The Gilded Age
Developed by Laura Younkin, mailto:[email protected]
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Process|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
Overview
Description: This WebQuest will help students explore aspects
the Gilded Age (1876-1900) in American history and show
teenagers that the issues dealt with then still come up today.
Content area(s): Social Studies
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Core Content : SS-H-5.2.2 ; SS-H5.2.3
Appropriate grades: High School
Information Literacy Standard & Indicator: 1.4; 3.1; 7.1; 9.1
Special resources: In addition to suggested Web sites, the library
media center (LMC) will set aside a closed collection of print
material to assist with research.
Introduction
History repeats itself. Or does it? Your job is to investigate an
aspect of the Gilded Age in America (1876-1900) and then compare
that topic to what is going on in America today. Are we still dealing
with some of the same issues? Or did our forefathers (and
foremothers!) tie everything into a neat, tidy package by the end of
the Gilded Age? Let's find out….
Quest(ions) and the Task
Your teacher will assign you and one or two partner(s) one of the
following topics related to the Gilded Age:
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The spoils system/political corruption
Railroads
Labor unions
Andrew Carnegie
John D. Rockefeller
Population changes/growth of cities
Growth of industry
Baseball
Entertainment
Mark Twain
Women's suffrage
Immigration
Inventors
Step 1: You must find out and list at least 10 facts about your topic
from Web sites and books.
Step 2: You must use the ProQuest database to find a current
event article that relates to the topic you investigated. The
librarians will show you how to use ProQuest if you haven't used it
before. Print out the article.
Step 3: Compare what you learned about the Gilded Age to what is
going on in the news now. How you do the comparison is your choice.
You can do a Venn diagram (see http://www.graphic.org/venbas.html), a
comparison chart, and a call-and-response song. Do whatever you
think will work best to convey the ideas when you present them to
your classmates.
Step 4: Remember to explain ten key aspects of the Gilded Age.
However, you do not have to find all ten counterpoints in modern
times.
Step 5: Present your ideas to the class so they, too, will know what
you know about the Gilded Age. (For example, see Step 3 above)
Step 6: Fill out a reflection form and then relax. (See librarian or
teacher for reflection form.)
Process
The part that may make some of you struggle is comparing the past
with the present. How about a few examples?
Does the treatment of Chinese immigrants and the work they had to
do remind you of the treatment of Hispanics in America ?
Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were known as baron
robbers because of their tremendous wealth, although they tried to
balance that with humanitarian acts. Does that sound like a
computer mogul we all know?
Mark Twain was known for being a satirist and poking fun at politics
and life in America during his day. Are there any satirists currently
making fun of American life?
We think you get the picture.
The ten facts you gather show that you understand what life was
like during the Gilded Age. Comparing it with modern times shows
that you understand the past still relates to our times.
Resources
Both books and Web sites will be available to help you with your
research. Here's a listing that may help.
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General Sources about the Gilded Age
www.historycooperative.org/journals/jga/1.1/miller.html
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi (click on the search button then enter
your topic)
www.loc.gov (the America Memories site has many pictures)
America 's gilded age : an eyewitness history / Judith Freeman Clark (973.8 Cla)
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Spoils system/political corruption
http://dig.lib.niu.edu/gildedage/politics.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/gildedage.html
http://www.albany.edu/~dkw42/tweed.html
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Railroads
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/trnshome.html
American railroads / John F. Stover (385.0973 Sto)
Building the transcontinental railroad / by James Barter (385.09 Bar)
Empire express : building the first transcontinental railroad / David Haward Bain (385
Bai)
The railroaders (385.09 Rai)
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Labor unions
http://www.slu.edu/the_arts/cupples/gilded.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande04.html
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Andrew Carnegie
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande01.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/sfeature/p_carvroc
k.html
http://www.biography.com
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John D. Rockefeller
http://www.biography.com
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/sfeature/p_carvrock.html
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Population changes/Growth of cities
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/gildedage.html
http://www.pbs.org/fmc/timeline/ecities.htm
http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/maps_1790to2000.html
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Growth of industry
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1304/features/climate/climateindustrial.htm
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Baseball
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/
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Mark Twain
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/index2.html
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Entertainment
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/exchange/exchange_minstrel.htm
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/vshtml/
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Women's suffrage
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/naw/
http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lincolns/wworld/es_antebellum.html
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Immigration
http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/gilded/daniels.html
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Inventors - (e.g. Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell)
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm
http://www.mongoosemetrics.com/phone-articles/a-brief-history-of-the-telephone.php
http://edison.rutgers.edu/biogrphy.htm
http://edison.rutgers.edu/
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltelephone2.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/telephone/peopleevents/mabell.html
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Library Databases
Proquest -- database of current newspaper and magazine articles
http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/ce (see a librarian for passwords)
http://search.epnet.com/ (choose Student Resource Center)
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid (choose EbscoHost and ask
librarian for passwords)
Evaluation
You will be graded on the following:
Distinguished: Listed 10 facts, had article print-out and
explained comparison to current event in clear, concise manner.
Proficient: Listed 8-9 facts, had article print-out and explained
comparison to current event in a mostly understandable manner.
Apprentice: Listed 6-7 facts, had article print-out and didn't
clearly explain comparison to current event.
Novice: Listed 5 or fewer facts, didn't have print-out, didn't
address current event.
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Process|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusio
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Conclusion
Please take a moment to respond to this assignment. Just a few
quick questions…
My group worked well together. Work was divided evenly. Y or N
I understood my classmates' reports.
Y or N
I liked doing an assignment with an Internet component.
Y or N
This assignment would have been better if
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Thank you for doing the Gilded Age WebQuest and hopefully you’ll
see that Americans often deal with the same topics throughout the
centuries as we constantly learn what it means to be American.
©2005 Library Media Services – Jefferson County Public Schools (Louisville, KY)
Permission to reproduce the lesson or link must be obtained from Jefferson County ([email protected]) as
well as the individual sites.