NAME:
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Changing America: How is America different from 1875?
1). Go to the MeasuringWorth.com site by clicking on the link. On the boxes on the right side of the page, in
Initial Year: enter 1875. For Initial Amount: enter $100 and for Desired Year enter 2014.
a. What is the range of relative value of that $100 in 2014? TYPE HERE:
b. If we wanted to compare a $100 Commodity (a thing you can buy, like a house or a dress or food),
what would be the real price of that commodity in 2014? TYPE HERE:
c. What would be the labor value (the cost of hiring someone to make that commodity)? TYPE HERE:
d. If you looked at the value of $100 of income or wealth, what would the economic power of that $100
be?
TYPE HERE:
2). Go to the page The History Of What Things Cost In America: 1776 to Today
a. Read the first three paragraphs. What were two products that popular in 1775 that have pretty much
no value now? TYPE HERE:
b. On Page 2 of the site, go to the heading for 1875. How much did a dozen pairs of Levi Strauss' (yes,
the same Levi's as today) blue jeans cost then? TYPE HERE:
c. How much did a pair of shoes typically cost? TYPE HERE:
d. What happened to the population of the United States from 1860 to 1890? TYPE HERE:
e. How much is a $1 in 1875 worth now? (Or, at least, in 2010 when this page was written)
TYPE HERE:
3.) Go to the site Leading Causes of Death in the US: 1900 - Present
a. What was the leading cause of death in 1900, and how many deaths per 100,000 people did it cause?
TYPE HERE:
b. What was the 4th leading cause of death in 1900, and how many deaths per 100,000 people did it
cause?
TYPE HERE:
c. What was the leading cause of death in 2010, and how many deaths per 100,000 people did it cause?
TYPE HERE:
4.) Go to Women's Clothing of the 1880s.
a. Describe women's skirts in 1880. TYPE HERE:
b. After 1882, what happened to skirts? TYPE HERE:
c. By the mid-1880s, bustles (or bunched fabric at the lower back) were popular. By the end of the
1880s, what was the fashion for skirts? TYPE HERE:
5.) Take a look at this Google Image Search for 1880s African-American fashion and write a sentence or two
about what you notice about how African-American women wore their hair in the 1880s. Do you notice any
trends? TYPE HERE:
6.) Open the U.S. Census Bureau's Fast Facts for 1880 page. Look at the chart near the bottom of the page on
the right.
a. What was the largest U.S. city, and what was its population?
TYPE HERE:
b. What was the 7th largest city, and what was its population?
TYPE HERE:
c. How many states were there in 1880? TYPE HERE:
d. What was the U.S. Resident Population in 1880? TYPE HERE:
Open the U.S. Census Bureau's Fast Facts for 2010 page.
e. What was the largest U.S. city, and what was its population?
TYPE HERE:
f. What was the 7th largest city, and what was its population?
TYPE HERE:
g. How many states were there in 2010? TYPE HERE:
h. What was the U.S. Resident Population in 2010? TYPE HERE:
1. In your own words, what do you think the biggest difference between the United States in 1880 and
today is, based on what you've read? Type a good paragraph of 4-5 sentences and use examples!