United States History to 1877

Expansion and Reform: 1801 to 1861

USI.8

The student will demonstrate knowledge of westward expansion and reform in America from 1801 to 1861 by

a) describing territorial expansion and how it affected the political map of the United States, with emphasis on the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the acquisitions of Florida, Texas, Oregon, and California;
b) identifying the geographic and economic factors that influenced the westward movement of settlers;
c) describing the impact of inventions, including the cotton gin, the reaper, the steamboat, and the steam locomotive, on life in America;
d) identifying the main ideas of the abolitionist and suffrage movements.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Begin the unit by asking students how inventions affected the lives of Americans.
Explain that prior to the Civil War, most industrialization in America was in the North; however, the equipment produced in the North had an impact on the farming society in the South.
Explain to students that as land was being acquired and people were making the move west, the country was also going through a time of new inventions. Ask students to predict some of the things they thought might have been invented in the 1800s. Ask students to back up their predictions with historical events.
Give students the Research Assignment New Technologies worksheet on four inventions of the time. Tell students they will not be given specific Web sites to find the information, but will need to use search engines. Give students about 45-60 minutes to complete the research. For the Research Assignment New Technologies worksheet, CLICK HERE.
Go over the answers students found from their research. Explain to students that some dates of invention may contradict others because pieces of things were invented at certain times. Tell students it is more important to know the general time period related to each invention as opposed to exact dates.
Have students fill in the Notes: New Inventions worksheet. For the Notes: New Inventions worksheet, CLICK HERE.
Review the key new technologies and inventions prior to the Civil War:

The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. It increased the production of cotton and thus increased the need for slave labor to cultivate and pick cotton.
Jo Anderson (a slave) and Cyrus McCormick worked to invent the reaper. The reaper increased the productivity of the American farmer.
The steamboat was improved by Robert Fulton. It eventually provided faster river transportation that connected Southern plantations and farms to Northern industries and Western territories.
The steam locomotive provided faster land transportation.

Provide background information on Eli Whitney (December 8, 1765 - January 8, 1825). He was an American inventor and manufacturer who is credited with creating the first cotton gin in 1793. The cotton gin was a mechanical device, which removed the seeds from cotton, a process that was until that time extremely labor-intensive. For more information, go to http://www.eliwhitney.org/cotton.htm.
Cyrus McCormick of Virginia was responsible for liberating farm workers from hours of backbreaking labor by introducing his newly invented mechanical reaper in July 1831. By 1847, Cyrus McCormick began the mass manufacture of his reaper in a Chicago factory. The invention of two successful reaping machines - independently by Obed Hussey in Ohio, who obtained the first patent in 1834, and by Cyrus Hall McCormick in Virginia - brought about an end to tedious handiwork and encouraged the invention and manufacture of other labor-saving farm implements and machinery. The first reapers cut the standing grain and, with a revolving reel, swept it onto a platform from which a man walking alongside raked it off into piles. It could harvest more grain than five men using the earlier cradles. The reaper was eventually replaced by the self-propelled combine, operated by one man, which cuts, gathers, threshes, and sacks the grain mechanically. The reaper was the first step in a transition from hand labor to the mechanized farming of today. It brought about an industrial revolution, as well as a vast change in agriculture. For more information, go to http://www.vaes.vt.edu/steeles/mccormick/bio.html.
Provide background information on the history of the steamboat. John Fitch constructed four different steamboats between 1785 and 1796 that successfully plied rivers and lakes and demonstrated, in part, the feasibility of using steam for water locomotion. His models utilized various combinations of propulsive force, including ranked paddles (patterned after Indian war canoes), paddle wheels, and screw propellers. While his boats were mechanically successful, Fitch failed to pay sufficient attention to construction and operating costs and was unable to justify the economic benefits of steam navigation. Robert Fulton (1765-1815) built his first boat after Fitch's death, and it was Fulton who became known as the "father of steam navigation." Fulton successfully built and operated a submarine (in France) in 1801, before turning his talents to the steamboat. Robert Fulton was accredited with turning the steamboat into a commercial success. On August 7, 1807, Robert Fulton's Clermont went from New York City to Albany, making history with a 150-mile trip taking 32 hours at an average speed of about 5 miles-per-hour. For more information, go to http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamship.htm.
By 1776, iron had replaced the wood in the rails and wheels on the carts. Wagonways evolved into tramways and spread though out Europe. Horses still provided all the pulling power. In 1789, Englishman, William Jessup designed the first wagons with flanged wheels. The flange was a groove that allowed the wheels to better grip the rail, this was an important design that carried over to later locomotives. Colonel John Stevens is considered to be the father of American railroads. In 1826 Stevens demonstrated the feasibility of steam locomotion on a circular experimental track constructed on his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey, three years before George Stephenson perfected a practical steam locomotive in England. The first railroad charter in North America was granted to John Stevens in 1815. Grants to others followed, and work soon began on the first operational railroads. For more information, go to http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrailroad.htm.
Explain to students that new inventions and geographic and economic factors influenced westward expansion. Have students examine the influences of inventions by creating a graphic organizer on influential inventions, using their texts and other relevant resources. Have students work in pairs or individually to complete the Influential Inventions worksheet. For the Influential Inventions worksheet, CLICK HERE.
Have students examine the causes and effects of western expansion by creating a graphic organizer on causes and effects similar to the Causes and Effects of Western Expansion worksheet. For the Causes and Effects of Western Expansion worksheet, CLICK HERE.

WEB SITES

http://www.eliwhitney.org/cotton.htm
Eli Whitney

http://www.vaes.vt.edu/steeles/mccormick/bio.html
Jo Anderson and Cyrus McCormick

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamship.htm
History of steamboats

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/transport/steamboats.html
Steamboats

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrailroad.htm
History of the steam locomotive

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