Eventually, you will have to construct an essay that integrates your interpretation of the following documents AND your knowledge of the period. High scores will be earned only by essays that both cite key pieces of evidence from the documents and draw on outside knowledge of the period.
As you read the following documents pay close attention to what is being said and how each document might be used to construct an answer to the question below. Be sure to note the source of each document ? often who is speaking is as important as what is being said.
On first glance imperialism seems substantially different from westward expansion: Imperial expansion was not contiguous ? it took place around the world ? while westward expansion was contiguous ? it took place in regions of the American West that bordered on previously settled areas of the United States. But when one digs a bit deeper, additional (and more complex) similarities and differences emerge.