For this unit, we will be focusing on the vast territorial expansion that occurred between 1801 and 1861 as restless Americans pushed westward across the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, and finally across the Rocky Mountains and on to the Pacific Ocean.

Westward expansion is controversial for many reasons, including:

• the removal of many American Indian nations from their homelands

• the process and acquisition of new territories

• conflicts with various groups in the west

This project will divide the people involved in westward expansion into 3 groups: the land's native people, politicians, and pioneers (explorers, settlers, entrepreneurs). As you learn about each of these groups, you will try to answer this question:

In the pursuit of Manifest Destiny, was the process and the result of expanding west an American triumph or tragedy?