A Young People's History of the United States

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is Manifest Destiny as it was understood by many Americans in the late 1800s? What do you think of this concept in modern times? What legacy of this colonialist doctrine might linger in modern-day politics?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be beneficial to explain to students that, by modern standards and laws, the United States’ takeover of land in North America and removal of Indigenous people would likely be considered a genocide. The concept of Manifest Destiny has led to some modern-day political touchpoints, such as the idea of American exceptionalism and US-led occupations of foreign nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. This question will get students thinking about Heroism as a Subjective and Problematic Concept.

• In this 2-minute video published by the History Channel, historian Matthew Pinsker gives a crash course on the concept of Manifest Destiny and the 1890s expansionism of the United States as a global power. The three basic tenets of Manifest Destiny are (1) that the American people and their institutions are special, (2) that the mission of the United States is to redeem and uplift “savage” territories and remake them in the American image, and (3) that it is Americans’ essential duty to make this happen—and they must go to any heroic lengths to accomplish it.