Early American republic

Unit 1: Essay: Compare and Contrast the United States from 1776-1870

● Read through all the information on how to set up your essay, as well as the grading rubric.

● Be organized. You are writing an essay that considersabout 100 years of history.

o Create a t-chart

▪ THIS WILL NOT BE TURNED IN! Use this to stay organized.

● Below are some suggested topics.When you choose a topic, then throughout the essay you will prove, with facts to support, how the US changed over about 100 years.

o How the size of the US has changed

▪ Louisiana Purchase

▪ Texas

▪ Oregon Territory

▪ Mexican Cession

▪ Gadsden Purchase

o New innovations/inventions

▪ Morse code

▪ Telegraph

▪ Cotton Gin

▪ Steamboat

▪ Railway innovations

▪ Steam shovel

o Key events

▪ US Constitution/Bill of Rights

▪ War of 1812

▪ Missouri Compromise

▪ Indian Removal Act

▪ California Gold Rush

▪ Dred Scott v Sanford

▪ Civil War

o Citizenship/Right to Vote

▪ Property Owners (mostly white males) can vote

▪ Free white immigrants can be naturalized

▪ Mexicans granted citizenship, but not voting rights

▪ Voting rights extended to all white males (not just property owners)

▪ African Americans granted citizenship and voting rights given to males

In your essay:

● Thesis statement: last sentence of your first (introductory) paragraph:

o Example: Three American inventions, between 1776-1870, that changed the United States were ________, ________ and _________.

● 3-5 paragraphs minimum

● MLA format:

● Refer to the Message Board #5. Citing Sources in MLA format for more information

● Times New Roman, 12 pt font – The essay must be typed.

● Back up your argument with facts which you have researched

● Pick 3-4 ideas that prove how the US has changed(from your t-chart in

o For example: Pick three inventions that helped change the US during 1776-1870 and explain what the inventions were and how they changed the US.

Part 2

You are creating a story about an immigrant from a country of your choosing (in Europe or Asia). Pick the place, do some research about immigrant experiences in that country. You get to write the narrative to accompany pictures and tell how they came to America. Make sure you include information about what it was like in their native country, why they chose to immigrate, what the journey was like, what it was like when they got to America, and how they ended up living. Write the story and use your research to make it authentic. Pick powerful images to attach to your story that make the story compelling. Watch this short video that walks you through this project step by step.

Big Ideas:

▪ Review information about immigration to the United States in the late 1800s

▪ Think about: Angel Island vs. Ellis Island

o What countries were immigrants coming from?

o How were immigrants treated?

o What jobs were immigrants doing?

✓ Choose a character for your storyboard / PowerPoint Presentation

▪ Pick a country they are coming from

▪ Male/female

▪ Age

▪ Where to the US did they immigrate?

✓ Research immigration to the United States in the late 1800s

▪ Use your textbook, online links and information from Discovery Education videos

▪ Extra research links are your portfolio lesson 6

▪ Think about: why did they leave their home country?

o What was their port of entry?

o What community did they settle into in the US?

▪ Use notecards or a word document to organize your research

▪ Keep track of all the websites you use!

✓ How does your characters _________ affect their immigration/experience?

▪ Age?

▪ Country of origin?

▪ Gender?

▪ Education level?

▪ Level of English?

✓ Make a storyboard / PowerPoint Presentation

▪ historically accurate

▪ talks about your character’s life BEFORE, DURINGand AFTER immigration

✓ What are you turning into me?

▪ A story about immigration

o Storyboard: create a table with 8 boxes: think comic strip

▪ At least 8 panels(squares)

▪ Created on a word document

▪ OR: PowerPoint: 1 slide per panel

▪ Use both words and pictures

o If you use pictures off of the internet, you must cite where you got it

▪ If you DO NOT cite where you got your pictures off the Internet, I will send your portfolio back to you.

o If you are a good artist: draw pictures and scan them into your project

▪ Work cited page: remember you are doing research for this portfolio and also cite your pictures.