Ms. Mac's U.S. History
  • Welcome To Ms. Mac's Class
    • Class Syllabus
    • Class Calendar
  • World History
    • Industrial Revolution
    • French Revolution
    • Haitian Revolution
    • World War I
    • Russian Revolution to Soviet Union
    • Chinese Revolution
    • World War II in Europe
  • U.S. History
    • Pre-Columbian America and The Columbian Exchange >
      • Pre-Contact America: Clovis Points
      • Pre-Contact America: Buffalo Hunts and Whaling
      • Pre-Contact America: Cahokia-The Corn People
      • Christopher Columbus
    • Colonial Era >
      • Juan Cabrillo and the San Salvador
      • Jamestown
      • Pilgrims, Puritans and Colonial Wars
      • Atlantic Slave Trade and Anti-Slavery Literature
      • Early American Military History
    • Founding Era >
      • American Revolution >
        • Declaration of Independence
        • The Continental Soldier
        • Rappin' the Revolution
        • Founding Fathers on Broadway!
      • Constitution >
        • Constitutional Convention
        • Bill of Rights
        • School Court Cases
        • COTUS Booklet
    • Slavery >
      • Virginia Slave Laws
      • Frederick Douglass
      • Atlantic Slave Trade and Antislavery Art and Poetry
    • Western Expansion >
      • Lewis and Clark >
        • Native Americans
        • Members of Corps of Discovery
        • Jefferson's Vision
        • Mind of Lewis and Clark
        • Corps of Discovery
        • Ethnography
        • Scientific Discoveries
        • Adventures
    • American Civil War >
      • Introducing, Mr. Lincoln >
        • Lincoln's Daily Life in Washington
        • Lincoln Essential Questions
        • Understanding Lincoln
        • Gettysburg Address and Henry V
        • Lincoln-Douglas Debates
      • Civil War Simulation >
        • Massachusetts 54th
        • Berdan Sharpshooters
        • Irish Brigades
        • Zouaves
        • Calvary
        • Artillery
    • Reconstruction and Greater Reconstruction
    • Gilded Age
    • World War I in America
    • Great Depression
    • WWII in the Pacific
    • Cold War
    • Vietnam War
  • Special Projects
    • Bayard Wilkeson Project
    • Ford's Theatre Oratory Project
    • National History Day
    • Hamilton! Lesson Using the Broadway Show >
      • Rappin in the Classroom
      • Founding Fathers on Broadway!
      • Hamilton Traveling Exhibit Activities
      • Hamilton Sign Up!
    • 9/11 History versus Memory
    • The South in American History
    • Books of Study >
      • McCullough's 1776
      • Ambrose's Undaunted Courage
    • Digital History
    • Distance Learning for ALL >
      • U.S. History-Spring 2020 >
        • April 13th-17th
        • April 20th-24th
        • April 27th-May 1st
        • May 4th-May 8th
        • May 11th- May 15th
        • May 18th-May 22nd
      • World Cultures-Spring 2020 >
        • April 13th-17th
        • April 20th-24th >
          • Marshall Plan
        • April 27th-May 1st >
          • The Kitchen Debate
        • May 4-8
        • May 11-15
        • May 18-May 22
    • Facing Crisis Head On
  • Contact

The Gilded Age

Beautiful credit! The foundation of modern society. Who shall say that this is not the golden age of mutual trust, of unlimited reliance upon human promises? Mark Twain, The Gilded Age

Lesson One: The Gilded Age and the Self-Made Man

Preview: Students will write down who they think today or in the past are "self-made man." Students will then list the qualities those people have that make them self-made.
Direct Instruction: Ms. Mac will lecture on Horatio Alger books promoted the ideal of the self-made man. 
Individual Assignment: Students will read a biography of two of the Gilded Age's biggest titans creating a t-chart of the ideals of industry, honesty, thrift, ambition, risk-taking, and "pluck." 
Andrew Carnegie 
​John D. Rockefeller
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the_gilded_age_and_the_self_made_man.pdf
File Size: 30 kb
File Type: pdf
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Lesson Two: The Gospel of Wealth and Social Darwinism

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Preview: The class will discuss three questions: What are the major factors determining why some people are successful and others are not? What barriers prevent some people from achieving success? Should the government try to make society more equal through high taxes on the wealthy and social welfare programs for the poor?
Small Group Shared Reading: In groups of four, student will read the two excerpts from Carnegie and Twain, complete questions, and "text debate" using textual evidence. 
Individual Assignment: Students should complete one of the lesson’s essential questions: Can Social Darwinism and the Gospel of Wealth justify the inequalities in society? To what extent does government have a responsibility to address the inequalities in society?
gospel_of_wealth_worksheets.docx
File Size: 122 kb
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Lesson Three: The Homestead Strike

Preview: Students will read, "The Homestead Strike."  While reading, Ms. Mac will assign each student as a Skilled or Unskilled worker at Homestead and hand out the role's worksheet.
Group Activity: The class will be divided into two groups at Homestead: 20% skilled and 80% unskilled. There will also be an inconspicuous person assigned as the Company Spy. Each group will meet together answer their questions. They may reach out to the other group, but do not have to.
"Mass Meeting": Ms. Mac, a retired worked, will chair the meeting to foster understanding of each of the group's needs and position. Then the workers will vote on whether or not to support strike.
Debrief: Ms. Mac will pose questions to the group ending with "thinking about the role play as a whole, what would you say made it hard to get together? What made it easy?
Individual Assignment: The will read The Homestead Strike: The Outcome and answer the three questions posed. 
the_homestead_strike.pdf
File Size: 81 kb
File Type: pdf
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skilled_worker.pdf
File Size: 74 kb
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unskilled_worker.pdf
File Size: 74 kb
File Type: pdf
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strike_outcome.pdf
File Size: 85 kb
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Lesson Four: The Gilded Age

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Group Activity: Ms. Mac will be absent, so the class will watch American Experience's Gilded Age. Student can follow with the transcript. 
the_gilded_age.pdf
File Size: 257 kb
File Type: pdf
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Assessment: Essay on the Gilded Age

What three events or people represent America's Gilded Age? 
review_of_the_gilded_age.pptx
File Size: 402 kb
File Type: pptx
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