Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "West Point Graduates in the Antebellum Army"

West Point in the Making of America Homepage

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:29:15 GMT

This website looks at the lives of selected West Point graduates who attended the Academy between 1802 and 1918. Students will also learn about the U.S. Army's major functions in 19th and early 20th century America: building the nation's infrastructure of roads, bridges, canals, and railroads; exploring its territories from the Mississippi to the Pacific; and fighting its wars-the role of the West Pointers in engineering, exploration, and war.

Maritime Nation 1800-1850

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 10:52:07 GMT

Students will learn how shipbuilders, mariners, and maritime merchants helped the United States defend itself and grow in this section of On the Water: Stories from Maritime America, an online exhibition. Topics covered are the roles that privateers played during the American Revolution and the War of 1812, immigration, early steam travel and coastal shipping in the Atlantic Ocean, the California Gold Rush, and the life-saving technology that was used to rescue the victims of shipwrecks.

Eastern Indian Wars

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:10:56 GMT

Coveting what remained of the Indian lands in the Southeast and lower South, the United States forced tribes to cede their "rights of occupancy" and give up their ancestral homelands. Students will learn about the Creek Indian War and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and the policies that led to the Trail of Tears, one of the most tragic episodes in American history in this section of the online exhibition, Price of Freedom: Americans at War. A non-flash version of this page is available: Eastern Indian Wars.

The Mexican War

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:35:51 GMT

America went to war to gain territory from Mexico and expand the nation's boundary from Texas to California. Students will learn about the Mexican War by first examining its causes, Texas's struggle for independence and the controversial concept of Manifest Destiny in this section of The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, an online exhibition. They will then learn about the war's major events and battles, and the results of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in which the United States annexed all of the territory that would become the states of the Southwest. A non-flash version of this site is available: The Mexican War.

Gouverneur Warren's Expedition

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:22:17 GMT

Join Gouverneur Warren on his 1856 expedition into the American frontier and identify the specimens he sent back to the Smithsonian for study and classification in this interactive activity. Students will begin by reading a letter that Warren sent to the Smithsonian and will then match specimens to the locations that they were found on a map of Warren's expeditions. A wonderful example of object-based learning, this activity will help students learn more about the connections between science, history and the work of museums. This activity is included in the online exhibition entitled West Point in the Making of America.

Exploration Map

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:07:00 GMT

In this online exhibition, students will learn about the exploration of the West through the use an interactive map, biographical sketches and brief descriptions of the expeditions undertaken by graduates of West Point. The U.S. Army played a key role in exploring the nation's vast new lands acquired through purchase and conquest during the first half of the nineteenth century. Military-scientific expeditions crisscrossed the West, mapping the country, gathering scientific data, identifying potential resources for exploitation, and surveying routes for roads and railroads. The Exploration Map is part of the online exhibition, West Point in the Making of America.