Starter #21: Are we the "great nation of futurity" that John O'Sullivan predicted?
Goals for today
- Understand the ideology of manifest destiny.
- Analyze a historical text for its underlying ideology.
Watch yesterday's video for a clarification of Manifest Destiny.
Crash Course US History: War and Expansion
Review John L. O'Sullivan's article
1. Share the answers to the reading questions with your group.
2. Discuss: What appeals does O'Sullivan use? What does the audience need to accept as true for this rhetoric to be effective?
3. As individuals, write 1-2 paragraphs and submit to me by email: Which parts of this article do you agree with ideologically? Which parts do you disagree with? Explain your answer.
HOMEWORK
Read "Many Truths Constitute the Past: The Legacy of the U.S.-Mexican War" and answer the following questions:
1. What larger
point does this article make about the study of history?
2. Why do you
think that contemporary historians take a different view on the Mexican War
than those of the early 20th century? Relate your answer to ideology.
3. In
what ways might we feel the effects of the war still today living in the
Southwest?