Lesson 11
1
POST-RECONSTRUCTION, MIGRATION, & URBANIZATION UNIT
The Gilded Age: The Second Industrial Revolution
LESSON OVERVIEW
Students analyze advertisements from the late 19th century and early 20th century to draw
conclusions about the causes of the increase in manufacturing and industrialization. They use
textbooks, library references, websites, and other resources to learn about industrial leaders, and
classify them as captains of industry or robber barons. Students analyze political cartoons to
discover how industrial leaders were viewed by some of their contemporaries.
OBJECTIVES
In this lesson students:
• Develop concepts related to industrialization and big business.
• Analyze the influence of leaders of industry and government responses to monopolies.
• Analyze political cartoons reflective of business practices.
• Reflect on the work of industry leaders including Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and
Vanderbilt.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
• How do migration, immigration, and urbanization change American society?
• What are the social conditions that make freedom possible?
• What role should the national government play in defining and protecting the liberty of its
citizens?
KEY CONCEPTS
• Social condition
• Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
• Sherman Anti-Trust Act
VOCABULARY
• Captains of Industry
• Robber Baron
• (Anti-)Trust • Monopoly
• Gild
GROUPING
• Classroom Discussion
• Small Groups
MATERIALS
Teacher Resource
• Sherman Antitrust Act
Funded under Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Lesson 11
2
Student Handouts
• 11.1a, 11.1b: Story of Carnation Milk and Questions
• 11.2a, 11.2b: Rumley Lines and Questions
• 11.3: Meet the Winners!
• 11.4: Illustrating the Growth of Monopolies in America
• 11.5: Interpreting the Growth of Monopolies in America
Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
Goal 4
Goal 5
Conflict
Democratic
Citizenship
Historical
Inquiry &
Historiography
Historical
Empathy
Discussion &
Deliberation
X
X
Procedures
Teacher Notes
✓The Gilded Age became the name
for the era between 1870-1910 of
United States history after a book by
Today we are going to talk about some of the people who
the same name was written by Mark
were very successful during this time period. You might call
Twain and Charles Dudley (1873)
these people the winners. But first we are going to talk about
that addressed problems such as
television. I want you to think of your favorite commercial. If
corruption and materialism. As
you don’t have a favorite just pick one that you like and that
defined by Merriam-Webster Online
you know well. I want you to share with a person sitting next
Dictionary, the term gild means “to
to you why you like it.
give an attractive but often deceptive
appearance.” It may be useful to
Allow students a small amount of time to share with
describe how someone can use gold
their partner.
leaf to gild an object to make it
appear to be gold even though it is
Tell Students:
not.
INTRODUCTION/HOOK
Tell Students:
Now I want you to think for a minute and then write
down your ideas about the following question.
What could historians in the future learn
about our culture from watching your
favorite commercial?
Ask students to share their best ideas with a partner.
Funded under Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Lesson 11
3
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Tell Students:
Today we are going to look at some ads from this time period.
We are going to think like historians and try to figure out what
these ads tell us about the causes of the second industrial
revolution.
Distribute copies of Handout 11.1 and 11.2.
Handout 11.2 does not require as much reading so
you should give it to students who you think may
read more slowly. Tell students that they should read
the ad and record answers to the questions. Once
students have completed their responses ask them to
share what they answered for the last question,
causes of the Second Industrial Revolution. Make a
list of causes on the board and ask students to add
causes to their own lists that they do not already
have.
✓Picture this activity. To help
students conceptualize or propose
solutions to monopolies, present a
hypothetical monopoly situation.
Select a popular company (iTunes,
Nike, etc.) and have students imagine
what would happen if that company
were to own the entire market. For
example, if Nike ran the entire shoe
market there would be no alternatives
to Nike sneakers and as a
consequence they could charge
whatever prices they desired. Would
students have a problem with this
practice? What would they do?
Ask students:
• Who is familiar with the game Monopoly?
• What is the purpose of the game? [accumulate money by
buying properties and charging high rent]
• How do you win the game? [by getting the money of other
players (bankrupting) so they cannot play]
• Considering this, what do you think monopoly means?
People use the word trust to mean the same thing as the word
monopoly. If you see or hear the word anti-trust it means
people working to fight monopolies.
The goals of the board game, getting as much money as
possible while buying new properties to make more money, is
similar to what was happening during the Gilded Age when
monopolies started to emerge.
Funded under Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Lesson 11
4
LEARNING ACTIVITIES (continued)
Tell students:
Wealth started accumulating in the hands of a few people.
This had never happened before in America to this extent.
Although southern plantation farmers may have owned
thousands of acres of land and hundreds of slaves, there was
never one group of farmers in charge of all the farming land in
the South. With industries growing in the North, a small
number of people became owners of entire parts of the
economy. Captains of Industry and Robber Barons were
names used for people who owned monopolies over parts of the
economy.
Introduce students to the concept of Captains of
Industry and Robber Barons:
What do you think Captain of Industry means?
A Captain of Industry is someone who has lots of
wealth, property, and influence and uses their
personal power to benefit society. These people are
able to benefit society by creating jobs and helping
markets grow.
✓The following sound clip from the
University of Houston gives a brief
(3:38) overview of the backgrounds of
John D. Rockefeller and Andrew
Carneige:
http://amhist.ist.unomaha.edu/
module_files/Carnegie%20and
%20Rockefeller.mp3
What do you think Robber Baron means?
Although they have lots of wealth, property, and
power, Robber Barons mainly use it to benefit only a
few people. Usually the way they achieved their
position in society is controversial. Most Robber
Barons are accused of participating in unfair
business practices to gain wealth.
Tell students:
These terms were often used for the same people. It is
important to remember that considering a person a Captain of
Industry or Robber Baron is subjective which means opinions
and unique perspectives affect how the individual is viewed.
This means that they same person may be considered as
BOTH a Captain of Industry and a Robber Baron depending
on the audience.
✓Students are asked on Handout 11.3
to decide if they would consider
Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and
Morgan as Captains of Industry or
Robber Barons. To help students
justify their responses they should have
access to a variety of sources. This
includes internet and textbooks but
students should be encouraged to listen
and synthesize perspectives based on
discussion with peers.
Funded under Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Lesson 11
5
LEARNING ACTIVITIES (continued)
Ask students to brainstorm examples of these
industrial leaders whom are viewed differently (e.g.,
as Captains or Robbers) in the sources they utilized,
or are viewed differently by classmates.
Have students complete Handout 11.3: Meet the
Winners! so they become familiar with the
prominent businessmen of the Gilded Age.
✓Remind students that someone’s
family and friends will likely view
someone differently from their
enemies. This will help students to
recognize that terms like Captain of
Industry and Robber Baron are
analogous to situations they are
already familiar with.
✓Extra resources will be needed
(textbooks, internet, reference books).
Divide students into groups of three or four, giving
each group one page from Handout 11.4: Illustrating ✓If there are more groups than
the Growth of Monopolies in America. Give each
political cartoons, duplicate some of
individual a copy of Handout 11.5: Interpreting The
the images.
Growth of Monopolies in America.
Using classroom resources and their own
background knowledge have students discuss the
elements of the political cartoon and complete
Handout 11.5. If computers are available, students
should access appropriate Internet resources that
would allow them to better understand the more
intricate details of the cartoons. Students can refer
to Handout 11.3 to help identify who the artists have
caricatured.
After completing Handout 11.5 ask groups to
prepare a brief presentation about their political
cartoons. Students can use Handout 11.5 as a
guideline but should be encouraged to include their
own interpretations.
Prompt students to consider the following:
•How are these Captains of Industry (or the industries
themselves) portrayed by the artist?
•How might these monopolies be affecting the freedoms of
people and small businesses? What might be a solution?
•Can you think of any companies today that might be
portrayed in an equally negative way?
✓If you chose to show political
cartoons of monopolies today, have
students compare their portrayal.
How are they similar or dissimilar?
What historical transitions have take
place? [transition from
manufacturing industry to
technology-based innovations/
companies]
Funded under Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Lesson 11
6
LEARNING ACTIVITIES (continued)
Ask students:
Does anyone recall the name of this time period in U.S.
history? [Gilded Age]. Ask a couple of students to use the
internet to find out where the name originated. How might the
name and the images in the political cartoons be connected?
[both address the corruption which was prevalent at the time]
Prompt students to consider the following:
•Should the government interfere or stop big businesses who
threaten the liberties of citizens or small companies by limiting
competition? How?
•When does it become necessary for the government to regulate
businesses?
Tell students:
As monopolies continued to grow in size the Congress decided
to pass laws that made monopolies illegal. Under the new
laws, monopolies were ‘dissolved’ meaning the big industries
were broken down into smaller businesses that promoted
market-place competition and overall economic growth. Now,
we are going to examine a couple of laws that made
monopolies in America illegal.
✓The ICC addressed issues regarding
trade taking place between states which
the states had been unable to regulate
themselves. The ICC was accepted
under the Constitution because of the
Commerce Clause “To regulate
The agency was formed to prevent unfair business practices in Commerce with foreign nations, and
the railroad industry. Unfortunately the ICC was largely
among the several states, and with the
unsuccessful in stopping railroad monopolies from forming.
Indian tribes” (Article 1, Section 8,
Why do you think the government decided to form the Interstate Clause 3).
Commerce Commission?
The first major time the government began regulating trade was
in 1887 when Congress created the Interstate Commerce
Commission. Commonly known as the ICC, the agency
oversaw and regulated economic transactions that happened
between states.
Funded under Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Lesson 11
7
LEARNING ACTIVITIES (continued)
The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed by Congress in 1890
and essentially outlawed monopolies.
[Display Section I and Section II of the Act.]
Section 1:
Every contract, combination in the form of trust or
otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or
commerce among the several States, or with foreign
nations, is declared to be illegal.
✓ A trust is a combination of
businesses that effectively function as a
monopoly by controlling prices. An
important distinction is that a
monopoly is a single company that
controls all aspects of production from
start to finish.
Section 2:
Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to
monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other
person or persons, to monopolize any part of the
trade or commerce among the several States, or with
foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony.
Select students to read the sections out loud to the
class.
Say:
As you may have noticed, the act refers to ‘trusts.’ Remember
that sometimes people use the word trust to mean the same thing
as monopoly. In 1911, the act played an important part in
breaking up Standard Oil. Earlier you analyzed political
cartoons and learned about captains of industry. Do you
remember who owned Standard Oil? [John D. Rockefeller].
✓An optional assignment to challenge
students would be to locate additional
The Sherman Antitrust Act still exists today. More recent
information on the ATT&T and
cases regarding anti-trust laws include the break-up of AT&T Microsoft cases to determine how they
in 1982 and the 1999 Microsoft case.
changed any business practices.
Homework
Option 1: Ask students to draw a political cartoon about a big business issue that exists today
and explain the issue in a few sentences.
Option 2: Ask students to write a journal response to one of the following prompts:
•Would you categorize Carnegie, Morgan, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt as Captains of Industry or
Robber Barons? Support your positions with facts from the lesson?
•Do you agree with the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act? What should the government
have done in response to the growth of monopolies? Support your position with evidence.
Funded under Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education