Name: ____________________________
Date:_______________ Period: _______
Gilded Age Entertainment Webquest
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many changes were taking place in society.
Americans had more leisure time, more money to spend on entertainment, they were
becoming more enthusiastic about sports, and they were developing a spirit of fun.
Soon, a whole new commercial recreation industry was developed to supply
inexpensive entertainment for all Americans. Using the resources provided, you will
begin to explore this new world of entertainment. Please answer the questions
below as you go.
1. Go to http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/vaudeville.html
a. What is vaudeville?
b. What were the performers called?
2. Go to http://www.houdinitribute.com/houdini.html Click on the link that says
Houdini’s biography. Who was Harry Houdini? Why did I include him in the section
on vaudeville?
3. Click on some of the links to view pictures of Houdini and his acts. What were 2
of Houdini’s stunts.
4. Pretty soon a new form of entertainment began to give vaudeville competition.
What is a nickelodeon? (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon_movie_theater )
5. Where was the first nickelodeon built?
6. Why did nickelodeons die?
7. Go to http://www.circushistory.org/history.htm Click on the Photos link on the
left. Then click on the links in red to view pictures of the circus. Be patient! The
pictures will appear towards the bottom of the page.
a. What most surprises you about these images?
8. If you didn’t want to see the circus, perhaps you’d want to visit an amusement
park. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusement_park Scroll down to the
section on Trolley Parks. What did the trolley line have to do with amusement
parks?
9. Some of the first amusement parks in the United States were opened on Coney
Island, New York. Go to http://www.coneyislandpark.com/history.php
Read through the beginning history of Cincinnati’s Coney Island. What were the
first attractions added to the grove?
10. Sports also became popular in the 1800s. People wanted to watch and
participate. Go to http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/ . What sport quickly
became America’s favorite?
11. Look to the left of the page and click on the timeline link. Who invented the
sport and when?
a. When did the Cincinnati Reds become the first professional baseball team?
12. The increase in education that we read about in Section 1 meant that reading
became a popular pastime. More and more people began reading newspapers and
magazines. They were also reading something called “dime novels”. What were dime
novels? What were popular topics of dime novels?
(see http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tri015.html )
13. In addition to reading, sports, and other amusements, music became a popular
diversion. Thomas Edison invented a machine that allowed people to listen to music
at home without having to produce it themselves. What was this invention called?
(see http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledisondiscphpgraph.htm )
14. How are the Edison Cylinder Records tied to the mail-order catalog trend
happening in the Gilded Age?
15. A popular form of music was ragtime. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragtime
Scroll down to the section on Historical Context. Where did ragtime originate?
16. Scott Joplin wrote the Maple Leaf Rag, which became one of the most
recognized pieces of ragtime music in the country. Mr. Hall will play the piece.
What do you find interesting about this type of music?