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Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Laissez Faire for Depression Woes

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Website
Other

Harvard: Historical Collections: Bubbles, Panics & Crashes

For Students 9th - 10th
Financial crises have happened before, and - if history is any guide - they will happen again. One year after the subprime mortgage crisis, this Baker Library Historical Collections exhibit documents four major crises that occurred in an...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Gilded Age 1870 1900: Key Political Issues: Patronage, Tariffs, Gold

For Students 11th - 12th
Political patronage was a big problem in the late 19th century and led to corruption within the government. This made it difficult to reform the civil service. Tariffs were another big issue and affected economic groups in different...
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Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant: Domestic Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
A very good look at the many parts of domestic affairs in the Grant administration. Grant dealt with Reconstruction, the Panic of 1873, a revamping of the government's relationship with Native Americans, and several scandals that did not...
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Handout
PublicBookshelf Corporation

The Financial Panic of 1873

For Students 9th - 10th
This excerpt from The Great Republic by the Master Historians, published in the early 1900s, provides a near-contemporary discussion of one of the many financial panics, depressions, and bank runs that plagued the American economy in the...
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Article
Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University Libraries: Gilded Age: 1873 1876: The Panic of 1873

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains the circumstances and events that led to the Panic of 1873, which was precipitated by the collapse of the Philadelphia investment house of Jay Cooke.
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Website
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier House: The Northern Pacific Railroad and Those Who Built It

For Students 9th - 10th
The goods and services brought to the frontier by the railroad improved the quality of life. Read about the construction and route of the Northern Pacific Railroad in this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Early National Organizations

For Students 5th - 8th
As early as 1866 a national union grew from the multitude of local unions in the country. Read about the growth of stronger unions, and find out what their goals were. See why the Haymarket Square Riot had an effect on unionization.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan

For Students 5th - 8th
J. Pierpont Morgan was not business tycoon who made his money from manufacturing. Read about how he accumulated wealth, how he helped the government through some economic panics, and why the government took him to court.
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Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: The Gilded Age: The Populists

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains the history of the Populist movement, its growth into a political party, and its later dissolution. Includes questions for students at end.
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Graphic
Other

Gilded Age: From Frontier to Factory Timeline 1845 1916

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A timeline that lists major events in culture, military, industry, and politics across three-quarters of a century.
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Handout
San Jose State University

San Jose State University: The Depression of 1873 1879

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief explanation of the economic factors that led to the Panic of 1873 when the railroad investment firm, Jay Cooke and Co., collapsed, followed by the demise of many other railroads over the next several years.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: The Panic of 1873

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the Panic of 1873, a serious six-year long economic crisis that led to riots, strikes and civil unrest.