeks. Manage your time wisely, because this is a lot.

1.) "American Pageant" Guidebooks for Ch. 20-23 due on Fri., Jan. 14th.

2.) Zinn Questions for Ch. 10 ("The Other Civil War") will be handed out in class, due on Wed., 1/12.

3.) Ch. 22 Discussion Questions will be answered and turned into my Google Docs account (save as "Private," share it with me) by Monday, 1/10.

4.) Read the article saved on my McKeel website ("The American Civil War,
Emancipation, and Reconstruction on the World Stage," by Edward L. Ayers) and write a precis', minimum 500 words, posted on this blog. This is due by Fri., 1/7.

5.) DBQ - "Who Killed Reconstruction: North or South?" (documents analyzed in class on Thurs. & Fri., 1/6-1/7), will be submitted to me on Google Docs by Thurs., 1/13.

6.) Ch. 20-23 Exam on Fri., 1/14.