-Manifest Destiny... -Americans in Texas... -Tensions Between the US and Mexico... -The Battle of San Jacinto... -Opposition to annexing Texas... -Disputed claims over and conflict over the Oregon Territory... -Westward Migration... -Life on the Oregon Trail... -James K. Polk as President... -The Southwest and CA... -The Mexican War in the mid-1840s... -US General Winfield Scott and his troops invade Mexico City... -Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo... -Slavery and US Territories...

Vlad had to come in late today due to another trip to the dentist. Hopefully, he will be in by 10:45am. We were going to cover:

The growth of cities and urban life...
Plans to build Washington, DC...
Jefferson as President...
Power of the Supreme Court - Judicial Review, Marbury vs. Madison...
The Judiciary Act of 1789...
Chief Justice John Marshall...
Louisiana Purchase...
Lewis and Clark Expedition...
Hamilton and Burr...
Growing tension with Great Britain - impressment and the War of 1812 - the British and the U.S. go to war
again...

-The growth and availability of education in the U.S. for white male citizens. - The number of colleges and universities in the U.S. grew from 9 at the start of the American Revolution to 22 by 1800 and they continued to increase thereafter. Thomas Jefferson started the University of VA. The first medical school was founded at Univ. of PA. Unfortunately, President George Washington dies from a minor throat infection in 1799 - due to lack of proper medical treatment.

Today we had a group history lesson during first period with Bobby (8th grade US History) and Vlad (A.P. 11th grade US History).

Vlad and Bobby have a friend in common named Eecho who is the son of the Seminole chief here in FL. Vlad is close with the family and shared incredible history with us regarding the Chief's service in the Vietnam War. I shared the story of Navajo Wind Talkers who bravely and nobly served in the U.S. Marines during WWII. We had a great class together!

Today we spent time discussing a bit about WWI. Vlad was excited to share a film clip about U.S. Sergeant Alvin York (played by Gary Cooper) with me. We also spoke a bit about the 1960s and of course, we will return to this era later on in the school year. Vlad thinks he may not want to take the U.S. AP History test in May. He really enjoys history, so he is thinking why he would want to "test out" of it for college as he wants to take history in college. Also, Vlad is extraordinary in that he loves learning for learning's sake. Racing through a subject he enjoys to culminate in taking a standardized AP exam is becoming less appealing to Vlad. I told Vlad that we may proceed however he chooses in history class. I will support whatever Vlad decides. He is a joy to know and to teach!

I received a text from Elise at 10:06am letting me know that I would be teaching Vlad at 11:00am today. Fortunately, I had a bit more notice from Vlad himself just after 9:00am. Vlad didn't think he was going to be in school today due to a golf tournament. But Vlad was here and sought me out first period to let me know he was here and wanted to have A.P. US History class from 11:00am - 12:00pm before he left school for his golf tournament. This lesson focused on how FL became a state. We spent the period learning about how the Spanish territory of FL became a state. It's original Native American inhabitants provided safe harbor to escaped slaves. White southerners were interested in FL because its rivers provided easy access to the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. government was eager for Spain to relinquish its land on the continent, as well. In 1817, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams attempted to acquire FL through diplomacy. Andrew Jackson, Commander of U.S. troops, invaded FL, seized the Spanish forts, fought the indigenous native people and incited what would be known as the Seminole War. In 1819, Spain ceded FL to the U.S. in what came to be known as the Adams-Onis Treaty.

James Madison was President from 1809 - 1817. Re-cap of the War of 1812, Congress charts the 2nd Bank of the U.S. in 1816, growth of the U.S. textile industry, Congress passes protective tariff law in 1816, Ohio becomes a state in 1803, and construction of the first national road along the Potomac River from Cumberland, MD to Wheeling, W. VA along the Ohio River begins in 1811. Steamboats begin to traverse the Great Lakes and large eastern rivers. Great migrations west begin in the early 19th century. Cotton plantations move further west and thrive in Alabama and Mississippi. All of this leads to what white Americans refer to as the "Era of Good Feelings" in the 1820s. James Monroe becomes president in 1818.

-The War of 1812...
-Impressment on the seas...
-Tensions between the U.S., England and France...
-William Henry Harrison appointed first governor of the new "Indiana Territory"...
-Native American leaders Tecumseh and the Prophet...
-Battle of Tippecanoe...
-Fighting between federal government and Native Americans in Florida...

-New territory acquired by the Louisiana Purchase is initially known as the Louisiana and Northwest Territory. Both will eventually be organized into new states.
-"Essex Junto" - a group of extreme Federalists in MA...
-July, 1804 - Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel...
-1805 - The Battle of Trafalgar...

We are beginning our U.S. History studies with the years leading to the Civil War. Today, we learned about the Wilmot Proviso, popular sovereignty, the terms secede and secession, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, The Compromise of 1850, the significance of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," The Kansas-Nebraska Act and John Brown.