Curated OER
Reformers versus Residents in Five Points: A Role Play
Social Studies and role-playing can go hand in hand. Learners use supporting evidence found in primary and secondary source material to develop a character from the Five Points neighborhood in the 1850s. Each student takes on the role of...
Curated OER
Ragtime: 1880-1920
Build an understanding of the social, economic, and cultural changes that were incited by the American Industrial Revolution. Learners will research the historical context of the Ragtime Era, and compose an oral presentation in the voice...
Curated OER
America Moves to the City (1865-1900)
Statistical data can show shifts in human populations without bias or a prescribed historical point of view. View bar graphs and charts that describe new influxes in urbanization, immigration, and suffrage by state during the turn of the...
Curated OER
Urban Growth in Industrial America
Students examine the correlation between urbanization and industrialization. In this 19th century American history lesson plan, students investigate census data from the late 1800's to find out how urbanization and industrialization in...
Curated OER
Brucemore Mansion
Students take a closer look at Brucemore Mansion. In this Iowa history lesson, students research what life was like at the mansion during the Gilded Age and through history. Students also research the responsibilities of servants as well...
Curated OER
The Automobile’s Influence on Post-WWII Suburbia
Eighth graders explore post World War II America. In this American History activity, 8th graders analyze primary and secondary sources to research how the automobile influenced the growth of suburbs, and how the growth of suburbs...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: The Gilded and the Gritty: 1870 1912: Progress: The Meaning of the Machine
Nine primary source resources describing the way people thought about progress during the Gilded Age, 1870-1912. Includes guided reading, links to supplemental material, and timeline.
Curated OER
History Matters: Laissez Faire for Depression Woes
Read this transcript of the testimony of Yale Professer William Graham Sumner speaking before a committee of the House of Representatives in 1878. His contention was that even with the thread of depression, it was in business' best...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Machine: Factory
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
University of Washington
Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights Projects: Seattle General Strike
A comprehensive look at the Seattle General Strike, which began in February, 1919. Here you will find an explanation of why the strike began, an interactive map of the location of important events, oral histories, contemporary newspaper...
Mount Holyoke College
Mt. Hoyoke College: Chinese Exclusion Act
Provides full length, section-by-section text of the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed by the 47th U.S. Congress in 1882.
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: 1900 1940s: The Changing Workplace
Original photos depicting the rise of industry and the transformation of the American workplace.
Other
Bringing History Home: Industrialization History
This 3rd grade unit introduces the history of industrialization in the United States in the late 19th century. The development of mechanization and assembly line processes, reliance on unskilled labor, and geographic concentration of...
Other
Illinois State Museum: The American Railway Union
Excerpt from U.S. Strike Commission Report. Site also provides focus questions at the bottom.
Curated OER
Bureau of Land Management: Steel Rails and Iron Horses
Read about the building of the first transcontinental railroad and other railroads that came after. Find out how the checkerboard land ownership system affected the railroads. Includes lots of detailed lesson activities as well as a poster.
Other
Industrialization, Urbanization, and Immigration in the Gilded Age
A study guide for an American History course that explores trends and issues from the Gilded Age. The guide has many links to key resources and primary source materials, as well as questions for further study or discussion.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Industrialization and Big Business, 1870 1900: Inventors of the Age
In the Industrial Revolution, new products and inventions spurred the growth of big business. Learn about some of these inventions and the people who created them, for example, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison.
C3 Teachers
C3 Teachers: Inquiries: Industrialization
A learning module on the Industrial Revolution in America that includes several supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and source materials, followed by a summative performance task. Topics covered include how manufacturing...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Industrializing America
Comprehensive teaching unit that explores the "second industrial revolution" and the mass production of consumer goods. This, in turn, caused an increase in the labor force and immigration. Learn how these changes brought about the start...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Tammany Hall
Brief history of Tammany Hall from beginning to the fall of the political machine.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Wake Up, America!
This resource covers the changing of America due to the Industrial Revolution which brought in not only new technology but also opened the door to reform movements. From the series by Joy Hakim, "A History of Us." Includes a teacher's...
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: America at the Centennial
A lesson plan requiring student to analyze primary documents from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. Students interpret what these historical artifacts say "about the lives and values of Americans in 1876" among other things.
Digital History
Digital History: The Rise of Big Business
This resource provides information about the rise of big business in America after the Civil War. Read about the modern corporation, increased mechanization, and consumer products.