Bell Ringer 8-4-14
• After analyzing the
picture what do
you believe the
time period the
WEST is about?
Closing Task
•Students will be assigned a word, in pairs
they have to
1. Define the term in their own words
2. Illustrate a picture describing the word
3. Once complete you will participate in a
gallery walk, while filling out a
Vocabulary Worksheet.
Bell Ringer 8-5-14
•Why is
technology
vital to the
U.S.A?
•Technology helps raise the
standard of living. (the way people
live)
West & Gilded Age
Technology
The Light Bulb
•Thomas A.
Edison invented
the light bulb in
1879
Electric Light
• The light bulb provided in
a longer work day for
workers.
• It also improved quality of
life by bringing light into
dark homes and apartment
buildings.
Manufacturing
• Electric power facilitated
increased production in
factories by lengthening
the work day (light bulb)
and powering faster
machines.
Petroleum-based products
•Edwin L. Drake
struck oil in 1859,
enabling kerosene
production and
paving the way for
future products
such as gasoline.
Steel Production
• Steel production was
necessary to help build the
transcontinental railroads
that would be a major social
and economic drivers in the
United States.
• This greatly impacted the
industrialization efforts in
the early 20th century.
Transportation
• Mass transportation such
the transcontinental railroad
and the automobile
increased the ability to
travel distances and created
new jobs.
• This helped raise the
standard of living because it
allowed people to have
more housing and
employment choices.
Telephone
• Alexander Graham Bell
invented the telephone in
1876.
• This raised the standard of
living because it allowed
people to communicate
faster.
Closing Task
•Individually you will work on the
handout titled “Inventions and
Innovations”. You may use the notes
you took in in class or the Jarrett Book
on page 63.
Bell Ringer 8-6-14
•How did technology assist the
population growth of the Great Plains?
•Technology helped settle the Great
Plains because it (Transcontinental
Railroad) allowed people to travel west
a lot easier and faster.
Westward Movement
8/6/14
Settlement of the Great Plains
• The Plains Indians were the
earliest settlers in the Great
Plains; located between the
South and Midwest regions to
the east and the Rocky
Mountains to the west.
• This land was ideal for farming
due to its location.
Homestead Act 1862
• The Homestead Act was passed in 1862 which
provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, to
claim 160 acres of surveyed government land at no
cost.
• The Homestead Act encouraged settlement.
Farming Issues
• Many white settlers took advantage of the Homestead Act
which helped the Westward expansion.
• There was new technology such as the steel plow which
made it easier to break the dense soil and farm the land
(increased settlement).
• In the late 1800s famers began to rely on mechanization to
improve and increase agricultural production. As a result,
overproduction occurred and farmers went into debt.
Cattle Industry Boom
• Cattle industry boomed in the late 1800s as the
culture and influence of the Plains American
Indians declined.
• There was a growing demand for beef in cities
after the Civil War.
• Railroads provided method of transportation of
beef to urbanized areas.
The First Transcontinental Railroad
• The First Transcontinental
Railroad in the United
States was built in the
1860s, linking the well
developed railway network
of the Eastern coast with
rapidly growing California.
Transcontinental Railroad cont.
• Industry relied on railroads for shipping.
• Railroads grew in response to increased demands of industrialization
and Western Expansion.
• Railroads expanded westward to meet demands of settlement and
economic development of the West. Railroads carried people and
products to new markets in the West and across the United States.
• Railroad shipping facilitated the growth of ranching, farming, and mining
industries in the West.
Klondike Gold Rush
• Klondike Gold Rush – was during the late 1800s, in
Northern Washington and Alaska
• Thousands of people were hoping to ease the pains
of economic depression, so they sold their farms,
dropped businesses, and boarded ships to follow
their dreams north because Alaska was seen as a
large and distant source of raw materials.
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC PATTERNS
• Economic conditions and political persecution led many
immigrants to enter the United States legally and illegally.
• Large influxes of immigrants caused rapid growth in ports of
entry and cities with heavy industry.
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC PATTERNS cont.
• Border states with Mexico have experienced greater cultural
diffusion and a higher density of the Hispanic population due to
proximity.
• Western states have experienced greater cultural diffusion and a
higher density of Asian populations due to proximity.
Closing Task
•Individually you will work on the
“Westward Movement” handout. You may
use your notes or the Jarrett book page 90
to complete your work.
Bell Ringer 8-7-14
•What is the Free Enterprise System?
Closing Task
• Students will rotate around the room and
complete several activities in each station for
the following topics:
• Political Machines
• Industrialization
• Rise of entrepreneurship
• Free Enterprise
• Big Business
Bell Ringer: August 8, 2014
After the stations yesterday,
analyze the picture and explain
what you believe the political
cartoon is about.
Political and Economic Issues of the
Gilded Age
• Political machines Corruption in politics (e.g., Tammany Hall, Boss
Tweed, Thomas Nast’s illustrations)
• Leaders of the political machines known as political bosses gained
support of the People by:
• Making improvement to urban infrastructures
• Providing jobs to immigrants and the poor
• Giving favors to local businessmen.
• The expectation was to then have support from these groups at the
ballot box.
Boss Tweed of Tammany Hill
• Controlled thousands of city workers and
influenced the operation of schools hospitals
and other city-run services.
• Tweed controlled and bribed lawmakers to pass
laws favorable to his interests.
• Overpaid himself on construction projects and
land sales stealing millions from the city.
Rise of Entrepreneurship
• An entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes
the risks of a business; an agent of change; discovers new ways to
combine resources.
• In the 1800s, many were considered entrepreneurs because they
created value by moving resources out of less productive areas and
into more productive ones.
• Example: skilled immigrants used their trade skills to establish
businesses of their own.
• 1873, large producers like Carnegie and Rockefeller began driving smaller
companies out of business or purchasing them.
• Monopoly: eliminate competition
• Pros:
•
•
•
•
Large business are more efficient, leading to lower prices
They can hire large number of workers
They can produce goods in large quantities
They have the resources to support expensive research and invent new items.
• Cons:
•
•
•
•
They have unfair competitive advantage against smaller businesses.
They sometimes exploit their workers
They are less concerned with where they do business and pollute the area
They have an unfair influence over government policies affecting them.
Andrew Carnegie
• Worked from a penniless Scottish immigrant
to one of Americas richest and most powerful
men.
• Invested in ironworks and built a steel mill in
Pittsburgh, selling iron and steel to railroad
companies for track.
• Spent his later life doing philanthropic (giving
money to the needy) activities (e.g., founding
of Carnegie Hall).
• “The Gospel of Wealth” (1889) set forth
Carnegie’s idea that rich men are “trustees”
of their wealth and should administer it for
the good of the public.
• As industry grew rapidly, the U.S. government promoted free
enterprise (business that can operate competitively for profit with
little government involvement/regulation).
Closing Task
I will complete the 2nd week 1st 9 week pulse check quiz.
Good Luck!