D2.His.4.6-8C3 FrameworkSocial StudiesHistoryGrades 6-8

D2.His.4.6-8: Factors That Shaped People's Perspectives in Two Eras: War with Mexico and Hawaii

In plain English: D2.His.4.6-8 is the C3 Framework history indicator for grades 6-8 that asks students to analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras. Students explain how place, livelihood, role, beliefs, information and loyalties shaped what people thought about the war with Mexico in 1846 and about Hawaii in 1893.

Analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

C3 Framework for Social Studies (NCSS) · Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools · Discipline: History · Perspectives · Official standard

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Lesson Plan

60-70 min

Overview

A perspective is the way a person sees an event or a question. People living at the same time often see the same event very differently, and the reasons are usually more than one. In this lesson students use six factors (influences that help shape a perspective): Place, Livelihood, Role, Beliefs, Information and Loyalties. They apply them to people in two different historical eras (long periods of history with shared features): the 1840s, when the United States went to war with Mexico, and the 1890s, when Americans and Hawaiians argued over who should govern Hawaii.

The sources are primary documents (written by people who took part): President James K. Polk's war message of 1846, a speech by Congressman Abraham Lincoln in 1848, President Benjamin Harrison's message of February 1893, the protest of Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii, and President Grover Cleveland's message of December 1893. Background pages from the U.S. Department of State's Office of the Historian and the National Archives set the scene. Students do not decide who was right; they explain why each person saw things as they did.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Define perspective, factor and era, and name six factors that can shape a perspective
Identify at least two factors behind each perspective in the sources, with quoted evidence
Compare two people from the same era who saw the same event differently and explain which factors made the difference
Compare the factors at work in the 1840s with those at work in the 1890s, and name one that mattered in both eras
Notice whose perspective is missing from a set of sources

Prior Knowledge Required

Students should already be comfortable with:

Citing specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources RH.6-8.1
Identifying an author's point of view or purpose in a text RH.6-8.6
Finding Texas, Mexico and the Hawaiian Islands on a map

Lesson Procedure

60-70 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

Warm-Up5-10 minutes
Warm-Up Prompt
"Your town plans to build a new highway through a neighborhood. Write how each of these people might see the plan: a truck driver, a family whose house is in the way, and the mayor. What makes their views different?"
List the reasons students give and group them: where people live, how they earn money, what their job requires, what they believe is fair, what they know, and whom they are loyal to. Tell students these are the six factors they will use today, and that historians look for several factors behind every perspective, not just one.

Direct Instruction20 minutes

Part 1: The six factors. Show Diagram 1 and the table. A factor is a reason, not a fact about the event: "Polk was President" is a fact; "as President, he had to defend the country's claims" is a factor shaping his perspective.

Six factors that can shape a perspective (an SVHS teaching tool)
Factor	What it means	A question to ask
Place	Where the person lived and what was happening there	Was the person in Washington, in Texas, in Honolulu?
Livelihood	How the person, or the people they spoke for, earned a living: trade, land, crops, jobs	Who would gain or lose money?
Role	The person's job or position and what it required of them	What did a President, a queen or a member of Congress have to do?
Beliefs	Religious and moral ideas, and ideas about fairness and how government should work	What did the person think was right?
Information	What the person knew, was told, or had checked for themselves	What did they know, and what did they not know yet?
Loyalties	The country, people, group or political party the person belonged to	Whose side were they on, and why?

Part 2: The first era, the 1840s. Read Source 1 for background. Words to know: annex (to add a territory to a country), disputed (claimed by both sides), expansionism (the idea that a country should grow larger). Then read Source 2, from President Polk's message asking Congress to recognize a state of war. More words: redress (to set right a wrong), commerce (trade), a treaty (a formal agreement between nations, which the U.S. Senate must approve), and vindicate (to defend against blame).

While Mexico did not follow through with its threat to declare war if the United States annexed Texas, relations between the two nations remained tense due to Mexico’s disputed border with Texas. According to the Texans, their state included significant portions of what is today New Mexico and Colorado, and the western and southern portions of Texas itself, which they claimed extended to the Rio Grande River. The Mexicans, however, argued that the border only extended to the Nueces River, north of the Rio Grande.
In July, 1845, Polk, who had been elected on a platform of expansionism, ordered the commander of the U.S. Army in Texas, Zachary Taylor, to move his forces into the disputed lands that lay between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers. In November, Polk dispatched Congressman John Slidell to Mexico with instructions to negotiate the purchase of the disputed areas along the Texas-Mexican border, and the territory comprising the present-day states of New Mexico and California.
Following the failure of Slidell’s mission in May 1846, Polk used news of skirmishes inside disputed territory between Mexican troops and Taylor’s army to gain Congressional support for a declaration of war against Mexico. On May 13, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico.

Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1845-1848 (Source 1: the disputed border and the road to war; three paragraphs) (2016). US government work (17 U.S.C. 105). Source text.

The grievous wrongs perpetrated by Mexico upon our citizens throughout a long period of years remain unredressed, and solemn treaties pledging her public faith for this redress have been disregarded. A government either unable or unwilling to enforce the execution of such treaties fails to perform one of its plainest duties.
Our commerce with Mexico has been almost annihilated. It was formerly highly beneficial to both nations, but our merchants have been deterred from prosecuting it by the system of outrage and extortion which the Mexican authorities have pursued against them, whilst their appeals through their own Government for indemnity have been made in vain. Our forbearance has gone to such an extreme as to be mistaken in its character. Had we acted with vigor in repelling the insults and redressing the injuries inflicted by Mexico at the commencement, we should doubtless have escaped all the difficulties in which we are now involved.
Instead of this, however, we have been exerting our best efforts to propitiate her good will. Upon the pretext that Texas, a nation as independent as herself, thought proper to unite its destinies with our own, she has affected to believe that we have severed her rightful territory, and in official proclamations and manifestoes has repeatedly threatened to make war upon us for the purpose of reconquering Texas. In the meantime we have tried every effort at reconciliation. The cup of forbearance had been exhausted even before the recent information from the frontier of the Del Norte. But now, after reiterated menaces, Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil. She has proclaimed that hostilities have commenced, and that the two nations are now at war.
As war exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico herself, we are called upon by every consideration of duty and patriotism to vindicate with decision the honor, the rights, and the interests of our country.

James K. Polk, in James D. Richardson's compilation, Special Message to Congress on the War with Mexico, May 11, 1846 (Source 2: four consecutive paragraphs near the end) (1846; this edition 1897). Public domain (published 1897). Source text.

Part 3: The second era, the 1890s. Read Source 4 for background, then Source 5, President Harrison's message sending a treaty of annexation to the Senate. Words to know: a monarchy (a country ruled by a king or queen), a protectorate (a weaker country controlled and protected by a stronger one), a tariff (a tax on goods brought in from another country), and a coup (a sudden, illegal takeover of a government).

When King Kalākaua died in 1891, his sister Lili'uokalani succeeded him. Though she introduced a new constitution that would restore her power and Hawaiian rights, she would be Hawaii's last monarch. Her move was countered by the "Committee of Safety," a group of non-native U.S. businessmen and politicians with sugar interests. Led by Sanford Dole, they had monetary reasons for doing so – they feared that the United States would establish a tariff on sugar imports, endangering their profits, and wanted to protect Hawaii's free-trade status. The United States was the major importer of Hawaiian agricultural products.
Supported by John Stevens, the U.S. Minister to Hawaii, and a contingent of Marines from the warship, U.S.S. Boston, the Committee overthrew Queen Lili'uokalani in a bloodless coup on January 17, 1893. The Committee of Safety proclaimed itself to be the Provisional Government.
Without permission from the U.S. State Department, Minister Stevens recognized the new government and proclaimed Hawaii a U.S. protectorate. President Benjamin Harrison signed a treaty of annexation with the new government. Before the Senate could ratify it, however, Grover Cleveland replaced Harrison as president and subsequently withdrew the treaty.

National Archives and Records Administration, The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii (Source 4: the overthrow of 1893; three paragraphs of the National Archives background essay) (2021). US government work (17 U.S.C. 105). Source text.

I do not deem it necessary to discuss at any length the conditions which have resulted in this decisive action. It has been the policy of the Administration not only to respect but to encourage the continuance of an independent government in the Hawaiian Islands so long as it afforded suitable guaranties for the protection of life and property and maintained a stability and strength that gave adequate security against the domination of any other power. The moral support of this Government has continually manifested itself in the most friendly diplomatic relations and in many acts of courtesy to the Hawaiian rulers.
The overthrow of the monarchy was not in any way promoted by this Government, but had its origin in what seems to have been a reactionary and revolutionary policy on the part of Queen Liliuokalani, which put in serious peril not only the large and preponderating interests of the United States in the islands, but all foreign interests, and, indeed, the decent administration of civil affairs and the peace of the islands. It is quite evident that the monarchy had become effete and the Queen's Government so weak and inadequate as to be the prey of designing and unscrupulous persons. The restoration of Queen Liliuokalani to her throne is undesirable, if not impossible, and unless actively supported by the United States would be accompanied by serious disaster and the disorganization of all business interests. The influence and interest of the United States in the islands must be increased and not diminished.
Only two courses are now open--one the establishment of a protectorate by the United States, and the other annexation full and complete. I think the latter course, which has been adopted in the treaty, will be highly promotive of the best interests of the Hawaiian people, and is the only one that will adequately secure the interests of the United States. These interests are not wholly selfish. It is essential that none of the other great powers shall secure these islands. Such a possession would not consist with our safety and with the peace of the world. This view of the situation is so apparent and conclusive that no protest has been heard from any government against proceedings looking to annexation. Every foreign representative at Honolulu promptly acknowledged the Provisional Government, and I think there is a general concurrence in the opinion that the deposed Queen ought not to be restored.

Benjamin Harrison, in James D. Richardson's compilation, Message to the Senate with the Treaty of Annexation, February 15, 1893 (Source 5: the second, third and fourth paragraphs) (1893; this edition 1902). Public domain (published 1902). Source text.

Livelihood and Role: President Polk, 1846 (Source 2, paragraph 2)
Which factors show up when Polk describes trade with Mexico?
Result: Polk writes, "Our commerce with Mexico has been almost annihilated," and says "our merchants have been deterred from prosecuting it" (Source 2, paragraph 2). Livelihood: American traders were losing money. Role: as President, Polk spoke for those citizens and their losses. Two factors work together in one paragraph.
Place and Loyalties: Texans and Mexicans, 1845 (Source 1, paragraph 1)
Why did people disagree about where the border was?
Result: "According to the Texans," their state "extended to the Rio Grande River," but "The Mexicans, however, argued that the border only extended to the Nueces River" (Source 1, paragraph 1). Each side was loyal to its own country's claim, and the land between the two rivers was the place both wanted.
Livelihood and Loyalties: President Harrison, 1893 (Source 5, paragraph 2)
What interests does Harrison say were in danger in Hawaii?
Result: Harrison says the Queen's policy "put in serious peril not only the large and preponderating interests of the United States in the islands, but all foreign interests," and that restoring her would bring "the disorganization of all business interests" (Source 5, paragraph 2). "Preponderating" means greater than all others. Livelihood (business) and Loyalties (to American interests) shape his view.
Livelihood: the Committee of Safety, 1893 (Source 4, paragraph 1)
Why did the businessmen of the Committee of Safety act against the Queen?
Result: The National Archives says they "had monetary reasons for doing so": they "feared that the United States would establish a tariff on sugar imports, endangering their profits" (Source 4, paragraph 1). This is a livelihood factor; the source also calls them "non-native U.S. businessmen," a loyalties and place factor.

Guided Practice15 minutes
Pairs read two people who disagreed with a President in their own era: Congressman Lincoln in 1848 (Source 3) and Queen Liliuokalani in 1893 (Source 6). For each, they fill in a six-factor chart: one row per factor, with a quotation where the source shows that factor and "not shown" where it does not. Words to know: unconstitutionally (against the Constitution), wantonness (acting without a good reason), and plenipotentiary (an official with full power to act for his government).
MR CHAIRMAN:--Some if not all the gentlemen on the other side of the House who have addressed the committee within the last two days have spoken rather complainingly, if I have rightly understood them, of the vote given a week or ten days ago declaring that the war with Mexico was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced by the President. I admit that such a vote should not be given in mere party wantonness, and that the one given is justly censurable if it have no other or better foundation. I am one of those who joined in that vote; and I did so under my best impression of the truth of the case. [...] When the war began, it was my opinion that all those who because of knowing too little, or because of knowing too much, could not conscientiously approve the conduct of the President in the beginning of it should nevertheless, as good citizens and patriots, remain silent on that point, at least till the war should be ended. [...] The President, in his first war message of May, 1846, declares that the soil was ours on which hostilities were commenced by Mexico, and he repeats that declaration almost in the same language in each successive annual message, thus showing that he deems that point a highly essential one. In the importance of that point I entirely agree with the President. To my judgment it is the very point upon which he should be justified, or condemned.
[...]
His next piece of evidence is that "the Republic of Texas always claimed this river [Rio Grande] as her western boundary." That is not true, in fact. Texas has claimed it, but she has not always claimed it. [...] But suppose she had always claimed it. Has not Mexico always claimed the contrary? So that there is but claim against claim, leaving nothing proved until we get back of the claims and find which has the better foundation. [...]
Abraham Lincoln, Speech in the U.S. House of Representatives on the War with Mexico, January 12, 1848 (Source 3: five short passages; the rest of the speech left out, marked [...]) (1848; this edition 1905). Public domain (published 1905). Source text.
At about two-thirty P.M., Tuesday, the establishment of the Provisional Government was proclaimed; and nearly fifteen minutes later Mr. J. S. Walker came and told me "that he had come on a painful duty, that the opposition party had requested that I should abdicate." I told him that I had no idea of doing so, but that I would like to see Mr. Neumann. Half an hour later he returned with that gentleman, and I explained to him my position, and he advised that I should consult my friends. I immediately sent for Messrs. J. O. Carter, Damon, Widemann, Cleghorn, my ministers; Messrs. Neumann, Walker, and Macfarlane also being present. The situation being taken into consideration, it was found that, since the troops of the United States had been landed to support the revolutionists, by the order of the American minister, it would be impossible for us to make any resistance.
Mr. Damon had previously intimated to Mr. Parker that it was useless to resist, their party was supported by the American minister. Mr. Damon also said at the meeting that it was to be understood that I should remain at the palace, and continue to fly the royal standard. At six P.M. I signed the following protest: –
I, Liliuokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian kingdom Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional government of the Hawaiian kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this kingdom.
That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu, and declared that he would support the said Provisional Government.
Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life I do, under this protest and impelled by said forces, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo (?) the action of its representative, and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
Liliuokalani, Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, Appendix B: her statement to U.S. Commissioner James H. Blount (Source 6: the Queen's account of January 17, 1893, and her protest) (1898). Public domain (published 1898). Source text.
Teacher model for one row: Information, Lincoln. In paragraph 2 Lincoln quotes one of the President's claims, that "the Republic of Texas always claimed this river [Rio Grande] as her western boundary," and answers, "That is not true, in fact." He builds his perspective from checking evidence. Ask pairs: Which factor seems strongest for Liliuokalani? Is it the same one?
Independent Practice15 minutes
Students read Source 7, written by President Cleveland ten months after Harrison's message. Each student writes a paragraph explaining how two Presidents of the same country, in the same year, could see the events in Hawaii so differently. The paragraph must name at least two factors and quote both Source 5 and Source 7. Words to know: consummate (to complete), despoil (to rob), oligarchy (rule by a small group), and assent (agreement). The quiz uses Sources 1-7.
But a protest also accompanied said treaty, signed by the Queen and her ministers at the time she made way for the Provisional Government, which explicitly stated that she yielded to the superior force of the United States, whose minister had caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support such Provisional Government.
[...]
But in the present instance our duty does not, in my opinion, end with refusing to consummate this questionable transaction. It has been the boast of our Government that it seeks to do justice in all things without regard to the strength or weakness of those with whom it deals. I mistake the American people if they favor the odious doctrine that there is no such thing as international morality; that there is one law for a strong nation and another for a weak one, and that even by indirection a strong power may with impunity despoil a weak one of its territory.
By an act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress, the Government of a feeble but friendly and confiding people has been overthrown. A substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair. The Provisional Government has not assumed a republican or other constitutional form, but has remained a mere executive council or oligarchy, set up without the assent of the people. It has not sought to find a permanent basis of popular support and has given no evidence of an intention to do so. Indeed, the representatives of that Government assert that the people of Hawaii are unfit for popular government and frankly avow that they can be best ruled by arbitrary or despotic power.
Grover Cleveland, in James D. Richardson's compilation, Special Message to Congress on Hawaii, December 18, 1893 (Source 7: two passages; the middle of the message left out, marked [...]) (1893; this edition 1898). Public domain (published 1898). Source text.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: "Name one factor that shaped perspectives in both the 1840s and the 1890s. Give one example from each era."
Teacher notes. (1) The page has no primary source written by a Mexican official or citizen of the 1840s; Mexico's view reaches students only through Source 1 and Lincoln's question in Source 3. Point this out as a limit of the source set. Advanced students can look for the 1850 English translation of a history of the war written by a group of Mexican authors, The Other Side: or Notes for the History of the War between Mexico and the United States (Ramón Alcaraz and others, translated by Albert C. Ramsey; a scan is at the Internet Archive). Its first chapter, "Origin of the War," blames the war on United States ambition and Mexico's weakness. The page does not print it because the only free online text is an uncorrected scan. (2) The sources use the words of their time, kept exactly: Harrison calls the monarchy "effete" (worn out), and the National Archives uses the older term "mixed-blood." Cleveland calls the Hawaiians "a feeble but friendly and confiding people," the paternal language of his time, and reports that the Provisional Government's representatives called the people of Hawaii "unfit for popular government"; he quotes that view to criticize it, and it is not a fact about Native Hawaiians. Today the Queen's name is usually written Liliʻuokalani; the sources spell it without the ʻokina (the Hawaiian glottal stop mark), and the page keeps each source's spelling. (3) The aim is to explain perspectives, not to decide which person was right. Students may form views, and the rubric scores the evidence and reasoning, not the view.
For the homework: Source 8 (below) tells how Native Hawaiians organized a petition against annexation in 1897.
Queen Liliuokalani and her fellow citizens successfully protested the annexation by petitioning Congress. Two Hawaiian groups, Hui Aloha 'Aina and Hui Kulai'aina, one group for men and one for women, organized a mass petition drive. They hoped that if the U.S. government realized that the majority of native Hawaiian citizens opposed annexation, the move to annex Hawaii would be stopped.
Between September 11 and October 2, 1897, the two groups collected petition signatures at public meetings held on each of the five principal islands of Hawaii. The Hui Aloha 'Aina (translated as the Hawaiian Patriotic League) petition – clearly marked "Petition Against Annexation" and written in both the Hawaiian and English languages – was signed by 21,269 native Hawaiian people. That was more than half of the 39,000 native Hawaiians and mixed-blood persons reported by the Hawaiian Commission census for the same year.
Four delegates, James Kaulia, David Kalauokalani, John Richardson, and William Auld, arrived in Washington, DC, on December 6 with the 556-page petition in hand. That day, as they met with Queen Lili'uokalani, who was already in Washington lobbying against annexation, the second session of the 55th Congress opened. The delegates and Lili'uokalani planned a strategy to present the petition to the Senate.
National Archives and Records Administration, The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii (Source 8: the petition drive; three later paragraphs of the National Archives essay) (2021). US government work (17 U.S.C. 105). Source text.

Differentiation Strategies

For Struggling Students

Give a factor chart with sentence frames: "Because ___ lived in ___, he or she ..." and "Because ___ earned a living by ___, ..."
Read Sources 2 and 5 aloud in short chunks, stopping after each paragraph to ask "Which factor do you see?"
Use six colors, one per factor, to underline the evidence in each source

For Advanced Students

Find a factor that pushes in two directions in the same source (for example, Harrison says American "interests are not wholly selfish") and explain the tension
Read more of Lincoln's speech and list the six pieces of evidence he says the President used; decide which factor each one appeals to
Write a short perspective statement for a person the sources mention but do not quote, such as a merchant in Source 2 or a petition signer in Source 8, using only facts from the sources

Assessment Guidance

What to Look For

Strong work names more than one factor for each person, quotes the words that show each factor, and explains how the factors work together. Watch for students who name only one factor ("he wanted money"), who confuse a fact about the event with a factor shaping a view, or who judge who was right instead of explaining why each person saw things as they did.

Classroom Activities

3 Activities

Factor Card Sort

15 minPairs

Each pair gets 12 quotation cards from Sources 1-7. Pairs sort each card under the factor it shows best (Place, Livelihood, Role, Beliefs, Information or Loyalties). Some cards fit two factors; pairs place those on the line between two piles and explain why.

The 12 Cards

"The grievous wrongs perpetrated by Mexico upon our citizens throughout a long period of years remain unredressed" (Source 2)
"Polk, who had been elected on a platform of expansionism" (Source 1)
"Our forbearance has gone to such an extreme as to be mistaken in its character." (Source 2)
"I am one of those who joined in that vote; and I did so under my best impression of the truth of the case." (Source 3)
"When the war began, it was my opinion that all those who because of knowing too little, or because of knowing too much, could not conscientiously approve the conduct of the President" (Source 3)
"It has been the policy of the Administration not only to respect but to encourage the continuance of an independent government in the Hawaiian Islands" (Source 5)
"The United States was the major importer of Hawaiian agricultural products." (Source 4)
"Without permission from the U.S. State Department, Minister Stevens recognized the new government" (Source 4)
"These interests are not wholly selfish." (Source 5)
"Mr. Damon had previously intimated to Mr. Parker that it was useless to resist, their party was supported by the American minister." (Source 6)
"Mr. Damon also said at the meeting that it was to be understood that I should remain at the palace, and continue to fly the royal standard." (Source 6)
"The Provisional Government has not assumed a republican or other constitutional form, but has remained a mere executive council or oligarchy, set up without the assent of the people." (Source 7)

Answer Key for the Teacher

Role: cards 1 (a President speaking for citizens' claims), 6 and 8.
Beliefs: cards 2 (expansionism is an idea about how a country should grow), 3, 9 and 12 (government needs "the assent of the people").
Information: cards 4, 5 (Lincoln speaks of what people knew: "knowing too little, or because of knowing too much") and 10 (what the Queen's side was told).
Livelihood: card 7. Place: card 11 (the palace and the royal flag).
Accept two factors with a good reason: card 1 also Livelihood (money owed to citizens), card 8 also Information (acting without orders), card 10 also Loyalties ("their party"), card 6 also Beliefs.

Discussion

Ask: Which factor had the most cards? Which factor was hardest to find in the sources, and why might a person not say it out loud?

Two Eras, One Chart

15-20 minGroups of 3-4

Groups build a large chart with six rows (the factors) and two columns (the 1840s and the 1890s). In each box they write the name of one person whose perspective shows that factor, with a short quotation. Then they mark the factors that appear in both eras.

Procedure

Each member takes two factors and searches all the sources for them.
The group fills in the chart; empty boxes stay empty and are marked "not found in our sources."
The group writes one sentence that begins "In both eras, ..." and one that begins "Only in the 1890s, ..."

What to Look For (Teacher)

Every box with a name also has a quotation and a source number.
Groups notice that people in the same era (Polk and Lincoln; Harrison, Liliuokalani and Cleveland) can share a factor, such as Role, and still reach different views.
Groups notice an empty box and say what kind of source might fill it (for example, a Mexican source for the 1840s).

Variation: Gallery Check

Groups trade charts and check one box on another group's chart against the source, writing "confirmed" or a correction on a sticky note.

Source Expert Panel

15 minWhole class (6 panelists, the rest interviewers)

Six students sit on a panel as source experts, one each for Polk (Source 2), Lincoln (Source 3), Harrison (Source 5), Liliuokalani (Source 6), Cleveland (Source 7) and the petition signers (Source 8). Experts speak about the person in the third person ("In Source 6, the Queen says ..."); no one speaks as the historical person. Interviewers ask "Why did this person see it that way?" Experts must answer only with facts and words from their sources and must name at least two factors.

Interviewer Question Bank

What did this person know about these events, and how did they find out?
Whom did this person speak for?
What did this person think was fair, and why?
Who would gain or lose if this person's side won?
What might have changed this person's mind?

Rules

Experts may not invent facts. If a question cannot be answered from the sources, the expert says "My source does not say." The class then discusses what that silence tells us about the source.

Modification for Shy Students

Panelists may answer in writing on index cards that a classmate reads aloud.

Diagrams & Visual Aids

2 diagrams

Diagram 1: Six Factors That Shape a Perspective

The six factors are an SVHS teaching tool. Students look for several factors behind each person's perspective, and for the ways the factors work together.

Diagram 2: The Two Eras in This Lesson

Drawn to scale from 1840 to 1900. Era 1 is shaded around 1844-1849 and Era 2 around 1892-1898. The overthrow in Hawaii came 47 years after the war with Mexico began (1893 - 1846 = 47).

Homework Assignment

~30 min

D2.His.4.6-8 Homework: The 1897 Petition and Your Factor Chart

Directions: Use Source 8 (printed in the Closure phase) for Problems 1-3 and any of Sources 1-8 for Problems 4-6. Name the factor you mean (Place, Livelihood, Role, Beliefs, Information or Loyalties) and give the source and paragraph number for every quotation.

Part 1: The Petition of 1897 (Problems 1-3)

According to Source 8, paragraph 2, how many Native Hawaiians signed the Hui Aloha 'Aina petition, and how did that number compare with the Native Hawaiian population counted that year? Show the comparison.
Source 8, paragraph 1, says what the petition organizers "hoped." Which factor does that hope show most clearly? Explain with a quotation.
Compare the petition signers' perspective with President Harrison's in Source 5. Name one factor that the two perspectives share and one that is different.

Part 2: Factors across Two Eras (Problems 4-6)

Fill in a six-factor chart for one person from the 1840s (Polk or Lincoln). Use at least three factors, each with a quotation.
Choose one factor that shaped perspectives in both the 1840s and the 1890s. Give one example from each era and explain whether the factor worked the same way both times.
Write a paragraph of 5-7 sentences: "What factors shaped Americans' and Hawaiians' perspectives on Hawaii in 1893?" Use at least three factors and quote at least two sources.

Rubric

Criterion	Full Credit (2 pts)	Partial Credit (1 pt)	No Credit (0 pts)
Factors	Names the right factor and explains how it shaped the perspective	Names a factor but does not explain its effect	No factor named, or a fact about the event given instead
Evidence	Exact quotations with source and paragraph numbers	Accurate paraphrase without a quotation	No evidence, or evidence that does not match the source
Multiple Factors	Shows how two or more factors work together	Lists two factors separately	Only one factor
Two Eras	Compares the eras accurately with an example from each	Mentions both eras with one example	Only one era

Quiz: 20 Questions

Interactive, with answers

Instructions

Questions 4-5 and 15 use Source 2 and Question 20 uses Sources 1 and 3 (Direct Instruction and Guided Practice). Questions 6-8 and 16 use Source 3, and Questions 10-11 and 17 use Source 6 (Guided Practice). Questions 9 and 18 use Sources 4 and 5 (Direct Instruction). Questions 12-14 and 19 use Source 7 (Independent Practice). Questions 1-3 test the factor tool.

Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.

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Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence describes a perspective rather than a fact?
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A sugar grower worries that a new tax will lower the price he gets for his crop. Which factor is shaping his perspective?
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which question would best reveal the Information factor behind a person's perspective?
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 2, paragraph 3, what does Polk say Mexico has done that means war now exists?
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 2, paragraph 4, what three things does Polk say the country must now defend?
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 3, paragraph 1, Lincoln admits that a vote against the President "should not be given in mere party wantonness." Which factor is he saying should NOT be the only reason for such a vote?
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 3, paragraph 1, Lincoln calls one point "the very point upon which he should be justified, or condemned." What is that point?
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 3, paragraph 2, Lincoln asks, "Has not Mexico always claimed the contrary?" What is his point?
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 5, paragraph 3, why does Harrison say annexing Hawaii is important for the United States' safety?
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 6, paragraph 5, why does Liliuokalani say she yields her authority?
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 6, paragraph 5, what does Liliuokalani hope the U.S. government will do?
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 7, paragraph 3, how does President Cleveland describe the overthrow of the Hawaiian government?
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Cleveland writes that Americans do not favor the idea "that there is one law for a strong nation and another for a weak one" (Source 7, paragraph 2). Which factor does this sentence show most clearly?
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Harrison (Source 5) and Cleveland (Source 7) were both Presidents of the United States in 1893, yet they saw the events in Hawaii differently. Which factor does Source 7, paragraph 1, point to most clearly as a reason?
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Name two factors (other than Livelihood) that shaped President Polk's perspective in Source 2, and quote the words that show each one.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Polk and Lincoln lived in the same era but saw the start of the war differently. Explain one factor that helps explain the difference, using Sources 2 and 3.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Using Source 6, name two factors that shaped Queen Liliuokalani's perspective and explain each with a quotation.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Name one factor that shaped perspectives in both the 1840s and the 1890s. Give one example from each era.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Explain how the Information factor could lead two Presidents of the same country to different views of Hawaii within the same year. Use Sources 5 and 7.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
The sources on this page include no document written by a Mexican official or citizen in the 1840s. Explain why that matters for analyzing perspectives, and write one question you would want such a source to answer.

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Frequently Asked Questions

10 Questions

What does D2.His.4.6-8 mean?

D2.His.4.6-8 asks middle school students to analyze several factors that influenced the perspectives of people in different historical eras. It is a C3 Framework history indicator in the cluster "Perspectives." Students explain why people saw events the way they did, using evidence, instead of deciding who was right.

What is a "factor" in a history lesson?

A factor is an influence that helps shape a person's perspective. This lesson uses six: Place, Livelihood, Role, Beliefs, Information and Loyalties. The six labels are an SVHS teaching tool, not official C3 wording, but they match the kinds of influences the indicator asks students to analyze.

Why does D2.His.4.6-8 say "multiple factors"?

Because a perspective almost never has a single cause. A President may be shaped at once by his job, his beliefs and what he has been told. Students earn full credit on this page only when they show two or more factors working together.

Why does the lesson use two different eras?

The indicator asks about perspectives "during different historical eras." Comparing the 1840s with the 1890s lets students see that the same kinds of factors, such as trade or ideas about fairness, can matter in very different times, and that the mix of factors changes.

Is this lesson about whether the war with Mexico or the annexation of Hawaii was right?

No. Students study the perspectives of people at the time, in their own words, and explain what shaped them. They may form their own opinions, but the quiz and rubrics score evidence and reasoning, not opinions.

What is the difference between a fact and a factor?

A fact is something that happened or was true, such as "Polk was President in 1846." A factor explains how something influenced a person's view: "As President, Polk felt responsible for defending the country's claims." Students often list facts when they are asked for factors.

Whose perspectives are missing from these sources?

The page has no primary source by a Mexican official or citizen of the 1840s, and the Hawaiian petition signers of 1897 appear only through a National Archives summary. Noticing missing voices is part of analyzing perspectives, and Question 20 asks students to explain why it matters.

What vocabulary should students know before this lesson?

The lesson defines each term at first use, including perspective, factor, era, annex, disputed, expansionism, monarchy, protectorate, tariff, treaty and coup. Teachers may pre-teach six or eight of them for students who need it.

How does D2.His.4.6-8 connect to high school?

In grades 9-12, D2.His.4.9-12 asks students to analyze "complex and interacting" factors: how factors push against or strengthen each other. The six-factor chart from this page is a good starting point for that work, and D2.His.5.6-8 adds how perspectives change over time.

How can families support this lesson at home?

Pick a news story or a family decision and ask, "Why might different people see this differently?" Then sort the reasons: where they live, how they earn a living, their role, their beliefs, what they know and whom they are loyal to.