U.S. History
Ch 20
The Gilded Age Part IV:
Meritocracy & Poverty
John D. Rockefeller was born into a poor family in upstate New York. He was the
second of six children in his family. His father was a traveling salesmen and his mother was a
homemaker. From his mother, Rockefeller learned the habit of frugality – he avoided
unnecessary spending. “Willful waste makes woeful want” was a saying that his mother passed
down to him. Rockefeller got his first job at the age of 16 working as an accountant’s
assistant. Rockefeller worked hard and saved his money. He started his own business a few
years later. He used intelligent (though at times unethical) methods to amass a fortune
worth over 2 billion dollars!
Many people were inspired by the “rags to riches” life of John D.
Rockefeller during the Gilded Age (1878-1901). Horatio Alger was a
very popular author during the Gilded Age. He wrote hundreds of
stories about young boys who had been born into poverty. The boys
in his stories worked hard and lived clean, moral lives. As a result of
their hard work, the characters always ended up “striking it rich” in the
business world. Readers found these stories to be uplifting and
inspirational.
Algers’ stories were based on the theory that the United States,
during the Gilded Age, was a meritocracy. A meritocracy is a society in
which people are rewarded based on hard work. In a pure meritocracy,
hard work is the only factor that determines success. If you work hard,
you succeeded. In a pure meritocracy, people only failed when they
didn’t work hard enough. Many Americans believed that people like
Rockefeller succeeded because they were hard workers. They also
believed that people who lived in poverty were not working hard
enough to make their lives better.
Some Americans, like writer and political economist Henry George, disagreed with the
notion that America was a meritocracy. George spent years studying the poverty that existed
in America during the Gilded Age. He researched the causes of poverty and worked to find
ways to end poverty in America. In 1879 George wrote a book entitled Progress and Poverty.
George wrote the following about poverty,
Poverty is a crime. I do not mean that it is a crime to live in poverty. Murder is a crime, but it is not a
crime to be murdered (meaning the person murdered is not a necessarily criminal, but a victim of a
crime). A man who is in poverty, I look upon, not as a criminal in himself, so much as the victim of a
crime for which others, as well as perhaps himself, are responsible.
George argued that people living in poverty were victims. He believed it was wrong to
assume that people living in poverty had brought it upon themselves. He went on to write,
Nine tenths of human misery, I think you will find, if you look, to be due to poverty…And it seems
clear that a majority of those who suffer from poverty are poor and not from their own particular
faults, but because of conditions imposed by society at large.
George argued that the notion that America was a pure
meritocracy during the Gilded Age was false. He believed that most
people living in poverty were not poor because they were lazy. He
interviewed workers who spent fourteen hours a day on the job
working for 13 cents an hour. Instead, George theorized that
impoverished Americans were not given the opportunities they needed
to make their lives better. He believed that society was at fault for not
giving the impoverished those opportunities (such as access to
education and job promotions).
Some Americans agreed with aspects of Henry George’s theory on poverty. Mark
Twain & Charles Warner, two famous writers, are credited with naming this era in American
history the Gilded Age. To “gild” an object means that you coat it with a thin layer of gold
leaf. Gilded decorations were quite popular during this time period. But the name has a
much deeper meaning. Just as gold leaf can disguise an object of lesser value, so did the
wealth of a few people mask society’s problems, including corrupt politics and widespread
poverty.
Name:
Date:
Core:
U.S. History
Meritocracy & Poverty:
Reflection Questions…
Directions: Use the Gilded Age Part IV: Meritocracy & Poverty handout from today’s class to answer
the following questions. All open-ended questions must be answered in complete sentences.
Fact Check…
1. The life of John D. Rockefeller is often described as a “rrags to riches” tale. Using direct quotes
from the text, explain how Rockefeller went from “rags” to riches”.
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2. Which of the following stories seems most like something Horatio Alger would have written?
a. John is born into a wealthy family living in Manhattan, NY. He goes to all of the best
schools and works for his father’s business (managing a bank). He inherits his father’s
money and dies a wealthy man.
b. Susan was born into a poor family. She works part time at a textile mill in Lowell,
MA. She meets a wealthy man who marries her. She spends the rest of her life living
in a mansion in Newport, RI.
c. Bobby is born into a poor family living in Chicago. Bobby works hard at his first job
at a meatpacking plant. He saves his money and one day he is able to buy the
meatpacking plant. He dies a rich man.
d. Richie is born into a poor family living in Boston, MA. He works fourteen hours a
day, seven days a week at a local sweatshop. He is injured on the job and can no
longer work. He dies in alone and in poverty.
3. Define the term “m
meritocracy”. ___________________________________________________
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Extra! Extra! More
questions on the
back!
4. With which of the following statements would Henry George (author of Progress and
Poverty)most likely disagree?
a. People who are living in poverty shouldn’t work hard because it will be impossible for
them to succeed, no how hard they work.
b. Poverty is a crime (which does not mean that poor people are criminals, but rather
they are victims).
c. Poverty causes most of the misery that people experience in the world.
d. Most people who are suffering from poverty are not poor because they are lazy. They
were born into poverty and cannot get out of it because society does not provide
them with the opportunities necessary to make their lives better.
I chose answer choice __________ because: __________________________________________
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Reader Response…
5. Do you think the United States is a meritocracy today? Explain why or why not (ATIC)
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U.S. History
Ch. 20
Do At Bell:
Meritocracy: Four Corner Debate
Directions: Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability (in complete
sentences). These questions are intended to help you prepare for today’s four corner debate.
1. If a person wants to become rich, all they have to do is work hard. Anyone who
works really hard will become rich if that is their goal.
I __________________ (strongly agree, kind of agree, disagree, or strongly disagree) with this
statement because: _____________________________________________________________
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2. If an adult is poor, it is because he/she hasn’t worked hard enough.
I __________________ (strongly agree, kind of agree, disagree, or strongly disagree) with this
statement because: _____________________________________________________________
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3. People who are born into rich families have more opportunities and advantages than
people who are born into poor families.
I __________________ (strongly agree, kind of agree, disagree, or strongly disagree) with this
statement because: _____________________________________________________________
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4. In general, children who are born into poor families have the same odds of becoming
a rich adult as children born into wealthy families.
I __________________ (strongly agree, kind of agree, disagree, or strongly disagree) with this
statement because: _____________________________________________________________
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5. There are many different factors that contribute to a person’s ability to become rich.
However, the biggest determinant of financial success in the United States is hard
work. Hard work outweighs all the other factors.
I __________________ (strongly agree, kind of agree, disagree, or strongly disagree) with this
statement because: _____________________________________________________________
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US History
Notes
Meritocracy or Not?
A meritocracy is a society in which people are rewarded based on hard work. In a pure meritocracy,
hard work is the only factor that determines success. If you work hard, you succeeded. In a pure
meritocracy, people only failed when they didn’t work hard enough
.
The cartoon above depicts a man being interviewed for a job by another man (guy in glasses). Read
the dialogue and answer the question that follows.
Imagine that you were applying for the same job as the man in the cartoon. You both have the same
about of job experience and you both seem to be qualified for the position. After you are both
interviewed, you learn that he gets the job and you do not. Do you think this cartoon takes place in a
pure meritocracy? Explain your position using information from the cartoon and the definition above
(ATITIC).
I think that this cartoon ____________________________ (does or does not) take place in a pure
meritocracy because: __________________________________________________________________
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Name:
Date:
Core:
US History
Mental Warm-Up:
The Road to Riches
Identify all of the factors that can affect a person’s chances of becoming wealthy
(you must list at least 8 different factors!)