Last updated: March 10, 2024
Lesson Plan
Cast Your Vote! Americans and the War of 1812
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 90 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 6-8.RH.1, 6-8.RH.2, 6-8.RH.4, 6-8.RH.8, 6-8.RH.10
- State Standards:
- Maryland State Curriculum Content Objectives
• 5.C.2 Analyze the emerging foreign policy of the United States.
• 5.C.2.a. Explain why the United States adopted a policy of neutrality prior to the War of 1812
• 5.C.2. b. Explain how the continuing conflict - Thinking Skills:
- Remembering: Recalling or recognizing information ideas, and principles. Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.
Essential Question
The War of 1812 had many supporters as well as those opposed to going to war. Given the different economic, political and geographic priorities in the United States, should America have gone to war in 1812?
Objective
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to explain the arguments for and against going to war in 1812 and evaluate America’s best option.
Focus Question on for the Lesson: Should the United States have gone to war in 1812?
Background
Primary Sources
- Address of the Minority to their Constituents. [1812]. Annals of Congress, 12th Congress, 1st Session (1812), II, 2219-2221. Library of Congress.
- Clay, Henry. [February 22, 1810]. Annals of Congress, 11th Congress, 1st Session (1810), 580.
- Grundy, Felix. [December 9, 1811]. Annals of congress, 12th Congress, 1st Session (1811), I, 424.
- Grundy, Felix. [December 9, 1811]. Annals of congress, 12th Congress, 1st Session (1811), I, 426.
- Madison, James. Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 1811-1813. Monday June 1, 1812.
- Randolph, John. [December 9, 1811]. Annals of Congress, 12th Congress, 1st Session (1811), I, 446.
- Randolph, John. [December 9, 1811]. Annals of Congress, 12th Congress, 1st Session (1811), I, 533.
Secondary Sources
Feder, Bernard. Viewpoints: USA. (1972). Philippines: Lion Educational Publishing, 1972.Preparation
Materials
1. Class set of Primary Source Analysis worksheet
2. Class set of War in 1812 Decision-making worksheet
3. Copies of the primary sources for each group.
4. Class set of War of 1812 Memo to the President writing prompt.
5: Copies of the Perspectives pages for each student.
Materials
Full lesson plan for Cast Your Vote with perspectives pages and worksheets.
Download Cast Your Vote Lesson Plan
Procedure
Motivation (Think-Pair-Share)
- Ask students to respond in writing to the following warm-up question:
- Think about any of the wars or military conflicts in which the United States has been involved in the past (from the students’ own experience or from history.) What were some of the reasons people use to justify going to war?
- After students have responded in writing, ask them to share with a neighbor or partner.
- Call on students using equitable response techniques (calling cards, random number generator, numbered heads, etc.) or volunteers.
- List these reasons on the Interactive White Board (IWB), overhead, board, or chart paper.
- Some answers might include: direct threat from other country, retaliation, national security, economic gain, promote democratic ideals, recover land lost, acquire territories, establish colonies, etc.
- Now ask students what are/were some reasons people might be opposed to their country going to war?
Guided Practice (Primary Source Analysis)
- Transition: Tell students that many of the reasons they gave for and against going to war were true for the War of 1812.
- Background Knowledge: Ask: Not everyone was in favor of going to war with Britain for a second time. Why not? (Use this question to see what the students may already know about the War of 1812 and to lay the foundation for the purpose of the lesson)
- Teachers may want to have already assigned a secondary text reading on the causes of the war of 1812 prior to this lesson.
- Tell students that today they will play the role of foreign policy advisor to the president and give him advice on whether or not we should go to war against Britain.
- First students must analyze the different arguments.
- Introduce or review with students the vocabulary they may come across in their documents.
- These words include: Maritime, Interposition, Impressment, Commerce, Embargo, Agrarian.
- Define these words as necessary with students or have them create pictures to help remember what they mean. You may want to preview the sources as well to locate other vocabulary your students may need to review ahead of time.
- Model for students how to complete the Primary Source Analysis worksheet with one of the primary sources.
- Model for the students a “Think-out-loud” strategy for reading the primary source. Point out key words and phrases that show the point of view of the source as well as convincing arguments for or against war.
- Decide how much direct instruction students need with this skill and either go through the entire source and document or highlight the different steps they will go through with their group. (Differentiation)
- Divide students into 5-8 groups, depending on how many primary sources you choose to use.
- (Differentiation: Sources B and E are more straightforward in their rhetoric for war and may be slightly easier for students to interpret.)
- Assign each group one of the primary sources.
Independent Practice
- Give students time in groups to work on their primary source and complete the primary source analysis worksheet.
- Circulate to check on students’ progress.
- Documents A, B, C, and F should show pro-war arguments. Documents D, E, and G should have anti -war sentiments.
- Encourage students to work collaboratively with one another to interpret their document.
- Re-number the students in groups and have them share their arguments from their original document with their new groups. OR have each group share their document with the whole class as everyone else takes notes on their own charts. (Determine the best option for the class given the class size and ability levels, etc.) (Differentiation)
Closure (Discussion)
- Bring closure to the lesson by conducting a final poll on whether the United States should go to war.
- Conduct a class discussion on the strongest/weakest arguments.
- Next, have students read a secondary source about the actual war and its outcome.
- Once students learn about the outcome, Discuss:
- Have students go back to the arguments they analyzed. Ask what they think the true motivation for war was?
- What would the Federalists say about the result of the war?
- Knowing what they know now, would they still be in favor or against going to war in 1812?
- Imagine we had never gone to war in 1812. What might America be like today?
Vocabulary
- Maritime: of, relating to, or bordering on the sea. a maritime province. 2. : of or relating to navigation or commerce on the sea.
- Interposition: the action of interposing someone or something; interference or intervention
- Impressment: forcible seizure of American seamen by the British Royal Navy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
- Commerce: the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place
- Embargo: an order of a government prohibiting the departure of commercial ships from its ports; a legal prohibition on commerce
- Agrarian: of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure; of, relating to, or characteristic of farmers or their way of life; organized or designed to promote agricultural interests
Assessment Materials
- Students draft a memo to President Madison advising him on whether we should go to war.
- This writing prompt is scaffolded to allow students to develop a thesis statement and list their supporting evidence before writing the brief memo to the president.
Performance Assessment Option
- Choose one President and have the rest of the class form groups of pro- and anti -war supporters.
- After students have individually drafted their memos, have them collaborate in their groups to decide on the three (or more) best arguments for their position.
- Have each team choose three or more “advisors” and stage a Presidential Briefing.
- Another option is to have several groups of students (3, 5, 7, etc) conduct mini-role-plays allowing every student to actively defend or render a decision on whether to go to war. (Differentiation)
Supports for Struggling Learners
- For students with IEPs and 504s –See differentiation notes throughout lessons.
- Also for smaller or lower-skilled classes, choose two documents, one on each side of the argument and analyze them together as whole class. You can model the first one, then begin the second one, allow some independent practice as students work in pairs, then review the arguments again as a whole class. Next have the students form groups to decide which arguments are the strongest for and against war.
Enrichment Activities
Cast Your Vote Perspectives
Using the 8 perspectives essays, ask students to consider, based on what they’ve learned, whether they would vote for or against the decision to go to war.
- African American sailor
- Francis Scott Key
- Frontier woman
- Henry Clay
- James Madison
- John Randolph
- New England merchant
- New Orleans woman
Students may vote with their feet/hands or cast paper ballots.
Ask students to explain the reason for the position and how these perspectives influenced their decision.