US expansion · 1836-1848

Texas and the Mexican-American War

Texas breaks away from Mexico in 1836 and joins the United States in 1845. A year later the two countries are at war, and by 1848 Mexico has lost about half its land. Students compare how Americans and Mexicans remember the war.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1815 to AD 1880
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Texas breaks away from Mexico in 1836 and joins the United States in 1845. A year later the two countries are at war, and by 1848 Mexico has lost about half its land. Students compare how Americans and Mexicans remember the war.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Texas broke away from Mexico in 1835-1836.
  • Describe the causes and results of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
  • Compare how the war is remembered in the United States and in Mexico.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1815

Before the war

Open the map in 1815 and zoom out over North America. See how far north the Spanish lands that became Mexico reach. Then drag the slider to 1880. What changed?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1836

Texas

Zoom in on Texas. Find San Antonio and the coast near Houston. Settlers from the United States moved here from the 1820s. Why did Mexico at first invite them?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1880

California

Open the map in 1880 and zoom in on California. Gold was found there in January 1848, just days before Mexico signed it away. Who do you think gained most?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Mexico had abolished slavery in 1829, yet many settlers in Texas held enslaved people. How did that add to the conflict?
  2. Tejanos, Texans of Mexican descent, fought on both sides in 1836. Why might a community split like that?
  3. President Polk said Mexico had shed American blood on American soil. Why did critics doubt that the land was American?
  4. Mexico lost about half its territory by 1848. How would that loss shape Mexican feelings about the United States?
  5. Many Northerners feared the new lands would spread slavery. How did this war lead towards the Civil War?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Abraham Lincoln in Rule History. Tell students that as a young congressman in 1847 he challenged President Polk to show the exact "spot" where the war began. Discuss: should a politician oppose a war his country is already fighting?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.