Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion,1820-1890
In a hurry? Save or print these Collection Connections as a single file.
Go directly to the collection, Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion, 1820-1890, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.
Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion, 1820-1890, can be used to practice five important critical thinking skills. A variety of narratives can be used in chronological thinking activities, such as the creation of a timeline. A timeline can also be used to develop and test comprehension of the maritime expansion of the U.S. in the nineteenth century. Using other online resources of the Library of Congress in conjunction with this collection, readers can also practice research, analysis, and interpretation while learning about the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, the migration to California during the Gold Rush, and the use of vigilance committees in that era.
Chronological Thinking
Many items in the collection, such as journals, logbooks, and histories present chronologies of events and can be used to develop chronological thinking. Journals and logbooks chronicle individual voyages, while missionaries' narratives provide chronological histories of the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands and their missions.
Search on journal, logbook, and mission, and select an item to read. If you select a journal or logbook, summarize the journey you've read about in one to three paragraphs. Or trace the journey by using the references to latitude and longitude to plot the ship's progress on a world map. Refer to the 1855 "Map of the United States, Canada, Mexico and the West Indies with Central America Showing all the Routes to California, with a Table of Distances" for an example.. If you select a missionary's history, present the most important events of that history on a timeline.