Course Content
Technical Support
1-800-234-5832
M–Th: 8:00A.M.–Midnight EST
F: 8:00A.M.–10:00P.M. EST
Lesson Plans
Out of Many: A History of the American People ©2000
by Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, and Armitage
Focus Lesson 16
Chapter 19: "The Incorporation of America, 1865–1900"
AP* Course Description
- Industrialization and Corporate Consolidation
- Industrial growth: railroads, iron, coal, electricity, steel, oil, banks
- Laissez-faire conservatism
- Gospel of Wealth
- Myth of "self-made man"
- Social Darwinism: survival of the fittest
- Social critics and dissenters
- Effects of technological development on worker/workplace
- Union movement
- Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor
- Haymarket, Homestead, and Pullman
- National Politics, 1877–1896: The Gilded Age
- A conservative presidency
- Issues
- Tariff controversy
- Railroad regulation
- Trusts
- Agrarian discontent
- Intellectual and Cultural Movements
- Mass culture
- Use of leisure
- Mass culture
Key Components
- Instructor's Manual: pp. 100–106
- Study Guide, Vol. II: pp. 20–27
- Documents Set, Vol. II: pp. 251–270
- Test Item File: pp. 171–179
Key Web Sites
Given the changing nature of the Internet, you may wish to preview these sites. Always check PHSchool.com for updated links to U.S. history sites.
- Carnegie Corporation of New York
- Thomas Edison's Home Page
- The Gilded Age WebQuest: Documenting Industrialization in America
- How the Other Half Lives: Jacob A. Riis
Key Words and Terms
- Centennial Exposition
- mail order
- vertical/horizontal integration
- Gospel of Wealth
- Social Darwinism
- Chinese Exclusion Act
- Sherman Anti-Trust Act
- Gilded Age
- Morrill Federal Land Grant
- labor relations
Suggested Pacing
Given the amount of political, economic, and social history of the years between 1877 and 1900, students may find it difficult to absorb all of the material. A thematic approach works well. Out of Many takes the major themes of the period and thoroughly explains each in Chapters 19 to 21. You will need to determine the number of class sessions based on your students and your school schedule, but approximately four weeks including testing is a good framework for the three chapters.
Test Strategy
Building upon the test-taking tip in the previous Focus Lesson, have students learn the presidents in order, along with the years they were in office and their political party. Learning this information will help students place events in their proper chronological order since so much of U.S. history revolves around presidencies. Knowing the time frame for events will help students in determining the time frame for multiple-choice questions on the AP* exam.
Key Concepts
- Sherman Anti-Trust Law
Although enacted to control corporate business practices that worked to the detriment of small businesses and the public, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was used against labor unions to curtail efforts to organize. The major problem in enforcing the law against big business was the vagueness of the law's language. As a result, few successful prosecutions were brought under the law against giant corporations. - Business practices
The late-nineteenth century saw a series of economic depressions that wiped out weaker competitors and allowed a few businesses to gain the majority of their markets. These businesses used two strategies: vertical integration and horizontal combinations. The first practice allowed a company to control all aspects of the production of its goods. The second made it possible for a company to gain control of a market. The Standard Oil Trust, built by John D. Rockefeller, is an example of the latter.
Summing Up Student Understanding
Urban growth and the influx of immigrants into the United States represent major contributions to the nation's industrial expansion. Have students look at the map "Patterns of Industry" on p. 552; read and analyze the section "History and the Land" on p. 560; and look at the map "Population of Foreign Birth by Region" on p. 561. Make copies of the Chronology and map questions on pp. 26–29 of the Study Guide and on pp. 177–178 of the Test Item File. Require that students answer the multiple-choice questions after completing the map analysis. Then have a class discussion about the interaction of these two factors on industrial growth.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
You might also find these additional readings useful in developing students' background knowledge or for DBQ activities:
- American Issues: Vol. II Since 1865, edited by Unger and Tomes—Chapter 2
- The Power of Words: Vol. II From 1865, edited by Breen—Chapter 3
- Constructing the American Past, Vol. II, edited by Gorn, Roberts, and Bilhartz—Chapter 2
- American Experiences: Volume II From 1877, edited by Roberts and Olson (secondary source readings)—Part Two