RISE OF MODERN AMERICA
CHICAGO: BUILDING A CITY
This module illustrates the growth of Chicago during the nineteenth century as a
series of interconnected cause and effect relationships. Leading with an exercise
that requires the student to think about the impact of industry, transportation, and
immigration on the growth of the prototypical American city, this module uses
the development of Chicago to teach about urban growth in America.
Readings
 Sister Carrie, Chapter III (Theodore Dreiser)
 “Chicago” (Carl Sandburg)
 The Jungle, Chapter 3 (Upton Sinclair)
Module Level Questions
1. What challenges did new arrivals in Chicago face?
2. Why was the development of canals and railroads integral to Chicago’s
growth?
3. How could the experience of industrial labor be seen as a mixed blessing
for the working class?
4. What was the primary factor in Chicago’s industrial development—
immigration, industry, or transportation?
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THE WIZARD OF OZ: A POPULIST PARABLE?
This module introduces students to an interpretation of The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz as a political allegory about Populism. By juxtaposing passages from the
book with their historical correlates, the module examines the economic
conditions of the American farmer and factory worker in the late nineteenth
century; the conflict between the eastern banking establishment and southern
and western agricultural interests; and the contentious issue of monetary reform.
The module takes up the Populist platform, the impact of Populist presidential
candidate William Jennings Bryan, and the polarizing election of 1896.
Readings
 “Cross of Gold” (William Jennings Bryan)
 Platform of the People’s Party
Section Questions
 Wicked Witch of the East
1. Why was the drop in farm prices so damaging to the lives of farmers
in the late-19th century? What could the farmers do to help
themselves?
2. Did the drop in farm prices benefit anyone?
 Dorothy and Silver Shoes
1. According to the Populists, how could the coining of silver have
resolved the economic problems farmers faced in the late nineteenth
century?
 Scarecrow
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1. How did the Populists plan to resolve the problems faced by
farmers?
2. Were any of the Populists’ ideas put into action?
Tinman
1. In what ways were the problems of urban workers in the late
nineteenth century similar to the problems of farmers? In what
ways did they differ?
Lion
1. According to William Jennings Bryan, who caused the nation’s
economic problems?
2. According to Bryan’s speech, why did the nation turn to the gold
standard?
3. What did Bryan argue would happen to the United States if the
farmers’ problems were not solved?
Wicked Witch of the West
1. In what ways did the depression of 1893–1894 hurt the
nation?
Wizard
1. What do you think the late nineteenth-century presidents could have
done to help farmers?
Module Level Questions
1. According to the Populists, what caused the drop of farm prices in
the late nineteenth century?
2. How were the problems of farmers and workers similar in the 1890s,
according to the Populist perspective?
3. What did Populists demand government do to help farmers in the
1890s?
4. Who opposed William Jennings Bryan in the election of 1896, and
why?
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HULL HOUSE: SETTLEMENTS, PROGRESSIVES, AND THE CITY
This module examines the problems of urban poverty identified by social
reformers during the Progressive Era through the prism of Hull House, the
settlement house in Chicago. Dynamic maps based on the research left by the
Hull House reformers themselves allow students to compare ethnicity and
income across Chicago neighborhoods. The module uses Chicago as one model
of urban development for the American city.
Readings
 “Public Activities and Investigations” (from Twenty Years at Hull
House, Jane Addams)
 Excerpts on Italian Immigrants (from Twenty Years at Hull House, Jane
Addams)
 Excerpt (from Twenty Years at Hull House, Jane Addams)
 Excerpt from “The Growth of the City: An Introduction to a Research
Project” (Ernest W. Burgess)
 Excerpt from “The Growth of the City: An Introduction to a Research
Project” (Ernest W. Burgess)
 Excerpts from Remarks upon the Italian Colony in Chicago by
Alessandro Mastro-Valerio (from Hull-House Maps & Papers, 1895)
 United States Department of Labor Questionnaire (1893)
 Excerpts from How the Other Half Lives (Jacob Riis, 1890)
 Excerpt from The Shame of the Cities (Lincoln Steffens)
 “The Bohemian People in Chicago” by Josefa Humpal Zeman (from
Hull-House Maps & Papers, 1895)
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Excerpts from “The Chicago Ghetto” by Charles Zeublin (from HullHouse Maps & Papers, 1895)
Section Questions
 Hull House
1. How did the different rooms of Hull House serve the different
problems reformers found in the surrounding neighborhood?
2. What values influenced the design of Hull House? What ends did its
architecture and layout serve, and how so?
 Neighborhood
1. What challenges did the social environment of the Near West Side
present to reformers? What challenges did the physical environment
present?
2. Which groups of the Near West Side were part of the “new
immigration” of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
How did they differ from “old immigration” groups?
3. How did the problems reformers saw on the Near West Side affect
their ideas about the use of land and space in the city?
Module Level Questions
1. How did the different rooms of Hull House serve the different
problems reformers found in the surrounding neighborhood?
2. What did the settlement pattern of different ethnic and income
groups in the Near West Side reveal?
3. How did the problems Hull House workers saw around them in the
city lead them to larger questions?
4. What is the Chicago School of Urban Sociology?
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BOOM AND BUST: THE STOCK MARKET, 1928–1930
This module provides a simulation of the stock market before, during, and after
the Great Crash of October 1929. Using contemporary news accounts and
photographs, the module shows students the main factors that historians have
identified as the causes of the crash, and provides some explanations for how
this event was related to the subsequent Great Depression of the 1930s.
Readings:
 “The Great Crash: 1929” (John Kenneth Galbraith)
Section Questions
 Settings
1. What factors fueled the rise in stock market speculation during the
1920s?
2. What sorts of companies benefited the most from the market boom?
3. Why did some critics fear that the market was headed for a crash in
the late 1920s? Why did other analysts feel differently?
 Stock Market Simulator
1. What factors fueled the rise in stock market speculation during the
1920s?
2. What sorts of companies benefited the most from the market boom?
3. Why did some critics fear that the market was headed for a crash in
the late 1920s? Why did other analysts feel differently?
 Lessons Learned?
1. Did the stock market collapse occur all at once, or over time? How
might this have affected the subsequent depression?
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2. How did government actions help contribute to the Great
Depression?
3. What were the underlying problems in the U.S. economy of the
1920s, and how did they worsen the crash?
Module Level Questions
1. What factors fueled the rise in stock market speculation during the
1920s?
2. Why did some critics fear that the market was headed for a crash in
the late 1920s? Why did other analysts feel differently?
3. How did government actions help contribute to the Depression?
4. What were the underlying problems in the U.S. economy of the
1920s, and how did they worsen the crash?
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ROUTE 66: TOURING NEW DEAL AMERICA
This module focuses on the New Deal’s cultural projects in writing, art, music,
theater, and photography. Students can tour Route 66—connecting Chicago to
Los Angeles—to examine contemporary government photographs of the land
and its people; to view public works projects, posters, and murals; and to hear
the folk music and read the oral histories that the WPA identified as
representative of America’s national identity.
Readings:
 “The Dybbuk of Bunker Street” (1939)
 Francisco Gomez (1938)
 Jim Cole (1939)
 “Jolly, Woncha Ramble?” (1934)
 “Early Experiences in New Mexico” (Charles B. Kilgore, 1937)
 Romances and Corridos of New Mexico
 Anna Novak (1939)
 “Power” (Arthur Arent)
 Mary Reynolds
Module Level Questions
1. What did the cultural projects of the New Deal discussed here
convey about American farmers and workers?
2. How did the cultural projects attempt to convey a strong sense of
regional identity?
3. How do the cultural projects discussed here depict the Great
Depression?