3-5 Elementary Westward Expansion Video
Follow America’s westward expansion in the 1800s — from the Louisiana Purchase to the Trail of Tears. Discover how pioneers, explorers like Lewis and Clark, and the idea of Manifest Destiny shaped the nation’s growth and identity. Learn about the conflicts, challenges, and triumphs that defined this era, including the spread of slavery, the Missouri Compromise, and the impact on Native American communities.
Elementary lessons from the Bill of Rights Institute are primary source-based, focusing on content-area literacy and performance-based assessments. Designed for grades 3-5, these lessons use a modular approach to help young learners explore American history and citizenship in an engaging, age-appropriate way. Perfect for budding historians curious about how the United States became what it is today!
0:00 welcome young historians to a journey through America’s exciting past today we’ll explore how our country grew and expanded West in the 1800s and how this expansion shaped the history of North America let’s get started with the Louisiana Purchase in
0:21 1803 President Jefferson made a historic deal with France to buy a huge piece of land called the Louisiana territory for $15 million to learn about this new land President Jefferson sent an expedition led by Lewis and Clark on an amazing
0:42 journey with the help of their Native American guide sakaja they traveled from St Louis all the way to the Pacific Ocean mapping the land collecting samples and meeting new people along the way as America expanded Westward so too did the institution of
1:04 slavery white Farmers surged Westward into the new States like Alabama and Mississippi in search of fertile lands where they could establish plantations to grow crops like cotton as expansion continued Southern slaveholders established states that protected slavery as property many Northerners
1:26 were concerned about this expansion of slavery and sought to limit its spread the Missouri Compromise of 1820 sought to create a balance between free and slave [Music]
1:48 states Manifest Destiny was the idea that the United States should spread across the continent of North America carrying the ideas of Liberty equality and democracy it envisioned America as a powerful force for good in the world
2:08 meanwhile the idea of manifest destiny inspired many to move west in search of New Opportunities some went in search of land to farm to spread their religion or create new communities others sought wealth and gold or jobs on the railroads not everyone benefited from western
2:29 expansion As Americans moved West they came into conflict with the native tribes already living there conflicts over land and resources led to tragedy this was the case in the state of Georgia which led to the Trail of Tears it is a sad chapter in our history when
2:49 Native Americans were forced from their homelands and suffered greatly President Andrew Jackson and many Southerners in Congress embraced a policy of removal of the American Indians they wanted the land the native tribes were living on to be opened up for Americans to
3:18 farm many Americans protested the Indian Removal Act the federal government promised provisions and protection during the Journey to the West or the tribes but one winter they failed to deliver food and supplies and about 4,000 Cherokee died of starvation and
3:40 disease during the journey along the Trail of Tears America continued to grow and expand Westward throughout the 1800s New Towns communities farms and industries emerged over time this movement created the United States we know today that’s the end of our story
4:03 covering America’s western expansion in the 1800s but the history is still being written by us [Music]
