Grade 8 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 18, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 18, Lesson 2: Conflict and Conquest (pp. 533-540)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Conflict At the beginning of the 1900s, the United States used both diplomacy and military power to expand its control over Latin America.

Review the reasons for U.S. interest in Latin America, and discuss why the United States repeatedly invoked the Monroe Doctrine in the early 20th century. Compare the use of troops in the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, and in Mexico with the use of diplomacy in the securing U.S. rights to build the Panama Canal.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have each student write a persuasive paragraph supporting or opposing the application of the Monroe Doctrine and its "Roosevelt Corollary" to countries in Latin America. Encourage students to clearly state the Doctrine and the Corollary in making their arguments.
Have students work to create a piece of "yellow journalism" about one of the events discussed in this lesson. The piece can be in the form of an article, a news broadcast that students act out, or a political cartoon. Whichever form it takes, the piece should illustrate the characteristics of yellow journalism as described on page 535.

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