Mr. Klopfenstein's History Blog

APUSH- Block Day, 1/25/12 & 1/26/12 January 26, 2012

We discussed labor- management conflicts, with a focus on the Pullman strike.  I then presented a broad overview of the development of the West, ending up, amazingly, back at the Pullman Strike!

APUSH- 1/24/12 January 24, 2012

We concluded Last Stand at Little Bighorn.

We discussed the West.

Extra Credit opportunity:

• Watch Geronimo, airing tonight at 9:00 on PBS (KCPT), or streaming online.
• Answer the following questions and submit to Turnitin.com by 7:45 a.m. Monday:
  • What was “manifest destiny” and how did it fuel the westward expansion that encroached on Indian territory? Research Frederick Jackson Turner’s “frontier thesis.” Turner stated that the spirit and success of the U.S. was directly tied to the country’s westward expansion. How did the ultimate closing of the frontier change the way Americans perceived Native peoples? How were Native peoples like Geronimo and Sitting Bull portrayed in the myth of the American West?
  • Between the 1820s and the 1850s, the U.S. experienced explosive growth and the beginnings of an industrial revolution. Besides transportation (railroads) and communication (the telegraph), there were major changes in journalism. What were these changes and how did they affect the lives of Native peoples in the Southwest? How did newspapers spread the idea of “manifest destiny”? How did they hasten the end of the Indian Wars?
  • How were Apache homelands affected (present-day New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas) by the Mexican American War of 1846? In what other areas of the country were settlers urging the U.S. government to take possession of disputed land?
  • The discovery of gold in 1848 ushered in the California Gold Rush. Why was the discovery of gold so disastrous for the Native people in the region? Of all the groups in the West, miners have the worst record of interacting with Native people. Why do you think that is?
  • During the 1850s, conflicts over states’ rights and slavery caused sectional tensions that ultimately led to the Civil War. What economic opportunities in the West and Southwest put pressure on the U.S. to resolve the status of slaves in the territories?
  • More than a million square miles of new territory came under U.S. control in the 1840s. Most emigrants traveled over the great overland trails to get to these new lands. Which trails did travelers use to travel through Apache country and what economic opportunities awaited them? How were they treated by Native peoples as they passed through Native lands?
  • Examine the particular political borders of Apacheria and the climate and terrain of the region. Evaluate how these factors enabled Apaches to resist effective American control over them for so long.
  • How did the U.S. Army respond to potential threats to movement and settlement following the annexation of Texas in 1845, the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute in 1846, and the successful conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848? Why did their actions harden Indian opposition and provoke more violence?
  • The Dreamer emerged at a time of great distress for the Apache people. What other examples are there of Native American religious leaders who offered their people religious deliverance during times of considerable social, economic and political upheaval?
  • Enforcement of the reservation system resulted in some of the bloodiest wars between Native peoples and the U.S. What were the conditions on reservations that led to these wars? What was the Dawes Act of 1887 and how did it change the reservation system? Why did it fail?
  • What was the Civil War’s impact on the Southwest during Geronimo’s time? What happened to government resources and the reservations? How did military technology used in the Civil War affect the outcome of the Indian Wars? Did the Native peoples of the Southwest participate in the Civil War?

APUSH- 1/23/12 January 23, 2012

We watched Last Stand at Little Bighorn.  I asked students to:

• Identify the heroes of the story
• Identify the villains of the story
• Explain what the story says about America and Americans.

Discussion questions for tomorrow:

• What were the causes of deflation and how did it effect farmers? What other factors effected late-19th century farmers? How did farmers respond to these challenges?
• What were the original purposes of the Grange, and how did they evolve?  Explain the rise and fall of the Farmers’ Alliances.
• Who were the Populists and what were their issues? Why did Populists believe that inflation would be beneficial?
• Why was the Pullman strike significant? How did Pres. Cleveland justify sending in federal troops?
• Who were the candidates in the election of 1896? What were the issues? What were the results?
• Was “the West” really “won”? What is the Turner Thesis? What evidence/ arguments were used to support it? What are some of the critiques of the thesis?

APUSH- 1/20/12 January 20, 2012

We discussed Jacob Riis and How the Other Half Lives, and the settlement of the West.

Discussion questions for Monday:

• Who were the “fifty-niners” and what impacts did they have on the west?
• Why were “long-drive” cowboys so diverse? What was the relationship between the cattle drives and the meat-packing industry?
• How did the aims and practices of the farmers conflict with those of the cattlemen? What factors contributed to the growth of farming on the plains and the west? What successes and failures did American farmers experience?
• What does the Oklahoma land rush say about the frontier? About Americans in general?
• Was Frederick Jackson Turner right? What do you think of the “safety-valve” theory?
• Explain the impact of technology on farming.

APUSH- Block Day, 1/18/12 & 1/19/12 January 19, 2012

We discussed life in late-19th century America. We took the chapter 23, 24 vocab quiz. We completed Transcontinental RailRoad.

Questions for discussion tomorrow:

• What was “the West?”
• What were the results of westward expansion? Who was more entitled to the lands of the west?
• What were the limitations of the reservation system?
• What factors led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn?  What were its consequences? What do you think of George Armstrong Custer?
• What was A Century of Dishonor? Ghost Dance? Dawes Severalty Act?  Summarize white-native relations of the late-19th century.