Unit 3: The Growth of the Republic

We recommend that teachers new to Investigating History review the Curriculum Guidebook before preparing to teach their first unit.

Cluster 1: Foreign Policy Decisions of the Early Republic (Lessons 1-13)
Were the foreign policy decisions made by the leaders of the Early Republic shaped more by the nation’s declared values or other interests?
How did Indigenous Nations take action to protect their sovereignty and what motivated their choices?
How did the people and government of the United States respond to Indigenous resistance? What were the consequences?

Lesson 1: How Do Values and Interests Shape a Nation? 

Lesson 2: Foreign Policy Decisions in the Northwest Territory 

Lesson 3: Foreign Policy Advice for Presidents of the Early Republic 

Lesson 4: The United States and the Haitian Revolution 

Lesson 5: Analyzing Artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition 

Lesson 6: Foreign Policy Decisions in the Louisiana Territory

Lessons 7-9: Inquiry Cycle: Analyzing Resistance Strategies of Indigenous Nations 

Lesson 10: The Mashpee Wampanoag Fight for Sovereignty (1834 - Present) 

Literacy Block: Shawnee Sovereignty after Tecumseh (optional)

Lesson 11: Perspectives on the Indian Removal Act

Lesson 12: The Trail of Tears and The Resilience of the Cherokee Nation

Literacy Block: Indian Removal Stories of Other Indigenous Nations (optional)

Lesson 13: Pausing For Practice: Curating Evidence to Support a Claim

Cluster 2: Slavery in the Early Republic (Lessons 14-19)
How was slavery connected to the nation’s economic and territorial growth?
How did free and enslaved African Americans resist oppression and show resilience? 

Lesson 14: Cotton, Slavery, and the Economics of Expansion

Lesson 15: The Cotton Gin, Cotton Mills, and Northern Connections to Slavery

Lesson 16: The  Cotton Economy, Slavery and Wealth

Lesson 17: Enslavement and Resistance

Lesson 18: Perspectives of the Enslaved 

Lesson 19:  Resistance to Enslavement

Literacy Block: Music as Resistance (optional)

Literacy Block: Slave Rebellions (optional)

Cluster 3: The Economy and Workers of the Early Republic (Lessons 20-24)
Who benefited and who was harmed by the economy of the Early Republic?

Lesson 20: Building the Early Republic: The Civic Value of  Education

Lesson 21: The Economy and Workers of the Early Republic

Lesson 22:  Researching and Analyzing the Industries and Work of the Early Republic

Lesson 23: Expert Convention: The Economy of the Early Republic 

Lesson 24: Webbing the Economic Ecosystem of the Early Republic

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