Objectives:
- Describe the expansion of slavery in the United States.
- Explain how slavery led to sectionalism and conflict over states’ rights.
Scene 1 — Engage
Student Activity
Students read an introduction explaining how slavery divided the United States before the Civil War and review the lesson objectives. They learn about Ashley Martin as the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I football game, then imagine themselves as college football coaches in 1870 and in 2070. Using a two-column table, they describe how each coach might react to having a girl join the team, comparing reactions across the two time periods.
Teacher Moves
Present the lesson overview, objectives, and key vocabulary (dispute, fugitive, tariff, states’ rights, sectionalism). Guide students in considering how historical context shapes people’s views, using the 1870 vs. 2070 coaching scenario. Connect this idea to the historical context of slavery—emphasizing that while slavery was widely accepted among colonists and early leaders, it was still brutal and inhumane—and prepare students to examine how opposition to slavery grew over time.
Scene 2 — Explore
Student Activity
Students read background text tracing the development and spread of slavery from early Spanish colonies through the British colonies and into the early United States, noting that prominent leaders owned enslaved people and that slavery was embedded in the nation’s growth. They examine how the expanding nation faced increasing conflict over slavery as the North industrialized and the South relied on enslaved labor for agriculture. Students then read about three major legislative efforts—the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1850 (including the Fugitive Slave Act), and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854—and how each attempted to manage the balance between free and slave states. They answer multiple-choice questions to check their understanding of the causes of regional conflict, the economic basis for slavery in the South, and how the compromises tried to maintain a balance between free and slave states.
Teacher Moves
Clarify the meaning of “compromise” and, for each major act, prompt students to identify what each side gained and gave up. Support students in interpreting the Missouri Compromise map and in connecting territorial expansion to rising tensions over slavery. After students respond to the questions, highlight the key takeaway that no compromise provided a lasting solution and that, as new states joined the Union, the conflict over slavery intensified and pushed the nation toward civil war.
Scene 3 — Explain
Student Activity
Students review the concepts of tariff, states’ rights, and sectionalism, then read about how regional interests in the North, South, and West differed before the Civil War—focusing on tariffs, economic needs, and views on slavery. They read an explanation of the Tenth Amendment and how it reserves powers not given to the federal government for the states or the people. Students then examine how slaveholding states used the idea of states’ rights to argue that the federal government could not interfere with slavery, while many northerners believed the federal government should abolish it. Using this information, they post a written response explaining the role of slavery in conflicts over sectionalism and states’ rights, citing evidence from both northern and southern perspectives.
Teacher Moves
Review and clarify the vocabulary terms tariff, states’ rights, and sectionalism before students read. Emphasize how regional economic interests shaped political positions and how the Tenth Amendment was interpreted differently by free and slave states. After students post their explanations, highlight strong or insightful responses for class discussion and reinforce that slavery was central to sectional divisions and to southern claims about states’ rights versus federal power.
Scene 4 — Elaborate
Student Activity
Students read about how tensions between federal authority and states’ rights continue in modern issues, using highway speed limits as an example. They examine a map showing maximum speed limits by state and learn about the 1974 federal law that set a nationwide 55 mph speed limit, the reasons for the law, and the later return of speed-limit authority to the states. Students then post their opinion on whether the federal government has the right to set a nationwide speed limit, explaining their reasoning, and respond to at least two classmates with questions or positive comments to extend the discussion.
Teacher Moves
Connect the historical debate over slavery and states’ rights to contemporary questions about federal versus state power using the speed-limit example. Encourage students to support their opinions with reasoning and to engage respectfully with differing viewpoints in the discussion. If appropriate for the class, introduce additional modern examples of states’ rights debates (such as public health mandates or other policy issues) to deepen understanding of how these constitutional questions continue today.
Scene 5 — Evaluate
Student Activity
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher Moves
Facilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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