Embedded Files
https://www.nps.gov/miss/riverfacts.htm is a page maintained by the National Parks Service and provides a lot of basic facts about the significance of this river.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River provides a great deal of information about the history of the river and explorers who attempted to find the Northwest Passage.
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-donnerparty provides a short narrative about the horrible ordeals of this group of pioneers.
https://guides.loc.gov/indian-removal-act May 14, 2019 "The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy. During the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839, the Cherokees were forcibly moved west by the United States government. Approximately 4,000 Cherokees died on this forced march, which became known as the "Trail of Tears." Library of Congress Research Guides
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2127339 Dec 1, 1848 "This map accompanied President James K. Polk's annual message to Congress in December 1848. It represents Polk's conception as a Southern Democrat of how to divide up the new territory acquired through the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. It became the starting point of debates in Congress over slavery and westward expansion." National Archives Catalog
https://historytogo.utah.gov/slavery Apr 1, 1995 "Although the practice was never widespread, some Utah pioneers held African-American slaves until 1862 when Congress abolished slavery in the territories...Slavery was legal in Utah as a result of the Compromise of 1850, which brought California into the Union as a free state while allowing Utah and New Mexico territories the option of deciding the issue by “popular sovereignty.” Some Mormon pioneers from the South had brought African-American slaves with them when they migrated west. Some freed their slaves in Utah; others who went on to California had to emancipate them there." History to Go
Westward Expansion Video Links
Westward Expansion Video Links
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yNKTjkGzEZA Apr 5, 2025 How did the USA go from just 13 colonies to one of the biggest countries on Earth? 🌎 In only 100 years, the United States expanded 11 times its original size! 🤯 It all began in 1776, when the colonies declared independence from Britain 🇬🇧. After winning the Revolutionary War, they gained land up to the Mississippi River through the Treaty of Paris 📜 Then came a giant leap — the Louisiana Purchase from France 🇫🇷 which doubled the country’s size 🧩 Florida 🌴 was taken partly by force and partly bought from Spain 🇪🇸. Texas broke away from Mexico 🇲🇽 and joined the U.S., triggering the Mexican-American War ⚔️ — which brought the entire West under U.S. control 🌄 Mass migration along the Oregon Trail led to a deal with Britain, setting the northern border at the 49th parallel 📍. And finally, a purchase from Russia added Alaska ❄️ — the last massive piece of the continental puzzle. GeoGlobeTales
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLob1mZcVWOahtf2_U_9rYSQ2zeoBl4H7t Dec 4, 2020 "America: Promised Land" chronicles the massive immigration patterns of ethnic groups to the United States, anchored by interviews with descendants of ancestors and geographical imagery that showcases the history of how America was populated. HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLfGSXuHu5g Jul 9, 2017 Two hundreds years ago, construction began on a 363-mile canal linking the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and New York City - an engineering and commercial triumph as revolutionary as the Internet. But the Erie Canal was dismissed at first. New York politician DeWitt Clinton spent 10 years fighting to sell the project to a deeply skeptical public, and Presidents Jefferson and Madison refused to help fund it. Yet the canal quickly changed the geography and commerce of the young nation. Richard Schlesinger reports on the history of the Erie Canal, still celebrated in song as an example of American ingenuity. CBS Sunday Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGJ6BTKp8cg Jul 7, 2019 From the gentle rising headwaters in Northern Minnesota, to the Gulf of Mexico over 2,300 miles downstream, Mo Rocca takes a trip on the Mississippi River. CBS Sunday Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3HxADg7G_I Jun 2, 2017 Over 400,000 people travel West to start a new life and claim new land along the Oregon Trail, including Lucinda Brown. One-hundred seventy years later, one of her descendants sees a kettle from her journey for the first time. #AmericaPromisedLand HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqZM5kq-NBg Dec 2, 2014 Fancy men like fancy things... like everything west of the Appalachians. Rock'n'review Manifest Destiny with Mr. Betts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDkqvqqjMAA May 20, 2010 Discover how the Gold Rush led to the creation of California. America: The Story of Us HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6NCHtiiZi0 Feb 3, 2019 This was a school project, I based it from a video I watched some other time. I felt like I could make my own take showcasing events that I thought were important enough to show up. I had a lot of fun making this and stay tuned for part 2! Koral Tea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVdLsgUDtso Mar 7, 2021 Point Roberts, Wash., on a peninsula jutting out from Canada beneath the 49th parallel, is a tiny piece of America separate from the U.S. mainland. Its isolation helped protect the community from the spread of COVID-19, but restrictions at the border have effectively trapped residents there – and kept visitors out. Correspondent Lee Cowan journeys to the isolated town suffering from the economic ripple effects of the pandemic. CBS Sunday Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76TRQCz7w4w Feb 10, 2014 Forbidding mountains were no match for Daniel Boone. When he was hired by a wealthy businessman to forge a trail through the Cumberland Gap, he emerged on the other side of the mountain two weeks later. Smithsonian Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFSprH9tDM0 Nov 7, 2012 What the farmers who settled Oklahoma's lands didn't know was that the years of plentiful rain were only a brief segment of a cycle that would bring drought, dust storms, and devastation. Smithsonian Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qZcQtAP3r8 May 15, 2015 It's incredible to think that St. Louis's Gateway Arch, a modern architectural marvel designed by Eero Saarinen, was built out of a federal grant set up to address unemployment during the Depression. From: AERIAL AMERICA: Missouri https://www.smithsonianchannel.com Smithsonian Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4qGnEI2-Wg May 12, 2016 One of America's greatest highways is barely visible from the ground. It's only from the air that you can pick out the remains of the Oregon Trail. From: AERIAL AMERICA: Roadside Attractions https://www.smithsonianchannel.com Smithsonian Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDV0Ldp31xA Jul 15, 2016 In 1836, Narcissa Whitman and her husband Marcus joined a group of missionaries traveling west along the Oregon Trail. It was the first time a woman--or a wagon--had ever attempted the trip. From: AERIAL AMERICA: The Wild West https://www.smithsonianchannel.com Smithsonian Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgAgFbnJE24 Oct 9, 2014 In 1862, Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law. For just eighteen dollars, the law entitled men over twenty-one to claim 160 acres of land, provided they farmed it successfully for five years. From the Series: Aerial America: Nebraska https://www.smithsonianchannel.com Smithsonian Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_0sbiZmzoM Oct 25, 2022 Comprising the modern states of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, the old Northwest Territory witnessed the United States' first westward expansion. Learn more with Dan Davis of the American Battlefield Trust. This video is part of the Battlefield U series in which we provide answers to your questions about the Civil War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812. We aim to increase your baseline knowledge of American history, whether it be for school, battlefield visits, or trivia night! American Battlefield Trust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_AuKM7S6TU Jan 5, 2023 Explore how beavers build their impressive dams, and what impact these structures have on the surrounding environment. -- Nestled in the forests of Canada sits the world’s longest beaver dam. This 850-meter-long structure is large enough to be seen in satellite imagery and has dramatically transformed the region, creating a pond containing 70 million liters of water. But dams of any size can have huge impacts on their environment. So how exactly do beavers build these impressive structures? Glynnis Hood investigates. Lesson by Glynnis Hood, directed by Keegan Thornhill. View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-beavers-build-dams-glynnis-hood Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-beavers-build-dams-glynnis-hood#digdeeper TEDEd
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvsS9mRi0sXakSx2NthtK5UxulEdpOMt3 May 22, 2014 The American West 01 - The Road to Pine Ridge (1840-1890) - from Timelines.tv 7:34 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53wPfADh_tA | The American West 02 - Travels with the Oglala (1846) - from Timelines.tv 8:11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UxlK9kQTuA | The American West 03 - Wagon Trails to the West (1849) - from Timelines.tv 9:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsqpFuI6aQQ | The American West 04 - By Railroad to Nebraska (1872) - from Timelines.tv 8:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLvlYmC8cw4 | The American West 05 - Gold in the Black Hills (1874) - from Timelines.tv 9:16 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M9-5Twz0q8 | The American West 06 - The Cattle Trail (1879) - from Timelines.tv 8:03 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaHQ2vrt0ak | The American West 07 - Little Bighorn and Beyond (1876-1890) - from Timelines.tv 9:03 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLUwbGRmv9U timelinesTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53wPfADh_tA Jun 8, 2010 Black Elk, a holy man of the Lakota Sioux, remembers life on the Plains before the coming of the white man. (7.5 mins) Black Elk described his life to the author John G. Neihardt in the early 1930s. In this module we hear Black Elk's account of his childhood, as published in Neihardt's book "Black Elk Speaks". It's an account of Lakota life back when the bison roamed the Plains - before the coming of the Wasichu, the 'pale faces'. And at the Pine Ridge reservation today, we witness a pow-wow - a glimpse of the old Lakota culture preserved in the heart of the modern USA. timelinesTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UxlK9kQTuA Jan 31, 2013 An early traveler in the West recalls life with the Oglala, and the ritual of the Great Buffalo Hunt. (8 mins) In 1846 a young journalist from Boston called Francis Parkman made a journey down the Oregon Trail, to experience the life of the Oglala Sioux. This module tells his story: how he made contact with the Oglala west of Fort Laramie, Wyoming; how he described the customs of the tribe; and how, feverish with excitement, he participated in an exhilarating Oglala ritual: the Great Buffalo Hunt. timelinesTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsqpFuI6aQQ Jan 31, 2013 A 14-year-old girl describes a great American adventure, crossing the Plains by wagon on a 2000-mile journey west. (9.25 mins) In 1848, the Hester family from Indiana embarked on an epic journey west by covered wagon to California. Their 14-year-old daughter Sallie wrote a diary describing the experience, and this module tells her story. It follows the Hesters across the Plains and over the treacherous Sierra Nevadas - past the place where the Donner Party met their grisly end just three years earlier. timelinesTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLvlYmC8cw4 Jan 31, 2013 The letters of a homesteader couple describe the epic experience of the first white settlers on the Plains. (8.5 mins) With the coming of the railroad, the settlement of the Great Plains began - a process believed by many to be the 'manifest destiny' of the American people, and facilitated by the promise of free land. But first, the homesteaders had to tame a forbidding landscape, and this was no easy task. The module follows the story of Uriah and Mattie Oblinger, whose letters, written in 1872-3, describe the creation of their 'sodhouse', a house made from the only material available: the matted roots of the prairie grass itself. timelinesTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M9-5Twz0q8 Jan 31, 2013 The story of the South Dakota gold rush of 1874, and of its impact on the sacred homelands of the Lakota Sioux. (9.25 mins) This module tells the story of the prospectors, focusing on the story of the South Dakota Gold Rush of 1874. The Black Hills had been promised to the Lakota "as long as grass grows and the rivers flow" - but when an expedition led by Col. George Custer established the presence of gold in the hills, these promises to the Native Americans were soon broken. The module describes the experiences of Annie Tallent, one of the first prospectors to enter the hills, and the only woman amongst the Gordon Party of 1874. timelinesTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaHQ2vrt0ak Jan 31, 2013 A cowboy remembers the days of the great cattle drives, and the transformation of the western plains into a cattle kingdom. (8 mins) This module tells the story of the great cattle drives in the years after the American Civil War, when cheap southern beef was driven north out of Texas to the railheads of Kansas, to feed the cities in the North and on the eastern seaboard. Teddy Blue Abbott, a cowboy from those days, recalls the drover's life; he recalls how the trail became impassible once the homesteaders fenced off the Plains; and he recalls his last great drive, north to Montana, where he bought some land and exchanged the life of a drover for the life of a rancher. timelinesTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLUwbGRmv9U ched its climax at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Black Elk describes his part in the battle as a 13-year-old warrior - and he describes the tragic years that followed, when the Native Americans found themselves hemmed into the reservations, and "the nation's hoop was broken". timelinesTV
American Voices / Immigrant America 01 - From the Old World to the New 11K views 8 years ago 4:42
American Voices / Immigrant America 02 - Arriving in New York City 3:05
American Voices / Immigrant America 03 - Land of Opportunity 5:55
American Voices / Immigrant America 04 - The Melting Pot 6:38
American Voices / Immigrant America 05 - The Door Closes 3:00
American Voices / Black America 01 - Sharecroppers 8:13
American Voices / Black America 02 - Harlem Renaissance 4:43
American Voices / Black America 03 - Working Lives 4:08
American Voices / Black America 04 - Silver Linings 6:12
American Voices / New Deal 01 - New Deal 8:29
American Voices / New Deal 02 - Good Neighbors 4:20
American Voices / New Deal 03 - TVA 4:36
American Voices / New Deal 04 - Backlash 5:55
American Voices / Hard Times 01 - The Wall Street Crash 4:53
American Voices / Hard Times 02 - The Great Depression 9:03
American Voices / Hard Times 03 - Hard Times on the Land 5:40
American Voices / Hard Times 04 - Breaking Point 3:46
American Voices / Boom and Bust 01 - Boom Times 9:16
American Voices / Boom and Bust 02 - The Urban Poor 4:36
American Voices / Boom and Bust 03 - The Rural Poor 4:26
American Voices / Boom and Bust 04 - The Bubble Bursts 5:04
1. What is the second largest rodent in the world?
2. What features of a stream make it a suitable location for beavers to build a dam?
3. How long can beavers hold their breath under water?
4. Why are beaver dams often concave in shape?
5. How long do the male and female beavers stay as a pair?
6. How long do beaver kits stay with their parents before dispersing to find their own territories?
7. What do beavers build to live in?
8. How does the presence of beaver dams help people the most?
9. Beavers change their environment to benefit their own success through a process called “ecosystem engineering”. What are some of the physical outcomes of their engineering activities, and how might these outcomes aid the success of other species and ecological processes as well?
10. During the global fur trade of the 16th to 19th century, both species were almost hunted and trapped to extinction both in Eurasia (for the Eurasian beaver) and North America (for the North American beaver). Both species have since made dramatic recoveries throughout much of their former ranges. How might the extinction of beavers throughout the northern hemisphere have altered biodiversity and ecological processes?
11. The term “ecosystem engineer” refers to a species that alters the physical aspects/structure of its environment. Many scientists also consider beavers to be a “keystone species”, which is a species that has a disproportionate effect on the entire ecosystem, particularly through food webs. If a keystone species is removed from a system, the whole system would likely collapse. How would the reintroduction of beavers into their previously occupied habitats influence other organisms in the food web? Which type of species might benefit the most?
Report abuse