Question 1 (Document-Based Question): 55 minutes

Suggested Reading period: 15 minutes

Suggested writing period: 40 minutes

Directions: Question 1 is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise. You are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and planning and 45 minutes writing your answer.

Write your responses on the lined pages that follow the question.

In your response you should do the following:

· State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.

· Support the thesis or a relevant argument with evidence from all, or all but one, of the documents.

· Incorporate analysis of all, or all but one, of the documents into your argument.

· Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: intended audience, purpose, historical context, and/or point of view.

· Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents

· Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or processes.

· Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends your argument, connects it to a different historical context, or accounts for contradictory evidence on the topic.

1. Examine causes and effects of Western Migration in shaping settlement in the South West between 1820 and 1865.

Document 1

Source: President Andrew Jackson, speech to Congress, December 6, 1830

The consequences of a speedy removal will be important to the United States, to individual States, and to the Indians themselves. The pecuniary advantages which it promises to the Government are the least of its recommendations. It puts an end to all possible danger of collision between the authorities of the General and State Governments on account of the Indians. It will place a dense and civilized population in large tracts of country now occupied by a few savage hunters... It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the Government and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community.

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

Document 2

Source: John L. O’Sullivan, essay in The United States Democratic Review, June-August 1845

“The far-reaching, the boundless future will be the era of American greatness. In its magnificent domain of space and time, the nation of many nations is destined to manifest to mankind the excellence of divine principles; to establish on earth the noblest temple ever dedicated to the worship of the Most High -- the Sacred and the True. Its floor shall be a hemisphere -- its roof the firmament of the star-studded heavens, and its congregation an Union of many Republics, comprising hundreds of happy millions, calling, owning no man master, but governed by God's natural and moral law of equality, the law of brotherhood -- of "peace and good will amongst men . . ."

Document 3

Source: Advertisement for Pony Express

NEXT PAGE

Document 4

Source: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo  February 2, 1848

"ART. V. The boundary line between the two Republics shall commence in the Gulf of Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande, otherwise called Rio Bravo del Norte, or opposite the mouth of its deepest branch, if it should have more than one branch emptying directly into the sea; from thence up the middle of that river, following the deepest channel, where it has more than one, to the point where it strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico; thence, westwardly, along the whole southern boundary of New Mexico (which runs north of the town called Paso) to its western termination; thence, northward, along the western line of New Mexico, until it intersects the first branch of the River Gila; (or if it should not intersect any branch of that river, then to the point on the said line nearest to such branch, and thence in a direct line to the same;) thence down the middle of the said branch and of the said river, until it empties into the Rio Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado, following the division line between Upper and Lower California, to the Pacific Ocean. . . ."

Document 5

Source: Historical Facts of the Oregon Trail and America's Western Expansion

Next Page

Document 6

Source: Fugitive Slave Act 1850 Section 7

“And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant ... from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor, either with or without process as aforesaid, or shall rescue, or attempt to rescue, such fugitive from service or labor, from the custody of such claimant ...; or shall aid, abet, or assist such person ... to escape from such claimant ...; or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person, after notice or knowledge of the fact that such person was a fugitive from service or labor as aforesaid, shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months ...; and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the party injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt …”

Document 7

Source: Henry Clay Resolutions, Compromise of 1850

2. Resolved, That as slavery does not exist by law, and is not likely to be introduced into any of the territory acquired by the United States from the republic of Mexico, it is inexpedient for Congress to provide by law either for its introduction into, or exclusion from, any part of the said territory; and that appropriate territorial governments ought to be established by Congress in all of the said territory, not assigned as the boundaries of the proposed State of California, without the adoption of any restriction or condition on the subject of slavery.

(Include this at end)

END OF DOCUMENTS FOR QUESTION 1

Caitlyn Roseborough

Jessica Lopez

Evan Jimenez

Emily Cadena

    

Sample Western Migration DBQ

By the 1800s, the United States was expanding its frontier westward. In 1803, the United States acquired the Louisiana territory by purchasing the land from the French, creating new boundaries, and as the young nation continued to expand, Americans headed west for various reasons. Opportunities such as the California Gold Rush in 1848 and Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged Americans to migrate westward in order to obtain land or money. Additionally, the development of an easier transportation, such as the Transcontinental Railroad, finished in 1869, greatly improved the prospect of migrating west.  However, despite this new technology, in the beginning, migrating westward remained difficult as not everyone could afford the passages on the trains and those who traveled by land had to traverse lands that were occupied by Native Americans, who were relocated there through the 1830 Indian Removal Act. The addition of new states also threatened to disrupt America’s delicate balance of power between free and slave states, which gave rise to ardent sectionalism.

Since Americans were rapidly moving west, the already sour relations between them and the Native Americans grew worse, as once again, they were at odds with one another over the same land. Following the passage of the 1830 Indian Removal Act, President Jackson gave a speech addressing Congress listing the benefits to the decision, including the creation of a safer place for American Indians to live, which would allow them to be independent yet still under the supervision of the government (Doc 1). The president presented this legislature as a way to protect the interests of settlers while preventing the decimation of the Indian population, paving the way for even further settlement and expansion of the United States by ensuring that settlers would not be in any pronounced danger, by their removal by way of the Trail of Tears to the Oklahoma Territory.

The removal of Native Americans was seen as the removal of a long standing impediment of western expansion. This rise in settlement in the west is displayed in the map from the Historical Facts of the Oregon Trail and Western Expansion which shows how in less than seventy years the  U.S. had spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (Doc 5). The annexation of territories such as Texas, Oregon, land ceded by Mexico, and land received from the Gadsden Purchase, came after the mid 1840s, which is also reinforced by the term Manifest Destiny was coined by John O’Sullivan in the Democratic Review (Doc. 2). Manifest Destiny was the idea that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. To fulfill the idea of Manifest Destiny, Americans had to not only annex said territories, but occupy them as well. This coupled with economic incentives, such as business prospects and the California Gold Rush of 1848, motivated many Americans to move westward.

The expansion of the United States borders and rising opportunity also contributed to western migration. On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo discussed the border line between the United States and Mexico at the end of the Mexican-American War (Doc. 4). The treaty not only established the borderline at the Rio Grande, but forced Mexico to cede California and New Mexico to the U.S. The addition of California created a nation that expanded from sea to shining sea. Migration toward California further increased due to the discovery of gold and at the height of the Gold Rush in 1852 67,000 people migrated to California. As migration from the east to the west increased, a source of communication was in demand. The country was in need for young, expert riders to work for the mail service, the Pony Express (Doc. 3). The operators of the Pony Express desired orphans to transport mail due to the hazardous trails and conditions. If riders died in their journey, they were not necessarily missed by others because they were simply orphans. In addition, the demand for riders was necessary for communication between the west and the east. Migrants from the east needed a method for communicating with families, friends, and business. Increasing distances between connections in the east and west required the Pony Express in order to exchange information.        

Rising migration to the present-day southwestern states like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California, led to more territories becoming states. The addition of these states threatened to disrupt the delicate balance of power between the free and slave states that the United States had achieved through the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The addition of California as a state renewed this debate and thus prompted a new compromise to be negotiated in 1850 (Doc. 7).  Known in the present-day as the Great Compromiser, Henry Clay wrote the Compromise of 1820 and in 1850, with the help of Stephen Douglas the Compromise of 1850 was passed with the intent of calming tensions enough to avoid the dissolution of the union. The compromise allowed California to enter as a free state, but with the provision that, among other things, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, making it every citizen's job to aid slave owners in regaining their “property” and fining them up to one thousand dollars if they failed to do so (Doc. 6). The Fugitive Slave Act made abolitionists more resolved to put an end to slavery and as a result the Underground Railroad became more active. The act also brought the subject of slavery to the forefront. Many who had previously been undecided or indifferent about slavery now took a definitive stance against the institution. With their stances solidified, people felt more strongly about the contentious issue of slavery, which brought tensions between the North and South to an all time high. These tensions came to their breaking point during the Civil War which broke out in April of 1861.   

Westward Expansion was the result of the idea of Manifest Destiny coupled with removal of prior obstacles, and expansion of borders. The increase in western settlement also gave rise to economic opportunity on the new frontier and feelings of sectionalism between the North and the South due their differing views on slavery. This era of significant western migration was a foreshadowing of America’s imperialist era in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Similar to the period of western migration, Americans wanted to increase its own influence from coast to coast, Americans during the imperialist era wanted to expand its influence around the world. The reasons for wanting to expand their influence, was also economic and authoritative, as influence over other nations would establish a dominant American market and make additional natural resources available to the United States. The imperialist and expansionist aims of the U.S. were both indicative of the American desire for power and prosperity, despite those that may have been negatively affected.

DBQ Notes

Prompt: Examine causes and effects of Western Migration in shaping the South West between 1820 and 1865.

SCORING NOTES


Thesis: 
Possible thesis statements could include the following.

· Expansion of the borders of the United States brought about benefits to the economy, displacement of the native population, and political distress unlike any the young country had ever seen.

· Settlement of the Southwest resulted eventually in the political reconstruction of the functioning of the U.S.

· The boom in population, specifically immigrants, job opportunities, and the idea of Manifest Destiny lured people to the west which affected the balance between the free and slave states and led to the Civil War.

· Land availability coupled with a rise in  the immigrant population led people to move west which resulted in the disruption of the precarious balance between the southern and Northern states on the issue of slavery

Analysis of Documents

As explained in the scoring notes, to earn full credit for analyzing documents, responses must include at least one of the following for all or all but one of the documents: intended audience, purpose, historical context, author’s point of view (HAPPY). Although examples of these elements are listed below, these examples of analysis must explicitly be used in support of a stated thesis or a relevant argument.

Document 1

Source:  President Andrew Jackson, speech to Congress, December 1830

· Intended audience: Congress; to an extent of the American people

· Purpose: To list the reasons passing the Indian Removal Act was the correct decision, which established a process where the government would exchange land west of the Mississippi River to Indian tribes that agreed to give up their homelands, and relocate them to a unified territory

· Historical context: Southern States had demanded political and military action on removing Native American Indians in 1829, Andrew Jackson is inaugurated 7th President of the United States, President Jackson offers to purchase Texas but the Mexican Government refuses, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, Worcester v. Georgia. The government wanted Americans to occupy the territories they have annexed and an impediment to that was the Native Americans, this act would lessen this obstacle.

· The author’s point of view: Stated by the US President, who believed expansion was inevitable, said that removing the Indians from their homeland was necessary and that it would benefit the civilized majority.

Document 2

Source: John L. O’Sullivan, essay in The United States Democratic Review, June-August 1845.

· Intended audience: American public, the readers of The United States Democratic Review

· Purpose: to encourage western migration and describe the right of American expansion

· Historical context: President Tyler authorizes the annexation of the Republic of Texas,  Congress approves it, and Texas is admitted as the 28th state, James K. Polk, a known expansionist, was inaugurated as president, Florida is admitted as the 27th state, the first presidential veto is overridden by Congress, The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave is published, President Polk tells Congress that the Monroe Doctrine should be strictly enforced and advocates expansion

· The author’s point of view: Stated by influential political writer, advocate for the Democratic Party and firm supporter of the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country for the United States and thus expansionism

Document 3

Source: Advertisement for Pony Express workers

· Intended audience: Young horse riders under 18, preferably orphans  

· Purpose: to find more workers to deliver mail for the Pony Express

· Historical context: Due to the Gold Rush of 1849 in California there was a large wave of migration towards California and more of a demand for communication between the east and west

· The author’s point of view: A Business ad that wants unattached expert riders to trek a dangerous journey in a short time span.

Document 4

Source: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo February 2, 1848

· Intended audience: Mexican Government and American Government; to an extent the public

· Purpose: to end Mexican-American war and claim 525,000 square miles of land to United States territory, which includes the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

· Historical context: Dispute over Texas led to Mexican-American War; the war went on for two years and ended with the treaty being very favorable to the United States.

· The author’s point of view: Negotiated by José Bernardo Couto, Miguel Atristain, and Luis G. Cuevas, representing the Mexican government and Nicholas Trist who represented the United States. The three Mexican representatives represented the political faction in Mexico that favored peace.

Document 5

Source: Historical Facts of the Oregon Trail and America's Western Expansion

· Intended audience:  Scholars and students of history

· Purpose: To display U.S acquisitions

· Historical context: All of present day America has been acquired, and after the division of territories, which resulted in the split between slave and free states in the Civil War

· The author’s point of view: Unbiased

Document 6

Source: Fugitive Slave Act: Section 7

· Audience: Nation; specifically citizens of Northern states, as they are now being informed to act as sheriffs by turning in fugitive slaves.

· Purpose: To inform citizens, mainly citizens in the north, that it was now their duty to turn in people they knew to be fugitive slaves or be fined 1000 dollars.

· Historical context: To annex California the compromise of 1850 had to be passed and part of the compromise included the Fugitive Slave Act, which, among other things,  imposed stricter laws against runaway slaves.

· The author’s point of view: Written as a way to annex California while still keeping the balance between the slave and free states, as a result the act is part of the concessions the north made, which makes it more sympathetic to slave states.

Document 7

Source: Henry Clay Resolutions, (Compromise of 1850)

· Audience: Congress; to an extent the public

· Purpose: To keep the slave-free states in balance; to prevent secession of southern states. Negotiated with the intent of annexing California into the United States.

· Historical context: The addition of California into the union as  free state and dispute over territory gained in the Mexican-American War. Concessions were made by both the north and south, but it seemed that the north got the most benefits.

· The author’s point of view: Wants to keep peace between the Southern and Northern States and avoid the beginning of a civil war. Already had written and successfully passed the Compromise of 1820.

Analysis of outside examples to support thesis/argument

Possible examples of information not found in the documents that could be used to support the stated thesis or a relevant argument could include the following.

· Louisiana Purchase, 1803

· The Missouri Compromise, 1820

· The Monroe Doctrine, 1823

· The Indian Removal Act, 1830

· The role the Battle of the Alamo had in American involvement in the conflict between Americans and Mexicans in Texas

· The Mexican American War 1846-1848

· The Wilmot Proviso in connection to the Mexican American War

· The California Gold Rush, 1848

· Development of the transcontinental railroad

· The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

· Pony Express, 1860-1861

· The Homestead Act, 1862

· The Sand Creek Massacre and/or the Trail of Tears and how they displayed American relations with American Indians

Contextualization: Students can earn a point for contextualization by accurately and explicitly connecting historical phenomena relevant to the argument to broader historical events and/or processes. These historical phenomena may include, but are not limited to, the following.

· The Monroe Doctrine established the United States stance on any further European trifles with the Americas in exchange for American separation from European affairs

· In 1828 South Carolina Exposition and Protest published during the Nullification Crisis

· Tensions of sectionalism had been rising since the Missouri Compromise set up the 36’30” latitude line as the border for a territory to apply as a slave state or a free state.

· Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed slavery to be a possibility in these states with the stipulation of a referendum taking place.

· Great Irish Famine occurred from 1845-1849 which resulted in a wave of Irish immigrants; 1.5 million emigrated to the U.S. by 1854

· Approximately 3 million Irish and German immigrants entered the United States by 1860

· By 1869, over 300,000 migrants had followed overland trails to the West

· More Americans migrating to the West due to competition for work and demand for land as a result of  the wave of immigrants

· Feelings of ‘nativism’; opposition to immigration

· As white settlers began streaming into the West, Native Americans and white settlers fought over control of the land.

· Manifest Destiny was the idea that Americans had a “God Given” right to all North America.

· Transformation of environment through new transportation systems

· Gender imbalance in the west

· Native American’s identity was threatened through the Dawes Act and assimilation

· Rise of anti-immigration sentiment as seen in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

· The Buffalo population is decreasing in the 1850s due to whites slaughtering them in order to provide food and supplies for the large group of migrants traveling west.

 

Synthesis: Essays can earn the point for synthesis by crafting a persuasive and coherent essay. This can be accomplished providing a conclusion that extends or modifies the analysis in the essay, by using disparate and sometimes contradictory evidence from primary and/or secondary sources to craft a coherent argument, or by connecting to another historical period or context. Examples could include, but are not limited to, the following.

· Linking the argument to the Civil War and Reconstruction and how Western Migration was a cause of both.

· Linking the argument to Thomas Jefferson’s quote regarding the Missouri Compromise and how it would lead to the demise of the nation.

· Linking the argument to the growth of Civil Rights.

· Linking the argument to growing industrialization and commercialization.