1. Unit 2: Westward Expansion

2. Video Terms to Know
Commodity: a raw material or product that can be bought and sold
Convulsion: a violent social or political upheaval
Cumberland Gap: a narrow pass through the Appalachian Mountains, near KY, VA, & TN
Decree: an official order issued by a legal authority
Exploits: a bold or daring feat
Frontier: wilderness
Keelboat: a large, flat freight boat used on rivers
Toil: work extremely hard
Uncharted: an area of land (or sea) not mapped

3. Please take out A separate sheet of paper A writing stick
A highlighter

4. My feedback
A squiggly line means the sentence doesn’t make sense or is awkward.
Read it out loud to see what I mean.
W.C. = word choice. This means I don’t think you’re using the right word
? = I can’t read your handwriting here
= No 1st person!
Capitalize names (America, John O’Sullivan, Native Americans, etc.)
Indent paragraphs

5. Paragraph Revision Every solid paragraph needs 4 things:
Thesis Statement/Topic Sentence
Evidence
Reasoning
Conclusion

6. 2 Types of Writing Argumentative Explanatory
Make a claim that can be argued for or against
Explanatory
Explain something (no argument)

7. Manifest Destiny paragraphs
Q: How did Americans justify westward expansion?
Why did Americans think it was ok for the US to take more land?

8. Manifest Destiny paragraphs
Q: How did Americans justify westward expansion?
A: With the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’
What does Manifest Destiny mean?
How do we know Americans believed this?

9. 1. Topic Sentence
A topic sentence introduces the reader to what you are going to talk about
Should not include facts/evidence
Should be in your own words

10. 1. Topic Sentence Examples:
Americans justified westward expansion with the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’ which meant it was their right.
Americans justified westward expansion with the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’ because they believed America was special.

11. 1. Topic Sentence
Please take a few minutes to review your topic sentence.
Make changes if needed & write your new sentence on your new sheet of paper.

12. 2. Evidence You need a minimum of 3 pieces of evidence per paragraph.
Evidence can include:
Facts
Statistics
Quotes
Ideas from the text/document

13. Evidence Example
In John O’Sullivan’s “Annexation” he states, “the time has come to stop treating Texas as an alien, and to stop thwarting our policy and hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence.” According to John O’Sullivan, America’s mission is to put an end to the tyranny of kings and carry both peace and goodwill to millions of people who are less fortunate than them.

14. 2. Evidence You need a minimum of 3 pieces of evidence per paragraph.
Evidence can include:
Facts
Statistics
Quotes
Ideas from the text/document
Highlight your 3 pieces of evidence in your original paragraphs

15. Citations
If it’s not your own words, you have to say where you got it. Give the author/creator credit!
Citations go at the end of the sentence, in parenthesis OR in the sentence itself:
“…the mind finds an agreeable resting place on its western limits” (Melish).
According to John O’Sullivan, America’s mission is to put an end to the tyranny of kings.

16. 3. Reasoning So you’ve given a piece of evidence…So what?
You need to explain what the evidence means.
Sentence starters include:
This shows that…
The document is important because…
The author suggests that…
This means…
The author’s point is…

17. Reasoning Example
In a painting by Thomas Gast, he depicts Lady Liberty and white Americans moving westward. Gast’s depiction of this demonstrates that it was God’s destiny for the people to expand westward, making them feel that their actions were justified because it was God’s doing.

18. 4. Conclusion The conclusion summarizes your paragraph
Sentence starters:
In conclusion…
Americans felt that…
Overall…
It is clear that…

19. Paragraph Formula Topic Sentence Evidence #1 Analysis of evidence #1
Conclusion