Artists during the 19th century portrayed the values of Manifest Destiny—the belief that the expansion of the United States across the North American continent was both justified and inevitable—through symbolic imagery, dramatic landscapes, and depictions of progress and civilization overcoming wilderness. What they choose to include, and how they chose to depict those objects, influence the viewers’ understanding of American expansion.
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
How can art influence memory?
Standards
D2.His.6.6-8. Analyze how people’s perspectives influenced what information is available in the historical sources they created.
Instructional Snapshot
Class begins with a brief description of Manifest Destiny if needed. To explore the compelling question, students will consider the representation of different aspects of Westward Expansion in the Images of Westward Expansion source set. To organize the inquiry, the teacher assigns each student one aspect of Westward Expansion found in both images in the source set: settlers, railroads, or Indigenous people. Students analyze the images to complete a Venn Diagram on the student graphic organizer, comparing and contrasting the representation of their assigned aspect. Next, students move into small groups composed of students who analyzed each of the three topics. Together, the students compare and contrast the representation of each of the three aspects of Westward Expansion. Then, students deliberate to make three predictions on the student graphic organizer about how this representation in art could impact America in the following decades. Students might consider: Who benefits from the depictions in the images? Who is harmed by them? How might interpretations of the art’s message have varied depending on the viewer? What impact might the art have had on public opinion at the time? On public opinion today?
Formative Tasks
PRODUCE: Complete a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the representation of one aspect of Westward Expansion in the featured sources.
COLLABORATE: Compare and contrast the representation of other aspects in the featured sources.
DELIBERATE: Predict how this representation could impact America in the following decades.
Sources
Source Set: Images of Westward Expansion, Library of Congress
Summative Performance Task
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Taking Informed Action
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