United States History Student Edition

Making Connections to Today

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Understanding Chronology

As soon as the first English settlers to America arrived on the East Coast, Americans started moving west. The Jackson era and the subsequent decades were a key time in westward expansion. From the 1820s through the 1840s, not only did the United States expand its territory but the country’s population grew and spread geographically. ACTIVITY Creating a Time Line of Westward Expansion Create a time line that shows the events of westward expansion during this period in chronological order. Include information about people moving west, such as the Mormon migration, and about territorial acquisitions. Also include important events related to the westward movement, such as the Texas Revolution and the Indian Removal Act. For reference points, include the dates of the presidencies from John Quincy Adams to James K. Polk. Use colors to classify the information in your time line in the way you think will be most helpful for a reader.

When English colonists began settling in North America, the Native Americans were largely welcoming. Over the next 200 years, the number of colonists and the area they occupied grew. Native Americans were forced off their lands, often with the assistance of the state or federal government. By 1840, nearly all Native Americans in the southeastern states had been killed or relocated to the West. The killing and dispossession of land continued. As of 2020, there were 1.9 million Native Americans and Alaskan Natives registered with a federally recognized tribe or nation. One in three lived in poverty—about 630,000 people—while the national poverty rate was 11.8 percent, less than one in eight. Few are able to live as their ancestors did because they have been displaced and excluded from their ancestral lands. Often their lands are in areas where it is difficult to find jobs or start economically viable businesses. It has been argued that the troubled circumstances of Native Americans today are due to actions of the U.S. government. Some suggest that the United States owes reparations—repayments, perhaps in the form of money or land—to Native Americans to compensate them for dispossessing them of their homelands. ACTIVITY Writing a News Article Conduct research in books, magazines, news sources, and government sources to identify groups and individuals that support or oppose reparations for Native Americans. What are the best arguments they use to justify their position? Have they taken action to call attention for their cause, and if so, how? Then write a neutral article for your school newspaper to inform students about the possible pros and cons of reparations. Be sure to include a balanced amount of pros and cons in your article.

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