Target Audience: 8th grade North Carolina Social Studies class
Central Question: Was the forced removal of Native Americans necessary for white Americans to move westward?
This unit will be part of a larger unit that explores early American history and the establishment of the new nation after the Revolutionary War. This unit will specifically explore the historical conflicts between white Americans and the American Indians as well as different perspectives of how Native Americans should be treated in the establishment and expansion of the new country. While the central question refers to Native Americans in general, emphasis would be placed on the removal and perspectives of the Cherokee Indians because this most relates to North Carolina history. As the white American population rapidly grew and the United States Government acquired more land west of the Appalachian Mountains, so did the increased desire of white Americans to go westward. This lead to a crucial crossroads of determining how white Americans and Native Americans should coexist. Through his address to congress in 1803, Thomas Jefferson promoted US policies that favored assimilation of the Indians into white culture. With the election of Andrew Jackson, however, US policies shifted and called for voluntary removal of Native Americans from lands east of the Mississippi River. Some Native American tribes fought removal rather and the Cherokee argued in favor of recognition of sovereignty and were eventually forced off their lands in what resulted in the Trail of Tears. Students will read primary documents listed in the materials section as well as sources of their choosing that discuss different perspectives with regards to removal of Native Americans and make a determination if removal of Indians was necessary for the US boundaries to expand westward.
North Carolina Essential Standards
8.H.1.2 ‐ Summarize the literal meaning of historical documents in order to establish context. 8.H.1.3 ‐ Use primary and secondary sources to interpret various historical perspectives. 8.H.1.4 ‐ Use historical inquiry to evaluate the validity of sources used to construct historical narratives
(e.g. formulate historical questions, gather data from a variety of sources, evaluate and interpret data and support interpretations
with historical evidence)
8.H.1.5 ‐ Analyze the relationship between historical context and decision‐making. 8.H.2.1 ‐ Explain the impact of economic, political, social, and military conflicts (e.g. war, slavery, states’ rights and citizenship and
immigration policies) on the development of North Carolina and the United States. 8.H.2.2 ‐ Summarize how leadership and citizen actions (e.g. the founding fathers, the Regulators, the Greensboro Four, and
participants of the Wilmington Race Riots, 1898) influenced the outcome of key conflicts in North Carolina and the United States
8.H.2.3 ‐ Summarize the role of debate, compromise, and negotiation during significant periods in the history of North Carolina and
the United States. 8.H.3.1 ‐ Explain how migration and immigration contributed to the development of North Carolina and the United States from
colonization to contemporary times (e.g. westward movement, African slavery, Trail of Tears, the Great Migration and Ellis and
Angel Island).
Central Question: Was the forced removal of Native Americans necessary for white Americans to move westward?
This unit will be part of a larger unit that explores early American history and the establishment of the new nation after the Revolutionary War. This unit will specifically explore the historical conflicts between white Americans and the American Indians as well as different perspectives of how Native Americans should be treated in the establishment and expansion of the new country. While the central question refers to Native Americans in general, emphasis would be placed on the removal and perspectives of the Cherokee Indians because this most relates to North Carolina history. As the white American population rapidly grew and the United States Government acquired more land west of the Appalachian Mountains, so did the increased desire of white Americans to go westward. This lead to a crucial crossroads of determining how white Americans and Native Americans should coexist. Through his address to congress in 1803, Thomas Jefferson promoted US policies that favored assimilation of the Indians into white culture. With the election of Andrew Jackson, however, US policies shifted and called for voluntary removal of Native Americans from lands east of the Mississippi River. Some Native American tribes fought removal rather and the Cherokee argued in favor of recognition of sovereignty and were eventually forced off their lands in what resulted in the Trail of Tears. Students will read primary documents listed in the materials section as well as sources of their choosing that discuss different perspectives with regards to removal of Native Americans and make a determination if removal of Indians was necessary for the US boundaries to expand westward.
North Carolina Essential Standards
8.H.1.2 ‐ Summarize the literal meaning of historical documents in order to establish context. 8.H.1.3 ‐ Use primary and secondary sources to interpret various historical perspectives. 8.H.1.4 ‐ Use historical inquiry to evaluate the validity of sources used to construct historical narratives
(e.g. formulate historical questions, gather data from a variety of sources, evaluate and interpret data and support interpretations
with historical evidence)
8.H.1.5 ‐ Analyze the relationship between historical context and decision‐making. 8.H.2.1 ‐ Explain the impact of economic, political, social, and military conflicts (e.g. war, slavery, states’ rights and citizenship and
immigration policies) on the development of North Carolina and the United States. 8.H.2.2 ‐ Summarize how leadership and citizen actions (e.g. the founding fathers, the Regulators, the Greensboro Four, and
participants of the Wilmington Race Riots, 1898) influenced the outcome of key conflicts in North Carolina and the United States
8.H.2.3 ‐ Summarize the role of debate, compromise, and negotiation during significant periods in the history of North Carolina and
the United States. 8.H.3.1 ‐ Explain how migration and immigration contributed to the development of North Carolina and the United States from
colonization to contemporary times (e.g. westward movement, African slavery, Trail of Tears, the Great Migration and Ellis and
Angel Island).