Politics+Power,+and+the+People

=Unit 5: Politics, Power, and the People=
 * identify major business entrepreneurs and the methods they used to build big business and industry in the late 1800s
 * Recognize individuals and innovations that made modern cities possible
 * Recognize the presidents who served between 1877 and 1900 and identify what they are best known for
 * Identify groups or individuals who helped or hindered the growth of democracy and opportunity in the late 1800s
 * Recognize the extremes of poverty, wealth, and opportunity in America society in the late 1800s
 * Identify the physical factors that help determine land use and the debates that arise over the use of the land
 * Define //monopoly, trust, command economy, market economy, hybrid economy and corporation//
 * Describe the advantages and disadvantages of monopolies and the actions taken against them
 * Recognize the role of government in the economy through the Federal Reserve System
 * Describe the circular relationship among various sectors of the economy
 * Recognize symbols of freedom including the Statue of Liberty
 * Describe the roles of third parties and special interest money in promoting political ideas and issues

Key Words

 * Bessemer process:** a method of making high-quality steel at a reasonable price
 * capital:** wealth used for investment to make more wealth
 * strike:** work stoppage to demand better wages or working conditions
 * command economy:** an economic system in which the government or another central administration regulates supply and prices
 * corporation:** a business owned by many people called stockholders
 * hybrid economy:** an economic system tat is a combination of both command and market economies; also called a mixed economy
 * market economy:** a system in which people earn wages and buy the goods and services they choose
 * monopoly:** a market that has only one seller of a product for which there are no close substitutes, and the seller can influence the price of the product
 * Sherman-Antitrust Act:** an act of Congress (1890) that made monopolies illegal, forbade businesses from limiting competition, and prohibited any contract, conspiracy, or combination of business interests from inhibiting foreign or interstate trade
 * tariff:** a tax on imports or exports
 * traditional economy:** an economic system in which people do the same work their parents did
 * trust:** a form of monopoly in which many different companies in one industry are owned and run by the same people
 * megalopolises:** enormous cities or very thickly populated areas that encompass several cities
 * currency:** paper bills and coins in circulation within an economy
 * deflation:** falling prices due to an increase in the supply of money
 * depressions:** a time of decline in business activity, accompanied by high unemployment and falling prices
 * inflation:** rising prices due to an increase in the supply of money
 * special interest:** a group or organization that tries to influence the government in favor of one particular interest or issue

Lesson 1: Getting and Giving
Andrew Carnegie's life is the classic story of rags to riches. Born into a poor family in Scotland, Carnegie became one of the richest men in the world. He must have forgotten his meager beginnings, because he made his money by exploiting people who were very like his parents. he paid low wages to the thousand of workers who labored in his mills,and lived like a prince while they struggled to survive. Near the end of his life, however, he gave away almost all his wealth in an attempt to make the world a better place. The Homestead Strike The Bessemer Process Andrew Carnegie media type="custom" key="19005512"
 * 1) Read the Preface & Chapter 1 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 2) Read the Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 3) Read //Andrew Carnegie : captain of industry// by Dana Meachen Rau

Lesson 2: Mountains of Money
At the turn of the century, John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan were two of the richest and most powerful men in the United States. Rockefeller's Standard Oil trust controlled 90% of the oil industry. It ruined his competitors, but it also helped the United States become a world leader in business and industry. J.P. Morgan's bank, the House of Morgan, had a hand in almost every important field of commerce. Morgan founded the nation's first billion-dollar corporation, U.S. Steel. Rich as Rockefeller Powerful Pierpont
 * 1) Compare and contract Rockefeller and Morgan in terms of their rise to power, business practices, and use of their wealth.
 * 2) Research places that Carnegie and Rockefeller paid for
 * 3) Read //John D. Rockefeller, richest man ever// by Ellen Greenman Coffey
 * 4) Read Chapter 5 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim

Lesson 3: How Much Is Too Much?
American monopolies threatened to wipe out competition and free enterprise in the late nineteenth century. The emergence of monopolies created a dilemma for the federal government. How could the government regulate business without crushing the spirit of capitalism? The Sherman Antitrust Act was the first step in abolishing monopolies. at first, no one wanted to offend big business by enforcing the act, but presidents, congresses, and courts eventually put the new law into effect. Sherman Antitrust Act U.S. Money and How It's Made
 * 1) Play the Economics Card Game
 * 2) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a monopoly
 * 3) Read //A kid's guide to the economy// by Tamra Orr

Lesson 4: Building Up
While tycoons changed the face of business, architects and engineers changed the landscape of urban America. Innovations like steel bridges, skyscrapers, electric lights, and elevators transformed city life in the late 1800s. Skyscrapers Skyscraper Challenge How Skyscrapers Work How Elevators Work Building the Big Apple media type="custom" key="19006810"
 * 1) Read Chapter 6 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 2) Innovations changed city life in the late 1800s. What were some of the innovations, and who created them?

Lesson 5: Lift My Lamp
In 1885, the people of France honored the American belief in individual rights by presenting the United States with a colossal gift - the Statue of Liberty. The idea for the project began over a dinner table in France and ended with the statue's dedication in new York harbor in 1886. Among the statue's creators were Frederic Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel. Today Lady Liberty is a worldwide symbol of freedom and opportunity. Raising the Statue Statue of Liberty Poem A Giant Welcome Statue of Liberty Interactive Tour media type="custom" key="19012412" **Emma Lazarus’ Famous Poem** **A poem by Emma Lazarus is graven on a tablet** **within the pedestal on which the statue stands.**

**//The New Colossus//** **//Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,//** **//With conquering limbs astride from land to land;//** **//Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand//** **//A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame//** **//Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name//** **//Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand//** **//Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command//** **//The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.//** **//"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she//** **//With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,//** **//Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,//**  **//The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.//**  **//Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,//**  **//I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"//**


 * 1) Read Chapter 7 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 2) Analyze the above poem. Explain in your own words how you think this poem would make an immigrant feel? How does it make you feel?

Lesson 6: In Office
The United States had nine presidential administrations between the end of the Civil war and the turn of the century. One of the presidents, Grover Cleveland, was elected twice to non-consecutive terms. The presidents of this period are often regarded as weak and ineffectual, but a few brought bout changes that are still in place more than a century later. The Electoral College Presidential Portrait Gallery

media type="youtube" key="oTbvYGH_Hiw" height="315" width="560"

media type="youtube" key="ZFJ2e82Nvnw" height="315" width="420"
 * 1) Review Timeline of Presidents between the Civil War and the turn of the century.
 * 2) Read Chapter 8 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim

Lesson 7: A Third Party
Changing economic conditions brought hard times to the nation's farmers in the late 1800s. Angered by the failure of government to help them, many farmers backed a new political party that promised economic aid and great democracy. Though the Populist Party eventually faded away, it managed to elect five senators, ten representative, and three governors, and it put into law many of its ideas, such as the graduated income tax. Populist Movement
 * 1) Read Chapter 9 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 2) Why was the Populist Party also called the People's Party?
 * 3) Design a poster to convince people to join the People's Party.
 * 4) Read Chapter 10 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim

Lesson 8: Money Matters
In the nineteenth century the currency was backed by gold. Populist leaders pushed for a democratically controlled monetary system because a shortage of money added to the economic woes farmers and poor people faced. Federal Reserve For Kids Money Museum Video History of the Federal Reserve
 * 1) List the three most important things you learned about in this lesson

Lesson 9: Money Debates
A tight supply of money created a financial panic in 1893. The panic was followed by one of the worst depressions every to grip the nation. As Americans suffered through the depression, the question of whether the nations' money should be backed only by gold or by a combination of gold and silver became the hottest political topic of the times. Financial Panic of 1893 Pullman Strike Hobo in 1894
 * 1) Read Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 2) What caused the Pullman strike and what were the results of it? Write a short paragraph to explain and support your answer.
 * 3) Read Chapter 13 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 4) Read //The year we were famous// by Carole Estby Dagg

Lesson 10: A Grand Campaign
The presidential election of 1896 pitted William Jennings Bryan against William McKinley, but the race involved more than two men and their parties. It was a contest between two very different views of government and established the direction the nation would take during the twentieth century. McKinley's Inauguration Election of 1896


 * 1) Listen to audio from Election of 1896 link above
 * 2) Review Chapter 13 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 3) Explain how the problems of farmers affected the rest of the economy during this time.

Lesson 11: All Americans?
The unsettled conditions that shook the nation in the late 1800s helped set off an ugly outburst of racism and bigotry.
 * 1) Read Chapter 14 in //A History of US: An Age of Extremes// by Joy Hakim
 * 2) Review the political cartoon on page 86 & answer the following:
 * Which of the objects or characters in the cartoon are symbols?
 * What do you think each symbol means?
 * Describe the action in the cartoon.
 * Explain the message of the cartoon.