Objective:
The student will be able to:
Produce a display describing the geographic, economic, political, and social advantages of living in each of the three large sections of the United States in the period between 1825 and 1850.
Suggested lesson/activities:
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Distribute several brochures and other public relations material that various communities have devised to "market" their communities to prospective residents or businesses. Explain to students that they are going to produce similar materials for a community in the United States in the early 1800s. (For students in New York State, teachers could use the "I Love New York" material.)
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Create task groups of 4-6 students, taking care to include within each group students with different learning styles and abilities. Remind students that they should consider the natural geographic barriers that separated the North from the South and each of these sections from the West. (The West here designates what is now the Midwest rather than the territory west of the Mississippi -- although the Far West is not to be excluded if it is of particular interest to students.)
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Each group is to proceed as follows:
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Select three communities -- one from each geographic region.
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Assign group members to gather information about the geography, economics, politics, and society of the three areas.
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Students should devise appeals to foreign immigrants who are considering emigrating to the United States. They should produce separate material for each region that would entice them to come to the area to live, work, and do business. Keep in mind that each section thinks itself best in all respects.
Back to Unit V: The Ambiguous Democracy in America, 1800-1848