Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Infantry Private's Coat"

West Point Graduates in the Antebellum Army

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:56:00 GMT

Using objects, images and short biographical sketches, this website teaches students how West Point Graduates played a major role in westward expansion and the development of the nation's transportation network and advances in technology between 1802 and 1860. West Pointers helped lay the groundwork for America's economic development, intellectual growth and territorial expansion in the years before the Civil War. The Antebellum Army is part of the online exhibition, West Point in the Making of America.

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.

Conflicting Voices of the Mexican War

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:02:27 GMT

This lesson plan outlines topics for short research projects and classroom performances related to the Mexican War. Have students select individuals connected to the Mexican War, perform research, and then interview each other to showcase the disparate views on the motivations behind the War and perspectives on its outcomes. This lesson plan (which includes background information) was produced to accompany the exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.