Compelling Question: How did a changing view of government’s responsibility during the Gilded Age affect American society?

Chapter Objectives:

• Students will evaluate the consequences of rapid industrialization and the rise of big business on American society and government.
• Students will trace the rise of reform movements and how they changed American society and culture.
• Students will evaluate the impact of immigration to and migration within the United States during the late nineteenth century.

• Were the Titans of the Gilded Age “Robber Barons” or “Entrepreneurial Industrialists”? Point-Counterpoint
• Were Urban Bosses Essential Service Providers or Corrupt Politicians? Point-Counterpoint
• William “Boss” Tweed and Political Machines Narrative
• Cartoon Analysis: Thomas Nast Takes on “Boss” Tweed, 1871 Primary Source
• The Transcontinental Railroad Narrative
• The Brooklyn Bridge Narrative
• Andrew Carnegie and the Creation of U.S. Steel Narrative
• The Homestead Strike Narrative
• Debating Industrial Progress: Andrew Carnegie vs. Henry George Lesson
• Ignatius Donnelly and the 1892 Populist Platform Narrative
• Populists and Socialists in the Gilded Age Lesson
• Unit 5 Civics Connection: Civil Rights and Economic Freedom Lesson
• William Jennings Bryan, “Cross of Gold” speech, 1896 Primary Source

• Jane Addams, Hull House, and Immigration Narrative
• Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward, 2000-1887, 1888 Primary Source
• Ida B. Wells and the Campaign against Lynching Narrative
• Ida B. Wells, “Lynch Law,” 1893 Primary Source
• Plessy v. Ferguson(1896) Narrative
• Booker T. Washington, “Speech to the Cotton States and International Exposition,” 1895 Primary Source
• Debating Strategies for Change: Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois Lesson

• The Chinese Exclusion Act Decision Point
• Cartoon Analysis: Immigration in the Gilded Age, 1882-1896 Primary Source
• Industry and Immigration in the Gilded Age Lesson
• George Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn Narrative
• The Dawes Act, 1887 Primary Source
• Images from the Carlisle Indian School, 1880s Primary Source
• Cowboys and Cattle Drives Narrative
• Was Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis Myth or Reality? Point-Counterpoint
• Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” 1893 Primary Source

Additional Resources:

• Chapter 9 Introductory Essay: 1877−1898
• The Annexation of Hawaii Narrative
• The Annexation of Hawaii DBQ Lesson
• Grover Cleveland’s Veto of the Texas Seed Bill, 1887 Primary Source
• BRI Homework Help video: African Americans in the Gilded Age
• BRI Homework Help video: The Story of “Boss” Tweed
• BRI Homework Help video: Entrepreneurs: A History

Unit 5 Essay Activity How did a changing view of government’s responsibility during the Gilded Age affect American society? Option A: Explain the extent to which industrialization brought social and economic continuity and change from 1877 to 1898. Option B: Explain how various factors contributed to continuity and change in the “New South” from 1877 to 1898. Through this inquiry, students will analyze the social, political, and economic changes that took place in the late nineteenth century or “Gilded Age.” Ultimately, students will use the primary and secondary sources in this chapter to practice constructing an essay in AP Long Essay Question format, demonstrating their skills in explaining continuity and change over time. Students should be evaluated using theAP Rubric. Assess students’ progress in understanding the compelling question for this chapter by assigning the Unit 5 Essay Activity.