To What Extent Did the Debates About the Mexican War

The Mexican-American War: Arguments for and against Going to War

Unit Overview

Over the course of 3 lessons the students will clarify two chief source documents that correspond two different points of view on the Mexican-American War. The first certificate is a spoken language delivered by then President James K. Polk justifying America's war with United mexican states and request the United States Congress for a announcement of war. The second document is a speech past Congressman Joshua Giddings during the debate in the Firm of Representatives that questions the President's motives for and handling of the coming conflict. Students will closely read and analyze these speeches with the purpose of not only understanding the literal meaning but likewise inferring the more subtle contexts inside these documents. Students will use textual prove to depict their conclusions and present arguments equally directed in each lesson culminating in a mock debate oral presentation.

Lesson 1

Objective

In this lesson the students will carefully read a primary source document, a oral communication delivered past President James G. Polk asking the United states of america Congress for a Declaration of State of war against the land of Mexico. The students volition analyze the document and identify the arguments that are being made in favor of declaring state of war.

Introduction

The border between Texas and Mexico had been a subject of much debate ever since Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836. Fifty-fifty after Texas was annexed past the Usa in 1845, the question of whether its southern edge was the Rio Grande River or the Nueces River, about 150 miles to the north, was greatly contested. This was the situation when James Thou. Polk became president. Polk believed that the United States had a "Manifest Destiny" to accomplish from the Atlantic Sea to the shores of the Pacific. To assist fulfill this destiny Polk sent a US representative to the Mexican government in order to make an offer to purchase California and parts of New Mexico also as to settle the disputed territory in Texas. In exchange for this country he offered $25–$30 million and an boosted $3 million in debt relief owed to American citizens by Mexico. The Mexican government refused to meet with the representative. Consequently, Polk ordered the US Regular army to move into the disputed territory. Fighting broke out on Apr 25, 1846, when a Mexican force killed sixteen American soldiers in the disputed territory due south of the Nueces River.

Materials

• President James K. Polk, To the Congress of the United States: A Special Message Calling for a Annunciation of War confronting Mexico, Washington, May 11, 1846 (abridged)
• President James G. Polk, To the Congress of the United states: A Special Message Calling for a Declaration of War against United mexican states, Washington, May xi, 1846 (consummate)
• Graphic Organizer: Summarize for Comprehension

Procedures:

At the instructor'due south discretion you lot may cull to accept the students do the lessons individually, equally partners, or in modest groups of no more than 3 or four students.

1. Discuss the information in the introduction. You may have the students take notes on the information.
2. Hand out President Polk's speech to Congress.
3. The teacher so "share reads" this certificate with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the instructor begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while the instructor continues to read along with the students, nevertheless serving equally the model for the grade. This technique will support struggling readers as well every bit English Language Learners (ELL).
4. Students will look at the document then determine which are the most of import words or phrases in that text and copy those words into the box on the right. After they have determined what is most important they will summarize the text in their own words.
5. Students can brainstorm as partners or small groups just must finish their own organizer in gild to complete the consignment.
6. Form discussion. What is the cardinal argument existence made in Polk'southward speech? Have groups or individual students share their summaries and compare with other groups. Call back to emphasize that they are to first employ the author'southward own words to determine what is important in the text and and so to summarize what they empathise information technology to hateful.

Lesson 2

Objective

In this lesson the students will advisedly read a principal source document, a speech delivered by Congressman Joshua Giddings during a debate in the House of Representatives only prior to the vote on President James One thousand. Polk's request that the U.s.a. Congress declare war against the state of Mexico. The students volition clarify the document and identify the arguments that are being fabricated against declaring war.

Introduction

For a number of representatives in Congress, especially those from the northern states, a decision in favor of going to war with Mexico had lilliputian to do with national pride or off-white trade practices and everything to do with American slavery and imperialistic expansion. Although these voices were in the minority they were song in their opposition to the President. Among those opposed to the state of war with Mexico was the newly elected congressman Abraham Lincoln. Author Henry David Thoreau refused to pay taxes that would support the state of war and was subsequently jailed, where he wrote his essay Ceremonious Disobedience. Yet despite the arguments raised by northern congressmen, war was declared only hours after Giddings gave his speech.

Materials

• Rep. Joshua Giddings, Fence on the Mexican War, House of Representatives, Washington, May 13, 1846 (abridged)
• Rep. Joshua Giddings, Debate on the Mexican War, House of Representatives, Washington, May 13, 1846 (complete)
• President James K. Polk, To the Congress of the United States: A Special Message Calling for a Declaration of State of war against Mexico, Washington, May 11, 1846 (abridged)
• President James One thousand. Polk, To the Congress of the United States: A Special Message Calling for a Declaration of War against Mexico, Washington, May 11, 1846 (consummate)
• Graphic Organizer: Summarize for Comprehension

Procedures

At the teacher's discretion you may cull to have the students exercise the lessons individually, as partners, or in small groups of no more than three or four students.

1. Discuss the information in the introduction. You may have the students take notes on the information.
2. Hand out Congressman Joshua Giddings'southward speech to Congress.
3. The teacher then "share reads" this document with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The instructor models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while the instructor continues to read forth with the students, still serving as the model for the course. This technique will support struggling readers equally well as English language Language Learners (ELL).
4. Students will wait at the certificate and so decide which are the near important words or phrases in that text and copy those words into the box on the right. After they take determined what is about important they will summarize the text in their ain words.
5. Students can brainstorm every bit partners or small groups but must finish their own organizer in social club to complete the consignment.
6. Course discussion. What is the key argument beingness fabricated in Giddings's speech? Have groups or individual students share their summaries and compare with other groups. Remember to emphasize that they are to first use the author's ain words to determine what is important in the text and then to summarize what they sympathise it to mean.

Lesson 3

Objective

In this lesson the students will demonstrate their understanding of the documents presented over the past two lessons. They volition be participating in a mock debate in which they volition exist role-playing proponents of and opponents to the war with Mexico and debating questions concerning the wisdom and consequences of this conflict.

Introduction:

State of war was declared against Mexico on May xiii, 1846. The war lasted a fiddling over a year and a half from 1846 to 1848 and finally ended with the capture of Mexico City by American forces and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. This treaty gave the Us possession of vast amounts of land including the futurity states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Wyoming. Mexico also agreed to drop its claims on Texas. In return the Mexican government received $15 million and the United States causeless the debts that Mexico owed to American citizens.

Materials:

• Rep. Joshua Giddings, Fence on the Mexican War, Firm of Representatives, Washington, May xiii, 1846 (abridged)
• Rep. Joshua Giddings, Debate on the Mexican War, House of Representatives, Washington, May 13, 1846 (complete)
• President James M. Polk, To the Congress of the United states: A Special Message Calling for a Proclamation of State of war against Mexico, Washington, May eleven, 1846 (abridged)
• President James K. Polk, To the Congress of the Usa: A Special Bulletin Calling for a Annunciation of War against Mexico, Washington, May 11, 1846 (complete)

Procedures

Students should be organized into groups of 3-5three to 4 students. All of the students should take copies of the listed materials.

1. Practice not discuss the information in the introduction until the decision of the lesson.
2. Tell the students that they are going to have a mock debate based on the arguments given in the two speeches that they have studied over the by two lessons. They demand to choose one person in their group to be a argue moderator and an even number of students divided into those for and those against the state of war.
3. Inform the students that they will be writing the script for a argue based on the issues raised in the primary documents that they have been studying. This script is to exist written as a team endeavor and everyone in the grouping will accept a copy of the concluding script. This will non be an actual debate but more like a short reader'due south-theater piece.
4. The teacher will provide a question that all groups must address during their argue. However, the students should add another two to four relevant questions every bit long as the answers can be taken directly from the principal source textile.
5. It is of import that the students portraying those who are in favor of going to war and those who are opposed to going to war employ the actual text from the documents to make their arguments.
6. Give the students the following question to be asked by the moderator and addressed by both sides (recollect to support arguments with the actual document text):

What do you believe is your opponents' weakest argument as to declaring war or non declaring state of war on Mexico? (Make sure to base your answer on show from the text.)

7. Students tin can then construct ii to 4 questions of their own choosing to be answered by either side with the opportunity for rebuttal.
8. Remind the students that anybody in the grouping needs to piece of work on the script, not only one side or the other, and that the responses need to be taken directly from what the authors of the documents said.
9. One student in the group acts equally the fence moderator and asks the scripted questions that were written past the group. Students will present their debates to the residuum of the class while role-playing both sides of the argument:to declare war or non to declare war.
10. Class discussion: After all of the debate presentations are concluded hash out the best arguments made past the groups and the best text-based prove used.

Extension:

Later ii years of fighting American forces defeated the Mexican ground forces and captured the county'south capital of Mexico Metropolis. The Mexican-American war ended on February ii, 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Past signing this treaty the United States agreed to pay Mexico $15 million while Mexico gave upward 55 percent of its territory, including parts of nowadays-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the Us.

Materials

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
• Map of the United states of america of Mexico

Process

Students should examine both the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo besides as the map that was used in negotiating the Treaty. Use the following questions to focus their analysis.

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. Which Article of the treaty is responsible for defining the new national boundaries between the two countries?
2. According to Article VIII what happens to Mexican citizens that alive in territories now claimed past the United States?
3. According to Article XII how long will information technology take the Us to pay Mexico for the land the U.Due south. has just acquired?
4. Co-ordinate to Manufactures XXI and XXII what are some of the "rules" if war breaks out again between Mexico and the The states?
5. Using the "Map of the United states of america of Mexico" and a gimmicky map of the United States and Mexico decide how much of its territory Mexico was losing equally well as how much larger the U.s. was condign.

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Source: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/lesson-plan/mexican-american-war-arguments-and-against-going-war

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