WEEK 5 · INQUIRY MODULE
Week 5: Manifest Destiny, War, Slavery, and Gold
Was U.S. continental expansion a national project, a sectional crisis, an imperial war—or all three?
Dates: September 21–25, 2026
Focus
- Texas, the U.S.–Mexico War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
- Slavery’s western reach
- California conquest and the Gold Rush
Before class
- Read: American Yawp, chapter 12.
- Open and inspect the linked primary-source collection(s). Record one source, one context question, and one limitation.
- Scholarship lens: Kevin Waite, West of Slavery (2021), selected excerpt.
Primary-source portals
Tuesday/Thursday meeting plan
| Date | Status | Plan |
|---|
| Tuesday, September 22 | Class | Manifest Destiny, Texas, the U.S.–Mexico War, and conquest. |
| Thursday, September 24 | Class | Slavery’s western reach, gold, property, and a corroboration controversy. |
Source Reasoning Lab 1 due Friday, September 25.
After class
Deliverable: Source Reasoning Lab 1 and Reading & Reasoning Check 3.
- I can answer the weekly inquiry with a contestable claim.
- I can name at least two pieces of evidence and explain their limits.
- I can identify an interpretation that my evidence supports, complicates, or challenges.