Topic Five (1.5): The Impact of Westward Expansion

Introduction Icon.png Introduction

Here you will explore how the issue of slavery contributed to America's expansion into Texas and further west. You will also see how westward expansion exacerbated tensions between the free states of the North and the slave states of the South and ultimately led to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Read & Make Notes Icon.png Read and Make Notes

  • Read and make notes from your textbook, pages 9 to 12 and 14 to 15.
  • Use the following links to add to your notes:

READ – Manifest Destiny (US History) Links to an external site.

READ – Manifest Destiny (Lumen Learning) Links to an external site.

READ – Manifest Destiny (History Crunch) Links to an external site.

READ – Manifest Destiny (Digital History) Links to an external site.

Watch Icon.png Watch

  • Watch the first three lectures in this series:

WATCH – The Westward Expansion of the United States, 1803-90 (MASSOLIT) Links to an external site.

  • Now watch the following videos and add to your notes:

WATCH – Manifest Destiny: Causes and Effects of Westward Expansion (MASSOLIT) Links to an external site.

WATCH – "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way" (YouTube) Links to an external site.

WATCH – History and Government (Hippo Campus) Links to an external site.

Skills Icon.png Tasks

  • Watch this video:

WATCH – Expansion of the United States Map 1763-Present (YouTube) Links to an external site.

  • Use the following link, and your own research, to construct a timeline:

EXPLORE – A Territorial History of the United States (The Map as History) Links to an external site.

  • Use this interactive map to describe the expansion of slavery across the US:

EXPLORE – The Spread of US Slavery 1790-1860 (Lincoln Mullen) Links to an external site.

  • Why do you think this happened? Compare your conclusions with the author’s in the following resource:

READ – These Maps Reveal How Slavery Expanded Across the United States (Smithsonian Magazine) Links to an external site.

  • Watch the following video and sum up attitudes to race in the US:

WATCH – Slavery (Annenberg Learner) Links to an external site.

  • Now read and review these conflicting arguments:

READ – The Debate Over Slavery: Arguments (Exploring US History) Links to an external site.

  • Complete the task on Source B on page 12 of your textbook.
  • Identify three impacts for each of:
    • Westward expansion
    • The absorption of Texas
    • Manifest Destiny