Juan Seguin's 1858 Memoir in Context

Use the New Mexico organizer to set the long view, then the causes chart and the campaign map together. Close with the Seguin memoir to discuss whose voice the record holds.

Analyze the preface of Juan Seguín's 1858 memoir and his place between Texas and Mexico. The directions on the page read: Read the quotation, the word help and the context. Then answer question 1 on the lines. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade Westward Expansion and Trails, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its border, but Mexico said the line was the Nueces River, farther north. Fighting in the land between the rivers in 1846 led to war.

The campaign map follows Taylor's army to Monterrey and Buena Vista, Kearny's army to Santa Fe and San Diego, and Scott's army from Veracruz to Mexico City.

Juan Seguin was a Tejano born in San Antonio in 1806 who led Tejano soldiers at San Jacinto and later served as mayor of San Antonio. Students read the preface of his 1858 memoir and ask why a historian should read it with care.