Crossroads: High School Curriculum
Unit V: The Ambiguous Democracy in America, 1800-1848

Lesson 4

Major Concepts

Objectives

Suggested lesson/activities

Between the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States changed from a fragile new republic in a world of great powers to the dominant force in the Western Hemisphere -- while persisting in its indifference to European affairs.

Objectives: The student will be able to:

Explain how the domestic and foreign policies of the United States during this period enabled it to become a major power in the Western Hemisphere while remaining somewhat isolated from and indifferent to European affairs.

Suggested lesson/activities:

1. Read Bil Gilbert's article "The Battle of Lake Erie" (Smithsonian, vol. 25, no. 10, January 1995). This battle, a key event of the War of 1812, places the student in the middle of the period in which the United States was expanding rapidly, making a statement about its power in the Western Hemisphere, and establishing an indifferent posture concerning European affairs. The article should be analyzed in terms of the following:
   1. The nature of the U.S. military.
   2. The level of American industrial development.
   3. Relationships with Indians in the new territories acquired under the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
   4. The scope and nature of the federal government's power with respect to states and individuals.
   5. The extent of settlement in the "western territories."
   6. The nation's developing transportation systems.
   7. The development of the idea of "manifest destiny" or U.S. expansion.
   8. Stabilization of foreign relations.

2. Have students read President James Monroe's 1823 annual message to Congress, focusing on the part of the message in which Monroe enunciated what later historians and politicians have dubbed the Monroe Doctrine. Briefly describe for the students the context in which President Monroe and his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, devised the Monroe Doctrine. Conduct a discussion in which students can take one of four positions on the Monroe Doctrine:
   1. that of a citizen of the United States;
   2. that of a subject of Great Britain or Spain or a citizen of France;
   3. that of a citizen of one of the new Latin American republics; or
   4. that of a Native American in newly acquired territories.

   Students should be able to explain and justify their positions; in particular, they should be able to explain why citizens of the United States would welcome Monroe's message, why Europeans and Native Americans might resent it, and why Latin Americans might welcome it but have lingering reservations or doubts.

3. Using information from CROSSROADS Essay V and the studentsŐ products from Lessons Two and Three as resources, conduct a class discussion focused on the questions embedded in this lesson's objective.