Introduction
News Flash: "Texas to be next Mexican state?"
Did you know Mexico claims that much of the United States – not just Texas, but also California, New Mexico, and Arizona – should really belong to Mexico? Did you know that Texas is referred to as the Lone Star State because it actually claimed its independence at one point?
Where did those claims come from? Does Mexico have a rightful claim to several American states? At the end of this lesson, you will be able to answer these questions!
Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to...
- Explain how tensions over the annexation of Texas into the United States led to war with Mexico and how it impacted the United States
- Discuss the justification of the Mexican-American War
Essential Questions
- What enduring impact did Manifest Destiny have on US domestic and foreign policies?
Enduring Understandings
- American nationalism and the development of a uniquely American ideology influenced the court system, foreign affairs and westward expansion and shaped the identity of America in the first half of the 19th century.
The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: United States History I standards: 7 and 13.2.