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VIDEO PROGRAM
Volume 276: Episode I: Neighbors and Strangers
OBJECTIVE
Students should be able to understand the concept of nationalism.
CLASS QUESTIONS
Why do citizens volunteer to go to war? What life experiences shape this decision? How are towns and families affected when soldiers leave for war?
PRIOR TO CLASS VIEWING
Review the CLASSROOM TIPS FOR USING ANY VIDEO CHAPTER .
Use THE U.S.-MEXICAN WAR MAP to highlight routes that volunteer soldiers travelled to join General Zachary Taylor's army in Matamoros.
CONNECTIONS TO SEMESTER STUDIES
Examine the significance of steam engines, particularly for steamship travel. What other 19th century technologies or inventions were milestone developments? What role did mass media play, and how did it influence public opinion?
Discuss the legacy of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 and how the public viewed citizenship and patriotism during the U.S.-Mexican War.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Ongoing Project
Ask students to continue writing journals about the war and military life from the perspectives of Mexican or U.S. soldiers. Ask them to reflect on their reasons for going to war and how it affected their lives.
Class Discussion
During the war, people continued to migrate to the mid-West, to Oregon and to California. The Irish potato famine forced thousands of immigrants to move to the U.S., where many joined the army. Discuss the various reasons why individuals would volunteer or enlist in the military.
Exercise in Debate
Conduct a debate that focuses on the economic implications of war and of expanding an army of about 8,000 enlisted troops to include 50,000 volunteers. What provisions and equipment would be needed for these soldiers? How would these potential business opportunities improve an economy weakened by periodic depressions? What losses does a country suffer in terms of lives and money?Visual Analysis
Research and examine a "call to arms" issued from either Mexico or the U.S. Compare the reasons given for why volunteers should join the army.
| NCSS Standards | United States | Mexico
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IX, X
| After the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma and President's Polk's War Message to Congress, information about and support for the war appeared in newspaper articles, literature, sheet music and other forms of popular culture. Major Samuel Ringgoold, the first "martyr" of the war was commemorated in song.
| In Mexico City, the government reacted with anger and disbelief to President Polk's claim that Mexico had started the war. In Nuevo Leon, a newspaper stated that "one defeat does not decide the war. Mexico must fight to the end, and as long as there is one man remaining, he must go and fight the unjust invaders."
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V, X
| For personal and patriotic reasons, a wide assortment of volunteers stepped forward to fill the 50,000 slots appropriated by Congress.
| A call to arms went out to all the governors of Mexico's states, particularly in the Northern states, which were the most vulnerable.
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