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Chronological Reasoning and Causation

Will the canal take me where I want to go?

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About this Activity

  1. Load Broadside Advertising New York Canal Lands For Sale, 1823 in Main Image Viewer
  2. Load Broadside. Mass Meeting in Canastota on May 7, 1851 in Main Image Viewer
  3. Load Broadside written in German and signed by H.B. Peirpon, May1, 1832 in Main Image Viewer
  4. Load U.S. Census, Onondaga County, Town of Manlius, 1850 in Main Image Viewer
  5. Load Broadside advertising farms and lots for sale in Ontario, Livingston, Monroe, and Wayne counties, printed in Canandaigua, December 1823 in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

 

Driven by political and economic motives, the United States expanded its physical boundaries to the Pacific Ocean between 1800 and 1860. This settlement displaced Native Americans as the frontier was pushed westward. Westward expansion provided opportunities for some groups while harming others. 

 

Students will examine the Erie Canal as a gateway to westward expansion that resulted in economic growth for New York State, economic opportunities for Irish immigrants working on its construction, and its use by religious groups, such as the Mormons, to move westward.

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