Era 5: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870–1900)

Summary: The purpose of “A Question of Trust” is to let students simulate the origins of the era of trusts in American economic history. Acting as “captains of industry” they, too, will try to create monopoly power within their classroom oil industry. Their experience will challenge the common belief that the era of trust formation was evidence that Adam Smith’s analysis of capitalism was flawed. Students will discover for themselves that trusts were actually an affirmation of Smith’s theory....

Summary: Students will be able to explain the concept of monopolies, how Rockefeller created the Standard Oil Trust, and the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890). In addition, students will analyze and evaluate newspaper and magazine articles about Standard Oil, political cartoons and political advertisements, and the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. The United States (1911). Finally, students will be asked to take and defend a position of whether the government should...

Summary: During the Industrial Era, American workers went on strike to demand higher wages and better working conditions. In most cases, owners and workers described the root causes of the strikes very differently. Students use the historical thinking skills of corroboration, sourcing, and close reading to evaluate the reliability of two different accounts of one of the most violent strikes in U.S. history, the Homestead strike. An alternative activity

Overarching Questions:

CIVICS: Have...

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Summary: This activity can be used to introduce a unit on westward expansion or as an end-of-unit review. Students will assess the cause and effect of, and possible reasons for, westward expansion.

Overarching questions addressed:

ECONOMICS: How has technology (e.g., ships, canals, railroads, newspapers, telegraphs, radio, television, the internet and social media) spread ideas and influenced public opinion, the economy and/or the government? Did the changes strengthen or weaken democratic...

Summary: This activity can be used as a companion to an activity about the reasons for westward expansion. Students will hypothesize how the westward movement of Americans may have influenced Native Americans tribes and speculate how the specific activities affected Native American lands, culture, religion, and politics.

Overarching Questions:

CIVICS: Have the concepts of liberty, justice and/or equality changed during the time period? If so, how and what has been the impact? ECONOMICS: How...

Summary: In this interactive lesson, students will learn about Nicodemus, an all-Black town established in Kansas following the Civil War. Nicodemus was designed to offer Black migrants new opportunities and freedoms that had failed to materialize after Reconstruction. Students will analyze federal legislation and policies that promoted westward expansion and—through photographs, maps, videos, and graphs—examine how Black people took advantage of such opportunities. At the end of the lesson,...

Summary: “What would life be like if we could own things just by claiming them on a first-come-first-served basis?” Students consider thirst questions by simulating the rationing of land in American history in that very manner – the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1893. As student “Boomers” engage in the chaos and excitement of racing for land, they participate in a common experience they can analyze and evaluate afterwards. The debriefing helps them sort through the experience, highlighting the...

Summary: The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, opened in 1879, was a model for many other boarding schools for Native American children. Students examine four historical documents to answer the question: What was the purpose of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School?

Overarching Questions:

CIVICS: Have the concepts of liberty, justice and/or equality changed during the time period? If so, how and what has been the impact? CIVICS: How well does the government balance individual rights and the...

Summary: After the end of the Civil War, the limited economic opportunities for freedmen led many to become sharecroppers working for former enslavers. In this lesson, students critically evaluate their classroom textbook’s account of sharecropping by comparing it to a sharecropping contract from 1882.

Overarching Questions:

CIVICS: How well does the government balance individual rights and the common good, including the need to maintain order, safety and a healthy environment, during this time...

Summary: Students will connect events and gain understanding of what triggers financial panics and apply that learning to the Panic of 1893. The guide identifies four common triggers of financial panics: unstable currency, excessive speculation, weakness of the banking structure and regulations, and concern about public finance and government debt. Students will be able to identify causes of financial panics, analyze connections among historical events and among continuity and change, compare...