A Time of Wealth and a Time of Poverty
This week we concluded our study of Reconstruction by building a timeline of key events that helped tell the story of how we rebuilt our country after the Civil War. This final assessment gave you the opportunity to step back from the facts and select those events that captured the spirit of the time. Did Congress try to integrate the former slaves into the economic and political life of our country? Did the South try to reform its society in an effort to recognize the newly freed population? The timeline allows you to answer the question: what was the story of Reconstruction? Was it a time of hope or one of broken promises? Are we still living with the failures of Reconstruction?
We also watched videos on Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. Each of these presidents gives us insight into the idea of leadership. When historians are asked about the most effective presidents, Lincoln usually leads the list. He was able to balance clear demands with empathy for his enemy. He was able to rally a variety of people to his cause while understanding those who opposed him. Johnson became president because of the assassin’s bullet. He was unprepared for the demands of reuniting a country and was not even nominated as a presidential candidate after serving out Lincoln’s term. Looking for a strong leader, the country once again turned to a former general and elected Ulysses S. Grant. But while he had been effective on the battlefield, the politics of Washington found him mired in personalities and issues that were not easily sorted out. Though presidents at that time were not limited to two terms, Grant left office after his second term. In an effort to leave his family funds to live on, he spent his final years writing his memoirs under the direction of Mark Twain. He finished just days before dying of throat cancer. The funeral was held in New York City and had a procession over seven miles long. Grant’s Tomb became one of the most popular sites in the United States and today over 100,000 people visit the National Park where it is housed, on the upper west side of Manhattan. The memoirs became a best seller and are still considered a model for that form of writing.
The Gilded Age and the Closing of the West
Some people always profit during times of war, and after the Civil War America had its first class of millionaires. Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J.P. Morgan are just a few of the famous names from this new wealthy class. Was their success due primarily to their business skills or to their exploitation of workers who toiled long hours for low wages? Should these men be remembered as Captains of Industry or Robber Barons? This week we will look more closely at their business practices and the impact they had on our economy and workers.
While these men were building steel plants, pumping oil, and laying railroad tracks, the West had opened up to large scale ranches, farms and mining. As big business practices and mechanization expanded throughout the West, Native Americans were driven to fight for their shrinking territory. By 1900, the West had been transformed, the open range had been fenced in, and over 15 million buffalo had been slaughtered.
You have a packet on the Gilded Age and should be prepared on Monday to know the difference between a Robber Baron and a Captain of Industry. You have a sheet on the inventions of the time that needs to be completed by Monday. These readings and activities will prepare you for our final PBGR task which is a persuasive essay. This is an on demand assignment so no extra research will be needed beyond the homework readings.
We also watched videos on Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. Each of these presidents gives us insight into the idea of leadership. When historians are asked about the most effective presidents, Lincoln usually leads the list. He was able to balance clear demands with empathy for his enemy. He was able to rally a variety of people to his cause while understanding those who opposed him. Johnson became president because of the assassin’s bullet. He was unprepared for the demands of reuniting a country and was not even nominated as a presidential candidate after serving out Lincoln’s term. Looking for a strong leader, the country once again turned to a former general and elected Ulysses S. Grant. But while he had been effective on the battlefield, the politics of Washington found him mired in personalities and issues that were not easily sorted out. Though presidents at that time were not limited to two terms, Grant left office after his second term. In an effort to leave his family funds to live on, he spent his final years writing his memoirs under the direction of Mark Twain. He finished just days before dying of throat cancer. The funeral was held in New York City and had a procession over seven miles long. Grant’s Tomb became one of the most popular sites in the United States and today over 100,000 people visit the National Park where it is housed, on the upper west side of Manhattan. The memoirs became a best seller and are still considered a model for that form of writing.
The Gilded Age and the Closing of the West
Some people always profit during times of war, and after the Civil War America had its first class of millionaires. Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J.P. Morgan are just a few of the famous names from this new wealthy class. Was their success due primarily to their business skills or to their exploitation of workers who toiled long hours for low wages? Should these men be remembered as Captains of Industry or Robber Barons? This week we will look more closely at their business practices and the impact they had on our economy and workers.
While these men were building steel plants, pumping oil, and laying railroad tracks, the West had opened up to large scale ranches, farms and mining. As big business practices and mechanization expanded throughout the West, Native Americans were driven to fight for their shrinking territory. By 1900, the West had been transformed, the open range had been fenced in, and over 15 million buffalo had been slaughtered.
You have a packet on the Gilded Age and should be prepared on Monday to know the difference between a Robber Baron and a Captain of Industry. You have a sheet on the inventions of the time that needs to be completed by Monday. These readings and activities will prepare you for our final PBGR task which is a persuasive essay. This is an on demand assignment so no extra research will be needed beyond the homework readings.
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