1. Manifest Destiny and the American West

2. The American West The student is expected to know (desired outcomes): What was the American West? What drove people to move west and how did they get there? What major events shaped the West? Who were the major people/groups who had an impact? Who were most affected by the settling of the West? How did the idea of the West shape America? Evaluate, support, defend Is US history a history of progress? Has the gap between rich and poor improved?

3. Manifest Destiny The American idea of Manifest Destiny is shown in the following painting as a goddess who is leading the settlement of the West. Notice the Indians, settlers, mountain men or miners, cowboys who are going west. “MANIFEST DESTINY” came to mean that Americans have a God- given right and obligation to populate the West, in order to bring civilization and learning (notice the book in her hand in the picture) and communication (notice the telegraph wire in her other hand.