Explore our upcoming webinars, events and programs.

The Executive Branch: Readings and Dialogues on the Office and the People

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 20th Century United States History

Votes for Women | The Story of the 19th Amendment

Upcoming Events

Units

Curricula

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Chapter 7: 1844-1860

To What Extent Were Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion Justified?

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 1845

Negro Spirituals

John O’Sullivan, “Annexation,” 1845

William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass on Abolition, 1845–1852

Debating the Mexican-American War, May 1846

Daniel Webster, “7th of March,” 1850

Fugitive Slave Act, 1850

Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” 1851

Dame Shirley (Mrs. Clappe), Letters from a Western Pioneer, 1851–1852

Frank Lecouvreur, From East Prussia to the Golden Gate, 1851–1871

Henry David Thoreau, “Slavery in Massachusetts,” 1854

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1855

Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.

Art Analysis: Hudson River School Landscape Paintings, 1836–1868

Lincoln-Douglass Debates, 1858

South Carolina Secession Debate, 1860

Art Analysis: American Progress by John Gast, 1872

Chapter 7 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore if the Civil War was inevitable.

Chapter 7: 1844-1860 Inquiry Organizer

Answer Key for Chapter 7 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Chapter 7 Answer Key

Why did sectionalism increase during the Antebellum era?

Chapter 7 Introductory Essay: 1844-1860

Explores the unique culture and history of Tucson.

The American Southwest: Tucson in Transition

What antislavery parties existed in the 19th century?

The Free Soil Party

Explores the history of the gold rushes in California.

The 49ers

Investigates Harriet Tubman's role in the fight to end slavery.

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

How did the Fugitive Slave Act galvanize abolitionism in Boston?

Thomas Sims and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Investigates Harriett Stowe's contributions to abolitionism.

Harriett Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Why did the U.S. want to open trade with Japan?

Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan

How did immigration lead to nativist backlash in America?

Nativist Riots and the Know-Nothing Party

Explores the Kansas-Nebraska Act and sectionalism.

Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas

Explores the caning of Charles Sumner on the Senate floor.

Charles Sumner and Preston Brooks

Was John Brown a righteous crusader or violent radical?

John Brown and Harpers Ferry

How did the election of 1860 lead to the Civil War?

The Election of 1860

By the end of this section, you will explain the causes and effects of westward expansion from 1844 to 1877.

Migration West

To Go to War with Mexico?

The Oregon Question: 54-40 or Fight?

By the end of this section, you will explain the similarities and differences in how regional attitudes affected federal policy in the period after the Mexican–American War.

The Compromise of 1850

Use this Lesson to introduce students to the push and pull factors that led to high levels of immigration from Germany and Ireland from 1830 to 1860. Facilitation Notes: This activity is designed for groups of five students. The activity works best if each student only sees their printed primary source. The students should have some background knowledge on the European industrial revolution and its impact on urban growth and immigration in the United States.This lesson targets the foundational skills of analyzing documents, grouping documents, and constructing a thesis as required of the DBQ essay on the AP exam.

Irish and German Immigration DBQ

Use this Lesson to help students understand the attempts made to resolve the issue of slavery in the territories. 

Dred Scott v. Sandford DBQ

Use this Lesson alongside theJohn Brown and Harpers Ferry Narrative to allow students to fully evaluate John Brown's approach to abolitionism. Facilitation Notes: Use available classroom technology to display a United States map so that they are within view throughout the lesson. Also, write theKey Questionon the board so that it is in view throughout the lesson.

John Brown: Hero or Villain? DBQ

Use this Lesson with The Election of 1860 Narrative and the South Carolina Secession Debate, 1860 Primary Source to allow students to analyze the motivations of South Carolina to secede from the United States.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Documents of Freedom

Heroes & Villains

BRI Curricula

Curriculum Components

Educator Opportunities

Student Opportunities

Upcoming Events

Invest In Our Future

Support now

Ways to partner with BRI

About BRI

Chapter 7: 1844-1860

Overview