Unit 5: Western Expansion, Industrial Revolution, Rise of Cities
(Urbanization), and Immigration
Chapters:
13-15
Essential Questions
1) In what ways has technology either benefited or harmed both the United States as a whole, as well as certain individuals or
groups?
2) What effects did industrialization have on America? What lasting impacts of the industrial era do we see today?
3) How did the idea of the “American Dream” affect life in the United States at the turn of the century?
4) How did this era of change and growth affect different groups in American society (i.e. industrialists, farmers, immigrants, etc)?
5) How did this era in United States history contribute to forming the America we now know today?
Technological Revolution
Concepts
Patent
Productivity
Transcontinental Railroad
Bessemer Process
Mass production
Topics
-New Forms of Energy: Oil,
Electricity
-Advances in Communication:
Telegraph, Telephone
-Development of Railroads:
Effects on Industry and
Production
People
Edwin Drake
Thomas Edison
Samuel Morse
Alexander Graham Bell
Industrialization, Big Business,
and the Great Strikes
Concepts
Social Darwinism
Oligopoly
Monopoly
Horizontal consolidation
Vertical consolidation
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Sweatshop
Division of labor
Socialism
Topics
-Robber Barons vs. Captains of
Industry
-Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth”
-Growth of Big Business: Causes
and Effects
-Government Action Against
Trusts and Monopolies
-Industrial Working Conditions
and Effects on Workers
-Labor Unions: Knights of Labor,
American Federation of Labor,
IWW
-Strikes: Haymarket, Pullman,
Homestead
People
Andrew Carnegie
John D. Rockefeller
George Pullman
Eugene Debs
Looking to the West
Concepts
Morrill Land Grant Act
Great Plains
Reservation
Assimilation
Boomers
Sooners
Homesteaders
Turner Thesis
Topics
-Moving West: Push-Pull Factors
-Bureau of Indian Affairs
-Conflict with Native Americans
-Sand Creek Massacre
-Battle of Little Big Horn
-Battle of Wounded Knee
-Attempts to Change Native
American Culture
-The Cattle Boom: Causes and
Effects
-Destruction of the Buffalo:
Causes and Effects
-The Life of a Cowboy
-Hardships Faced by
Homesteaders
-The Rise of Populism: Defining
Characteristics
-The Grange
People
Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Sitting Bull/Crazy Horse
Politics and Reform in the
Gilded Age
Concepts
Gilded Age
Laissez-faire
Civil service
Pendleton Civil Service Act
Topics
-Characteristics of the Gilded Age
-Politics and the Spoils
System/Reforming the Spoils
System
-Prosperity in the Gilded Age:
Causes and Effects
People
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield
Chester Arthur
Grover Cleveland
William McKinley
People on the Move/The
Challenge of the Cities
Concepts
Steerage
Ghettos
Chinese Exclusion Act
Suburbs
Tenements
Political machine
Graft
Social Gospel Movement
Settlement house
Nativism
Temperance movement
Prohibition
Topics
-Immigration: Causes and Effects
-Immigrant Experience: Ellis
Island/Angel Island
-Immigration: European, Asian,
Mexican
-Effects of Immigration on the
Cities
-City Growth: Causes and Effects
-Urban Living Conditions
-Rise of the Political Machine
-Role of the Political Machine
-Attempts to Help the Needy
-Temperance Movement: Causes
and Effects
People
William Marcy “Boss” Tweed
Jane Addams
“I Can” Statements: Over the course of the unit, place a check mark next to the statements that are true for you. This will allow you to
better prepare for unit assessments.
I Can:
_____ Explain the effects of technological advances, such as the transcontinental railroad and the Bessemer process, on
American culture. (16.B.5b)
_____ Define "Robber Baron" and "Captain of Industry" and formulate arguments in support of each type of practice. (16A.4b)
_____ Describe what factory life was like at the turn of the century and identify the effects of the conditions on workers’ lives
and health. (16.C.5)
_____ Identify and explain some of the great strikes in the United States, such as the Great Railroad Strike, Haymarket Riot and
Homestead Strike. (16.C.4c)
_____ Explain the conditions that lured people to migrate West. (16.C.4b)
_____ Trace the rise of the Populist Party and identify their accomplishments and limitations. (16.C.4b)
_____ Describe the characteristics of the Gilded Age, as well as the experiences of different groups in society during the Gilded
Age. (16.A.4b)
_____ Discuss reasons immigrants came to the United States in the late 1800's and early 1900's and identify government efforts
to control immigration. (16.D.5)
_____ Describe the living conditions in the late 1800's and early 1900's. (16.D.4b)
Common Core 9-10 Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (RH)
Key Ideas and Details
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to
such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later
ones or simply preceded them.
Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary
describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5 Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics,
including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in
print or digital text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text
complexity band independently and proficiently.
Common Core 9-10 Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (WHST)
Text Types and Purposes
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates
the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and
clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument
presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific
procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2a Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important
connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2c Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create
cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic
and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2e Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or
explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
Common Core 9-10 Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies Continued… (WHST)
Production and Distribution of Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a
new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared
writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and
dynamically.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject,
demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the
text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Note
Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in these grades. The Standards require that students be able to incorporate narrative
elements effectively into arguments and informative/explanatory texts. In history/social studies, students must be able to incorporate
narrative accounts into their analyses of individuals or events of historical import. In science and technical subjects, students must be
able to write precise enough descriptions of the step-by-step procedures they use in their investigations or technical work that others
can replicate them and (possibly) reach the same results.