Warm-up
1. Take out a blank piece of paper
2. Write the date at the top of your page and the
title, “Warm-Up”
3. Copy the warm-up question onto your paper
then write your answer beneath
4. When finished complete/turn in questionnaire
Question:
Do you remember the 5 founding American
ideals and what each mean? List as many as you
can and a definition for each in your own words.
Founding Ideals
Equality
Rights
Liberty
Opportunity
Democracy
Unit Essential Questions
• Who benefits and who suffers during
times of profound economic change?
• How can people change society?
• Did this period of industrialization move
Americans closer or further away from
its founding ideals?
Lesson Objectives
• Students will be able to recall and discuss the five founding
ideals.
• Students will be able to define and discuss what a
“muckraker” was in the 1900s.
• Students will be able to describe the setting of the early
1900s in America.
Problems at the Turn of the
Century
Set-up your Notes
• On the same page as your warm-up, Write the next header:
Problems at the Turn of the Century
• Copy the notes below the header
Who Uncovered these Problems?
A. Muckrakers
1. Journalists that reported on the
conditions and problems in cities
2. “Raked the mud of society” ~
Theodore Roosevelt
3. Jacob Riis
a. How the Other Half Lives
b. New York City journalist
4. Upton Sinclair
a. The Jungle
b. Exposed the dangers and
mishandling of the meat packing
industry
With your group…
Discuss the following questions:
1. Were muckrakers a good or bad thing to have?
2. Do you think people would have realized the problems if
muckrakers did not exist?
3. What do you think life would be like if problems were not
exposed?
I. Setting the Stage
A. Urbanization
1. Industry causes rapid growth
2. Cities quickly expanding
3. Diverse population
B. Closing of the American Frontier
1. 1890 frontier is closed
2. America now consists of 45 states
C. Factories increase production
1. Industry grew quickly after the Civil War
a. Advances in technology,
transportation, and
communication
b. Textile, iron, and steel boomed
2. Companies found new ways to sell
products
a. Mail-order catalogs
b. Department stores
D. Diverse population
1. 40% of Americans now living in cities
2. Many immigrants and new comers
a. Immigrants settled near each
other in “ethnic communities”
b. African Americans fleeing north
c. Rural Americans moving to cities
3. Attracted to cities for many reasons
a. Jobs or opportunity
b. Amusements or entertainment
c. Skyscrapers and department stores
Be a Muckraker!
Now it is your turn to be a muckraker from the 1900s!
Project will include:
• Field investigation
• Research
• Creation of a magazine article for the public
Ticket Out the Door!
Discuss!
Name one founding ideal that is positively represented in
America during the early 1900s
Name one founding ideal that is negatively represented in
America during the early 1900s