Week 27 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

Week 27 means only one thing: End of the third 9-week marking period with only one more to go! Wow! Hard to believe that there's just a quarter left. But as in sports, the 4th quarter is crucial; games are won and lost in the final minutes. Let's motivate ourselves to stay academically strong and finish well!

As we move into this last marking period, we turn our attention to the period known as "Antebellum." The term is Latin and means "before the war". In American History, this is the period before the Civil War. Pretty much every thing we talk about will hint toward a possible factor that produces the climactic content for this course.

We began this week by looking at "Westward Expansion" and all the questions, challenges, and

In 1800, all of "Louisiana Territory"
was at least 6 weeks away.

debates that arose out of it. Beginning with the Louisiana Purchase, we learned that Jefferson was criticized for this purchase for three reasons: 1) we already had more land than we could settle at that time, 2) impossible to govern given the transportation (before steam power was used for boats and rail engines), and 3) it was unconstitutional, especially in Jefferson's interpretation of the Constitution. Yet, it stood, and began a 50 year pattern of land acquisition by many methods.

From the Louisiana Purchase, we learned about the aggressive methods of taking control of Florida from Spain. The textbook made it seem as though Andrew Jackson was a defiant and insubordinate general who defied President Monroe's direct orders... Yet the whole affair is more complicated and we start to wonder why the documentation of his orders didn't survive. (this link has some highlighted portions for your viewing). So why was it so important for Florida to be added that we use such measures to take it?

We took a diversion from Florida to look at a debate in Congress happening at the same time over the admission of Missouri as a State. Neither in the North nor the South, debate became fierce when it was suggested that Missouri be admitted on the condition that it prohibit slavery (see Missouri Compromise). With threats of secession, it was agreed to allow Missouri as a "Slave State" regardless if there were many (if any at all) slave owning residents. The matter was over a balance of power in the Senate, where states are equal to each other. If there are more "Free States" than "Slave States" then Southerners would be unable to stop any legislation that would inhibit slavery. This makes new territory in the south very necessary for this balance to be maintained. This includes Texas, which is how we ended this week, learning of their "independence movement", which is how it is portrayed in American textbooks. However, it was stolen from Mexico, a nation we sought to protect in principle (see the Monroe Doctrine).

Ask your students this weekend:

• What motivations are there for the South to gain territory in Florida and Texas?
• How do Mexican textbooks portray American expansionist tendencies?
• What did Texas become in 1836?

These are fun questions, and essential to our understanding as we go forward in this unit. One last thing before next week: if you can watch "The Odd, Odd Election of 1824" in preview of studying Andrew Jackson as President.

Week 27 means one more thing: Easter Weekend! May your weekend be filled with the grace of the cross and the joy of the Resurrection.

Until next week, I remain, yours,

Mr. Bruce

Week 26 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

Well, we made it through the Daylight Savings Time change and Parent-Teacher Conferences. Thank you to all who came to support your students through the Spring Student-Led Conference. We know that, for some, the conversation you had in this format is much like you already do at home. To that I offer my sincerest "kudos" to you. For many, the demands of schedule and daily activities that occur after school related to work or extra-curriculars often prohibits us from the slow, deliberate, and intentional discussions about school and academic growth in ways that lift up and, if necessary, allow students to reflect on their efforts in a constructive and corrective way. We feel that this Spring Conference format allowed for that for all students. It is powerful. And we thank you for what you do to support your student's education.

As far as what we accomplished in class, well, I've got some examples below (bottom of post). This week we learned about the birth of "AMERICANISM". Dozens of times, I stated "There's nothing more American than ________." filling in the blank with things like Uncle Sam, "The Star-Spangled Banner", Rip Van Winkle, capitalism, technological innovation, pushing the frontier, etc... All these things were born in the two decades after the War of 1812 and created, for the time, a truly unique American identity. The posters we created are intended to showcase the leaders, art, music, literature, and geographic obstacles that defined this identity. I think they did a great job! What do you think? Ask your student questions about their poster: What did they study? How does that (or he) express what America was in the 1820s?

Our efforts this week pave the way for a unit next week as we begin looking at the attempts made to combat the moral and social problems that emerged during this same time and the role of Christianity and the "Second Great Awakening" in leading the charge against "intemperance" and slavery. This will allow us to dig into some primary sources, compare perspectives, and understand the decision making of leaders as they tried to keep America growing in ways they thought best in the face of irreconcilable differences of opinion.

A light way to end the week - yet still community-minded - was our trip to the Humane Society of Branch County (A No-Kill Shelter). Each marking period a different group (arranged by 5th hour classes) of 8th grade students have been spending 1.5 hours out there helping out in ways that 24 laborers can make an impact: cleaning gutters, picking up the yard, going for walks. In the end, it's hard not to fall in love with some. In particular, Brandi, Cooper, and Tiana certainly pushed their way into the hearts of a few of us. You can see these three in our group photo below. There are many more who certainly would love to be in your home, or in the home of someone you know.

It was a chilly day, but we kept warm with our new friends.

Photos from Posters Made This Week

Week 25 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

We had a great week in class! As the week progressed, we recognized that we were very disrespected by other countries for almost thirty years between 1790 and 1820. During this time we were challenged by party rivalry between the Federalists and the Republicans and by foreign affairs. The nasty love triangle that existed between the U.S., France, and Britain certainly paid its toll on Americans and early American leadership.

Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe all dealt with the issues in ways that made it difficult to follow Washington's principle of isolationism and neutrality. When Washington took office, he knew the United States was too weak to be involved. Interestingly enough, it was the War of 1812 and the circumstances that occurred during it that led to respect overseas. By the time Monroe takes office, the United States is able to redefine its desire to be isolated and neutral. It is during this time of prosperity and growth that people in the United States begin calling themselves Americans and establishing a sense of American Identity.

It is this identity that we will study next week. We began today by looking at how everything we know that is "American" began immediately in this period after the War of 1812. The "Star-Spangled Banner", Uncle Sam, "America" ("My country, 'tis of thee"), capitalism, and the idea of national celebrities all have their origins rooted in this period.

I have a poster project that is fun, quick and has the potential for redecoration in mind for next week. This morning when getting it all out of my head, Google Drive was uncooperative and so I wrote all my preliminary handouts on paper. I've shared the five options for next week below so you can start thinking about which aspect of Americanism you would like to research and represent for your classmates. They are my hand-written notes, so, sorry.

Growing Pains Project Options

I hope your weekend is fantastic. Don't forget, Student-Led Conferences are next week. See you all there!

Until then, yours,
Mr. Bruce