UNITED STATES HISTORY SECTION II Total Time—1 hour Document-Based Question Suggested reading and writing time: 1 hour It is suggested that you spend 15 minutes reading the documents and 45 minutes writing your response. Note: You may begin writing your response before the reading period is over. Directions: Question 1 is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise. In your response, you should do the following. ● Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that establishes a line of reasoning. (Thesis Point) ● Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt. (Contextualization Point) ● Support an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents. (2/3rds Evidence Points) ● Use at least one additional piece of specific historical evidence (beyond that found in the documents) relevant to an argument about the prompt. (1/3rd Evidence Points) ● For at least three documents, explain how or why the document’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument. (Sourcing Point) ● Use evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses the prompt. (Complexity Point) Evaluate the extent to which technology transformed the United States economy in the period from 1865 to 1898. Document 1 Source: “Why We Are an Educated People,” The New York Teacher, and American Educational Monthly, originally published by Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1868 The scarcity of labor in America and, the difficulty of procuring help in the work of the farm, the mill, and the forge, develops the intellect of the people; and far away in the backwoods many an acute pioneer of civilization invents and patents some ingenious machine for rendering men and women independent of the hired service so costly and so difficult to obtain in a new country. The mechanical skill of the Americans is unequaled in the world, and never likely to be rivaled in the old countries of Europe, where labor is cheap. The Patent Office at Washington—that marvelous repository of contrivances, from the simplest to the most elaborate machine that the cunning hand and the busy brain can construct—and all devoted to the one great end of facilitating work, and economizing manual and other bodily exertion—is sufficient proof of . . . the practical and material, as distinguished from the scholastic, education of the American people. Document 2 Source: The Progress of the Century, commercial printed drawing for private display in homes, 1876 Caption: The lightning steam press. The electric telegraph. The locomotive. The steamboat. Document 3 Source: Editorial in the New York Sun, 1878 This time Edison thinks he has hit upon a perfectly feasible process by which he can and will drive gas out of our streets and houses, and give us the electric light in its stead. The new light, he says, besides being a great deal more brilliant, will be a great deal less expensive than the old one. Moreover, the same wire is to bring power and heat into the house as well as light, and be as available for cooking or running a sewing machine as for illumination. If Edison is not deceiving himself, we are on the eve of surprising experiences. Document 4 Source: “The Remington Type-Writer,” advertisement, the Salt Lake Herald, 1884 Perhaps no invention of modern times has done so much to relieve business men of the great amount of pen-work drudgery to be done in every business, as the standard Remington type-writer. Thousands of these excellent machines are in daily use throughout the country, giving the utmost satisfaction claimed for them. An office boy, for instance, with but two month practice on one of these machines can accomplish more work than two rapid penmen; and besides do it in a neater, and more attractive and legible manner. With but little more practice he can perform more than three men’s work. Half a dozen copies may also be written at once as easily as one. Business men are fully aware of the many advantages in these writers, and are very generally adopting them as veritable savers of time, money, and labor. Document 5 Source: Photograph of threshing on J. B. Lee farm north of Shelton, Nebraska, 1888 Document 6 Source: Paul de Rousiers, French sociologist and economist, American Life, published in the United States in 1892. The East [of the United States] is driving back the West. As the land becomes peopled, as the soil gets exhausted, as the towns grow and as industry develops, the country assumes a new aspect and becomes Eastern. . . . The region is no longer tributary to its older neighbors for the manufactured goods it needs, but develops industries within its own borders. . . . It is quite certain that the West will not always be dependent on the Eastern manufacturer; and factories, which by their location should soon supply the needs of the Mississippi Valley, are being built at present in St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, etc. . . . At St. Louis I visited a shoe-factory where 400 men were employed. If it succeeds it will be three or four times as large in a few years. To do this it is necessary to put it in the best condition for turning out goods cheaply—to introduce every mechanical invention which will do away with handwork. For instance, ingenious machines fix the heel of a shoe in one movement, cut and sew 4,000 buttonholes in a day, shape the soles, stitch, tack, polish, cut the bits of leather given, etc., without the workmen who look after them being shoemakers. It thus happens that very elegant shoes can be bought at very moderate prices—about the same as in Europe. Document 7 Source: Interview with retired shoe worker from Lynn, Massachusetts, conducted in 1939, describing developments between the 1870s and 1890s. It was soon after the Civil War that the machine age begun and the shoe business grew. The first that come was the Howe machine. No power to it at first. It was run by the foot. The first McKay machine for stitching soles was also run by a foot pedal. The McKay machine drove the hand workers out. Before it come the hand workers would wax end the shoes. A thick thread would be waxed, and a pig's bristle would be fastened on the end. Then the hand worker would make a hole through the shoe with his awl, and use the pig’s bristle for a needle to draw the thread through. The wax was used on the thread for two reasons, to strengthen the thread, and to give it a coating so it wouldn't slip. Them old hand shoes was made with a welt. The inside innersole was sewed to that welt, and then the outside sole was sewed to the welt. But when the McKay machine come in, the shoe was made different and it drove the old hand workers out. They never come back. With the McKay machine the innersole was sewed down to the upper sole. There was a channel it was sewed in, so the stitches wouldn’t show on the bottom of the shoe. The welt shoe was a hand made shoe until a long time after the McKay machine come in though. Later the welt machine come in. But all them improvements didn’t make so much misery for them workers that got out [and] could get something else to do… But when the lasting machine come it, that caused considerable resentment because them fellas couldn’t do nothing else, and they was out. Might as well cut the throats a them men as put a lasting machine in their shop. Context: America's original economy had moved away from being focused on agriculture such as the south being a cash crop giant with crops like tobacco and cotton and the north having a lot of fishing to slowly becoming more and more industrialized over time. Practices such as the factory line and division of labor became more and more present. Eventually, the new Industrial standard dictated the economy leading to a natural progression and introduction of technology. Technology improved the economy through industrialization, increased the development of transportation, and improving efficiency of many laborious tasks however it brought new challenges such as shifting labor patterns and growing income inequality. Document 1 argues that in times of dire and need and lack of a proficient resource people develop technologys. This is related to the growing change america has as it was forced to adjust and adapt to the lack of cheap labor that for example countrys like europe had. The historical context of the document was that it was in a time in which the economy was shifting and becoming more efficient and producing a new industrial standard. This relates to the argument for this document explicitly shows that technology was advancing and changing in the united states over time and was replacing cheap labor. Document 2 is a image labeled progress of the century that shows off some of the new and game changing technology in America. The purpose of the document was to show the citizens in their own private homes of the united states all the different progresses that are happening such as the lightning steam press, the electric telegraph, the locomotive, and the steamboat. Almost a patriotic feeling can be expressed through this photo aswell. This proves the point of the fact that technology had a massive impact on United States as the people who drew the image literally labeled it as “The progress of the century”. Document 3 was an article written by the Editorial in the New York Sun, 1878 that talks about the recent invention of thomas edison, the light bulb. It talks about the potential massive changes that it will bring across homes in america. The intended audience of the document is the american people for the document argues about the massive strides that an invention such as the lightbulb can have on the people. It talks about the potential moving away from gas appliances. This relates to the argument because this article shows how standard of living was vastly improving for many people and new infrastructure that is built would be more efficient as it did many jobs. Though this source did show how technology changed the United States, it does not have any direct evidence on the potential impact on the economy. Document four was the The Remington Type-Writer,” advertisement, the Salt Lake Herald produced in 1884. The advertisements intended audience was the american people even more specifically targeted towards business men. For the advertisement explicitly states that the type writer saved time and money. This relates to the argument because this shows how the typewriter helped the economy and made it vastly more efficient in tasks pertaining to writing. This document though it shows how relatively inexperienced office boys can out type write 2 rapid pen men. The document shows that the industry standards are changing and people who used to specialize in certain labor practices are being replaced rapidly by new technologys. Document 5 is an image showing a group of farmers in front of some trenching vehicles. The purpose of the image is to show how the trenching machines are helping farmers be more efficient with their agricultural process. The historical context of the document is that the farmers originally would have to harvest the grain using their hand. So this machine would heavily improve the efficiency of this process. This relates to the argument because it shows how the machines and new technology would make harvesting processing more efficient and therefore improve the economy. The paper "Document 6," written by the French sociologist and economist Paul de Rousiers and published in the United States in 1892, shows how the nature of the American economy was altered by the growth of technology in the late 19th century. According to De Rousiers, as the population grows, the soil is drained, towns expand, and industry grows, the country is moving toward the "Eastern" region. The East develops its own manufacturing sector so that it is no longer dependent on the more developed West for manufactured goods. In a shoe factory in St. Louis, where 400 men were employed, the author noticed that every effort is being made to adapt mechanical devices to replace manual labor. As a result, highly fashionable shoes can be purchased for prices that are comparable to those in Europe. This is an example of how technology has changed business, leading to increased efficiency and decreased costs. The report claims that technology profoundly altered the American economy between the years of 1865 and 1898. In the interview with a retired shoe worker from Lynn, Massachusetts, which was recorded in 1939, described in Document 7, the shoe industry saw changes between the 1870s and the 1890s. The worker notes that after the Civil War, the period of the machine began, and the shoe business grew. The study claims that technological advancements sparked some hostility and led to the displacement of manual labour. However, the retiring employee notes that for those workers who were able to find other jobs, the changes did not cause much suffering. But because workers had no other options, the introduction of the lasting machine resulted in a tremendous lot of unhappiness.
