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VIDEO PROGRAM
Volume 276: Episode I: Neighbors and Strangers
OBJECTIVE
Students will discuss events leading up to the U.S.-Mexican War of 1846.
CLASS QUESTIONS
Why did President Polk and the majority of Congress support the war? What were the reasons and concerns of those who supported war and those who opposed it?
What, at that time, could be predicted as the long-term costs, benefits and other consequences of a war with Mexico?
PRIOR TO CLASS VIEWING
Review the CLASSROOM TIPS FOR USING ANY VIDEO CHAPTER .
Use THE U.S.-MEXICAN WAR MAP and other textbook maps to review the status of U.S. states and territories at the time of the war. Why would some Americans be in favor of war? Why would others be opposed to it?
CONNECTIONS TO SEMESTER STUDIES
Discuss the status of sectional divisiveness over slavery in the U.S. Examine the U.S. abolitionist movement.
Discuss important events and trends in the U.S.: economic problems from 1837-1843, labor struggles, immigration and migration to affordable lands.
Discuss the Trail of Tears and the situation for Native Americans as U.S. settlers moved westward.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Ongoing Project
Ask students to continue writing journals (or continue constructing their multimedia presentation) about the war from the perspectives of citizens and soldiers in the U.S. and Mexico. Ask them to reflect on their home situations and how their families might feel about supporting a war.
Web Search and Analysis
Ask students to search the Library of Congress Web site for documents and speeches that give insights into the members of Congress at the time of the U.S.-Mexican War. What do these documents tell us about these men as individuals and the issues they felt strongly about?
The Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov
Analysis of Primary Sources
Read Polk's War Message, located on The U.S.-Mexican War Web Site. Ask students to highlight the points they support or disagree with and to state why.
| NCSS Standards | United States
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III
| On May 9, 1846, the same day that the U.S. and Mexico engaged in the first full-scale battle of the war, President Polk received Taylor's report (of April 26) describing the initial skirmish and the 14 American deaths.
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X
| Polk drafted his War Message and presented it to Congress on May 11.
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X
| Within the message Polk declared "American blood has been shed on American soil." Mexican scholars believe that the U.S. Army was in Mexican territory at the time.
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I, III
| Slavery and the future of any new lands acquired were major issues as Congress debated Polk's request to declare war with Mexico. Polk's representatives pushed the need to reinforce Taylor's army, so the vote swung towards war.
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VII, X
| Congress authorized $10 million and 50,000 volunteers to fight the war with Mexico.
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VI, VII
| Polk thought that the war with Mexico would be short, inexpensive and easy. His strategy of the "carrot and stick" to buy Mexican land, however, became far more complicated than he expected.
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