Prentice Hall: United States History
Chapter 16: Issues of the Gilded Age
Section 1 – Segregation and Social Tensions (pgs 520-527)
Standards: 1 (d)
TERMS & PEOPLE
Focus Question:
 How were the civil and political rights of certain groups in
- Jim Crow Laws - Ida B. Wells
America undermined during the years after Reconstruction?
- poll tax
- Booker T.
Checkpoint Questions
- literacy test
Washington
1. In what ways were the rights of African Americans restricted?
- grandfather
- W. E. B. Du Bois
2. How did Wells, Washington, and Du Bois protest the
clause
- Las Gorras
mistreatment of African Americans?
Blancas
3. How did the Chinese immigrants use the court system to protest
discrimination?
4. What success did women achieve in the years after
Reconstruction?
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Draw Conclusions: How did the Plessy v. Ferguson decision support the existence of Jim Crow laws?
2. Analyze Information: Do you think women activists during the late 1800s had any effect on the political or
social life of the country? Explain.
Section 2 – Political and Economic Challenges (pgs 529-532)
Standards: 1 (a)
TERMS & PEOPLE
- spoils system
- civil service
- Pendleton Civil
Service Act
- gold standard
Focus Question:
 Why did the political structure change the Gilded Age?
Checkpoint Questions
1. Why did the federal government fail to make significant political
gains between 1877 and 1897?
2. How did the spoils system lead to government corruption and,
eventually, government reform?
3. Why did the Republicans and Democrats differ in their view of
the tariff issue?
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Make Generalizations: How would you characterize the American political landscape during the Gilded
Age?
Section 3 – Farmers and Populism (pgs 533-539)
Standards: 6 (a)
TERMS & PEOPLE
- Oliver H.
Kelley
- Grange
- Populist Party
- William
Jennings Bryan
- William
McKinley
Focus Question:
 What led to the rise of the Populist movement, and what effect
did it have?
Checkpoint Questions
1. What were the farmers’ major grievances, or complaints?
2. What reforms did the farmers’ organizations introduce?
3. What were the goals of the Populist Party?
4. How did the nomination of William Jennings Bryan affect the
Populist Party
5. What happened to the Populist Party?
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Determine Relevance: How did the deflation, or decrease, in the money supply in the late 1800s affect
farmers?
2. Make Comparisons: In what ways did McKinley represent the old way of politics? In what ways did Bryan
represent the new way?