AP United States History II
Summer Assignment 2016
Ms. Mock
100 points, quiz category
The Jungle
By Upton Sinclair
Important Information: Part 1 of this assignment is due the first day of
school, no exceptions. If you run in to trouble, please utilize my school
email: [email protected]. No plagiarism will be tolerated! Good
Luck!
The Jungle can be found free of charge here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=lDTuAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=T
he+Jungle&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tZe6T92LOcXN6QHUrujdCg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#
v=onepage&q=The%20Jungle&f=false
Introduction:
The era following the American Civil War was a major change politically,
socially, and economically for the United States. It is also where our course
begins. Author, Mark Twain’s coined the phrase “the Gilded Age” to describe the
mid-1800s as a “golden age” on the surface with a roaring economy, an influx of
immigrants, an increase in urbanization, a movement westward/expansionism,
and the flourishing of art and literature… BUT within the Golden Age it was
filled with political corruption/greed, abuse of workers by corporations,
unethical business practices, little help for farmers, discrimination against nonwhites and non-protestants, and an ongoing war against Native Americans.
Understanding this time period is imperative for understanding future studies.
Therefore, do not view this summer assignment as busy work.
Five themes define this period:
1. Industrialization -- the rise of the industrial economy and of accompanying
issues of law, governance, and public policy;
2. Urbanization -- the dramatic growth of the nation's cities as focal points for
population growth and Demographic change, and as centers of commerce,
culture, education, news, and politics.
3. Immigration -- the effects on American identity, politics, and culture of the
great waves of immigration from eastern, central, and southern Europe and
from Asia. The interaction of these themes added richness and complexity to
late nineteenth-century American history.
4. The opening of the West – in a few brief decades the United States became the
expansive bi-coastal nation.
5. Politics – the corruption of “city bosses” and the “spoils system” led to the
dramatic need for reform.
Assignment Part 1 (60 total points):
Use the Upton Sinclair’s fictional novel (but so realistic!) The Jungle; focus on
the themes/topics (from above) and the guiding questions to accomplish the
following tasks:
1. Select passage(s) from The Jungle (page numbers, quotes, etc.) that display
each of the following themes from the Gilded Age (Industrialization,
Urbanization, Immigration, the Opening of the West and Politics). Explain how
your selection offers insight into each theme. (25 points)
2. Use available sources (internet, etc.) to briefly recognize the highlighted terms
that are included in the guiding questions below. (You are not required to
answer the questions, but should be familiar with the content.)
3. Create a thesis statement that addresses the following question (Just a
statement, not an essay) (15 points):
 What is Upton Sinclair’s solution to the ills of the Gilded Age? To what
extent is this solution a valid remedy for these ills? (your statement
should include a counter-argument)
Questions to guide your inquiry:
Industrialization
1. Who were some of the "new" businessmen of the era and how did they
operate? Is it best to refer to them as "Robber Barons" or "Captains of
Industry?” Why or why not?
2. What was the corporation revolution? How did it transform the American
economy?
3. Did Gilded Age businessmen make the United States better or worse? Why?
4. What was Social Darwinism and why did so many American businessmen
find it appealing during the Gilded Age?
5. How did businessmen justify their actions between 1870 and 1900? How did
labor respond?
6. What did many Americans think about corporations? What was the
government’s response?
7. What was the significance of the railroad boom? Name 2 major railroads
built. Evaluate the effects.
Urbanization
8. How is “urbanization” closely linked to immigration? How did individuals like
Jacob Riis illuminate both positives and negatives of immigration?
9. What were some positives of urbanization? Negatives?
The Old Immigrants…
10. Why did so many Europeans choose to migrate to the United States during
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
11. How did immigration transform American socially and culturally?
12. How did Americans react to the immigration boom? Provide the social
organizations that were developed and how did they help immigrants?
This Way West…
13. Identify Frederick Jackson Turner and his “Frontier Speech.”
14. How did the United States deal with American Indians in the West (Post
1865)? Explain: Battle of Little Big Horn/Custer’s Last Stand? Battle of
Wounded Knee (1893)?
The Political Arena!
15. Define: Machine Politics? Use Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall as an
example.
16. Define: party patronage? Pros/cons?
17. Review the presidencies of James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover
Cleveland (1885-1889), Benjamin Harrison (not William), Grover Cleveland
(1893-1897) and William McKinley. Review the issues that dominated national
politics during the Gilded Age?
18. Why did the Farmers revolt during this time period (The Gilded Age)?
Describe the issues that led to the rise of the Populist Party.
19. Who was William Jennings Bryan, the candidate of 1896? Provide the
importance of the Cross of Gold Speech.
Assignment Part 2 (40 total points):
Students should expect to take an assessment (worth 40
additional points in the quiz category) on The Jungle
during the first week of school that includes multiple
choice and/or short response. This will be an independent
assessment and the use of notes will not be permitted.
Bear in mind that this assessment cannot be satisfactorily
completed if students do not read the full novel. Spark
notes will prove insufficient. Academic integrity…