Prepare: In Chapter 8, you will read how the decades following the War of 1812 are often depicted as an age
of nationalism, democratization, egalitarianism, individualism, industrialization, and economic and territorial
expansion. The same period, however, could also be depicted as an age of racial oppression, ethnic cleansing,
the entrenchment of slavery, the subjugation of women (see Rexford, 2008 for a discussion of how women’s
shoes enhanced their domesticity and dependence), the spread of poverty, the militant conquest of foreign
lands and foreign peoples, and the emergence of divisive sectionalism which would tear the country apart.
In conjunction with the textbook, watch one of the following videos below:
Division (https://secure.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
Token=43277&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=)
The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: Revolution
(https://secure.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
Token=40998&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=)
Origins (https://secure.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
Token=2988&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=)
Westward: America – The Story of Us (https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
token=43276&wID=100753&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&fWidth=660&fHeight=530)
[Segments] Cherokee Assimilation as Survival (https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
token=49735&wID=100753&loid=159004&plt=FOD&w=640&h=360&fWidth=660&fHeight=410), Government
Distribution of Indian Land (https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
token=49735&wID=100753&loid=159005&plt=FOD&w=640&h=360&fWidth=660&fHeight=410), Indian
Removal Act (https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
token=49735&wID=100753&loid=159007&plt=FOD&w=640&h=360&fWidth=660&fHeight=410), Cherokee
Defense & Trail of Tears (https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?
token=49735&wID=100753&loid=159008&plt=FOD&w=640&h=360&fWidth=660&fHeight=410)
Reflect: As you read and watch the assigned sources, consider why the United States expanded economically
and territorially during this period, and assess the impact of that expansion on the nation both as a unified
whole and specifically on one of the following groups of people:
Native Americans
Slaves
Small farmers
Urban workers
Write: Once you choose the group, please answer the following questions:
How did the United States’ economic and territorial expansion during this period influence or shape the group
you chose?
Did the economic and territorial expansion of the United States in the first half of the 19th century serve to tie
the country together or to drive it apart?