This print shows American forces attacking the fortress palace of Chapultepec on Sept.
The Mexican War
Grade Range: 4-12
Resource Type(s): Reference Materials
Date Posted:
10/14/2008
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.
National Standards
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades K-4)
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3A: Formulate questions to focus their inquiry or analysis.
3B: Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions.
3C: Analyze historical fiction.
3D: Distinguish between fact and fiction.
3E: Compare different stories about a historical figure, era, or event.
3F: Analyze illustrations in historical stories.
3G: Consider multiple perspectives.
3H: Explain causes in analyzing historical actions.
3I: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3J: Hypothesize influences of the past.
3B: Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions.
3C: Analyze historical fiction.
3D: Distinguish between fact and fiction.
3E: Compare different stories about a historical figure, era, or event.
3F: Analyze illustrations in historical stories.
3G: Consider multiple perspectives.
3H: Explain causes in analyzing historical actions.
3I: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3J: Hypothesize influences of the past.
Standards in History (Grades K-4)
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
2A: Identify the author or source of the historical document or narrative and assess its credibility.
2B: Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.
2C: Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses.
2D: Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations.
2E: Read historical narratives imaginatively.
2F: Appreciate historical perspectives.
2G: Draw upon data in historical maps.
2H: Utilize visual, mathematical, and quatitative data.
2I: Draw upon the visual, literary, and musical sources.
2B: Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.
2C: Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses.
2D: Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations.
2E: Read historical narratives imaginatively.
2F: Appreciate historical perspectives.
2G: Draw upon data in historical maps.
2H: Utilize visual, mathematical, and quatitative data.
2I: Draw upon the visual, literary, and musical sources.
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3A: Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas.
3B: Consider multiple perspectives.
3C: Analyze cause-and-effect relationships.
3D: Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
3E: Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
3F: Compare competing historical narratives.
3G: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3H: Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
3I: Evaluate major debates among historians.
3J: Hypothesize the influence of the past.
3B: Consider multiple perspectives.
3C: Analyze cause-and-effect relationships.
3D: Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
3E: Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
3F: Compare competing historical narratives.
3G: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3H: Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
3I: Evaluate major debates among historians.
3J: Hypothesize the influence of the past.
