Tycoons and Industrialists WebQuest
Introduction
- After the Civil War, economic development boomed in the United States. The war inspired an
image of a new United States, and tycoons and industrialists were eager to transform the United
States in the new century. Men such as John Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie
guided the United States out of the 19th and into the 20th century.
- You will be responsible for researching the life and accomplishments of the famed American
tycoons and industrialists.
Task
Each student will be assigned to one of six pairs. Each pair will be assigned someone who
affected economic development at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
Each pair will create a short monologue and interview that describes the life and
accomplishments of the person. Each will be assigned a famous talk-show personality to
conduct the interview. Students may use Internet resources or any sources other than Wikipedia
for their research (see below). Students must submit a script for evaluation. Extra credit will be
offered for presenting the interview to the class.
Process
1. Students will gather in their assigned group:
Group 1
David Letterman
Group 4
Conan O’Brien
J.P. Morgan
John D.
Rockefeller
Group 2
Stephen Colbert
Joseph Pulitzer
Group 3
Jimmy Kimmel
Group 5
Jay Leno
Leland Stanford
Group 6
Jon Stewart
William
Randolph Hearst
Andrew
Carnegie
You will use the following guidelines for your research and your presentations. Feel free to
elaborate on the questions or to add some of your own.
a. Who are you interviewing?
i. short biography of the person
ii. family life, other successful relatives
b. In what industry did he make his fortune?
c. What company or companies did he own?
d. What interests did he have other than his business enterprises?
3. Start your research. Use the Internet sources provided to attain the proper information or any
other information you may have come across. Again, no Wikipedia.
4. As a pair, write the script. There should be a one to two minute monologue (the comedy bit at
the beginning of the show) by the host. This can be funny, but if you’d rather not do comedy
you can just make a short speech introducing the person. The interview should include the
biographical information and achievements from your research.
5. The presentation must be three to five minutes in length. Presentations must be appropriate.
J.P. Morgan
- http://www.financial-inspiration.com/JP-Morgan-biography.html
- http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9414735
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/peopleevents/pande10.html
- http://www.netstate.com/states/peop/people/ct_jpm.htm
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmorgan.htm
- http://www.bookrags.com/biography/john-pierpont-morgan/
Joseph Pulitzer
- http://www.answers.com/topic/joseph-pulitzer
- http://www.bookrags.com/biography/joseph-pulitzer/
- http://www.sacklunch.net/biography/P/JosephPulitzer.html
- http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/JPulitzer.html
- http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/josephpulitzer.html
- http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3694.html
- http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000568
- http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/pulitzer.htm
William Randolph Hearst
- http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/willh.html
- http://www.spanamwar.com/Hearst.htm
- http://www.hearstcastle.com/history/william_r_hearst.asp
- http://www.answers.com/topic/william-randolph-hearst
- http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/spanamer/hearst.htm
- http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9332973
John Rockefeller
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USArockefeller.htm
- http://www.johndrockefeller.org/
- http://archive.rockefeller.edu/bio/jdrsr.php
- http://www.pocanticohills.org/rockefeller/jdr.htm
- http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/rockefeller/bio1.htm
- http://www.micheloud.com/FXM/SO/jdr.htm
- http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570872/Rockefeller_John_Davi son.html
Leland Stanford
- http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000793
- http://www.stanford.edu/home/stanford/history/begin.html#Leland
- http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/stanford.htm
- http://www.bookrags.com/biography/leland-stanford/
- http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/biography/governor_8.html
- http://www.dromo.info/stanfordbio.htm
Andrew Carnegie
- http://www.carnegie.org/sub/about/biography.html
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande01.html
- http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9238756
- http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/carnegie.htm
- http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2276/2276_tchaikinamerica_carnegie.pdf
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcarnegie.htm
- http://www.lfpl.org/western/htms/carnegie.htm
- http://www.biographyshelf.com/andrew_carnegie_biography.html