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VIDEO PROGRAM
Volume 278: Episode III: The Hour of Sacrifice
OBJECTIVE
Students will discuss the importance of leadership, planning, communications, training and professionalism.
CLASS QUESTIONS
How can a leader's determination influence the course of events? What historical lessons can warn leaders of the dangers of arrogance and the headiness of power?What motivates soldiers to fight after the "romance" of going to war is gone and they encounter the brutal reality of combat? Would volunteers have a more difficult adjustment than enlisted soldiers?
Why do battlefield victories and defeats not always lead to the end of a war?
PRIOR TO CLASS VIEWING
Review the CLASSROOM TIPS FOR USING ANY VIDEO CHAPTER .Use THE U.S.-MEXICAN WAR MAP to orient students concerning the route General Winfield Scott travelled from Veracruz to Puebla and Mexico City. At this time, Scott's army is trying to get out of the lowlands and away from the summer dangers of yellow fever.
CONNECTIONS TO SEMESTER STUDIES
Compare the bloody fighting during the Texas Revolution to battles in the war between the U.S. and Mexico.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Writing for Understanding
Ask students to pretend that they are U.S. soldiers writing home about their experiences in a foreign country. What are their first impressions of the natural surroundings? What do they find interesting about the different cultures they encounter? What are the similarities to their own homeland? What are the differences? What are they learning about the country's traditions and lifestyles?
Map Exercise
Have students create a map and prepare a report about the geography of the route that Scott intended to travel to reach Mexico City.
Letting the Numbers Speak
Ask students to make a presentation to the class on the use of numbers in this segment. How do the number of troops in each army (12,000 for Santa Anna, 8,500 for Scott) translate into the overall strength of the two forces?
Why would Scott order most of the 3,000 Mexican prisoners to return home with promises not to fight against the U.S. Army?
| NCSS Standards | United States | Mexico
| II
| General Winfield Scott ordered artillery be placed on top of La Atalaya. This aws the same hill recommended to Santa Anna, who refused to consider the strategy. Scott then sent Robert E. Lee on a reconnaissance mission to find a way to surprise Santa Anna's army from the rear.
| Rejecting the advice of an experienced military engineer, General Santa Anna refused to place artillery on La Atalaya overlooking the highway.
| II
| Scott's plan succeeded, and Mexico's army was shattered.
| More than 3,000 troops surrendered.
| VI
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| Santa Anna did not have the legal authority to negotiate a peace and bring an end to war. Only the Mexican Congress was authorized to negotiate a treaty.
| II, III
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| Santa Anna later resurfaced in Mexico City as commander of an army composed of soldiers, civilians and a small group of deserters from the U.S. Army.
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