Name _____________________________________________
Period _____
Date _____________________
SS.912.A.3.2 Examine the social, political, and economic causes, course, and consequences of the Second Industrial Revolution
that began in the late 19th century.
Essential Question: Were big business leaders “captains of industry” or “robber barons”?
Make sure that your students understand the meanings of these terms – captains of industry has a positive connotation, while robber barons implies
that big business leaders are greedy and steal to gain their wealth.
Source
Main Idea / Message / Important Details
How does this document answer the
essential question?
Source 1
Big business leaders are depicted as fat money bags and sitting on top of
the poor workers. The workers appear to be struggling to carry these
business leaders on their backs. The message seems to be that business
leaders are getting rich off of the hard work of laborers.
This cartoon illustrates big business leaders as “robber
barons” because they are depicted in a negative way,
taking advantage of struggling workers.
Rockefeller (owner of Standard Oil) is depicted larger than life, holding
the White House in his hand, while the Capitol building is seen in the
background across a field of oil barrels. The message seems to be that
Rockefeller has control of the government as he has the White House in
his hand.
This cartoon illustrates Rockefeller, one well known big
business leader, as having control over the government.
Most people would view this as a negative and say that
manipulating and controlling the government is a
negative thing and would make Rockefeller a “robber
baron.”
This photo illustrates Henry Ford’s innovation (mass
production of cars using assembly line) that helped
industry grow. This supports the argument that Henry
Ford was a “captain of industry.”
Political cartoon “The
Protectors of Our
Industries,” Puck
Magazine 1883
Source 2
Political cartoon
“What a Funny Little
Government,” by
Horace Taylor, 1899
Source 3
Photograph of Ford
assembly line
Source 4
Illustration of the
Bessemer process
This photo shows workers working in a car factory, assembling a Ford
automobile. The cars are being assembled in a line (assembly line).
This illustration shows people working in a steel factory using a large
machine to mass produce steel through the Bessemer process.
This illustration shows technological innovation because
Andrew Carnegie brought the Bessemer Process to the
United States to be able to mass produce steel. This
allowed for rapid industrial growth, and can support
Carnegie being labeled as a “captain of industry.”
Thesis: High: Big business leaders in the late 19th century were captains of industry in some ways, as they introduced innovations that helped the economy
grow, for example, Ford’s assembly line and Carnegie’s introduction of the Bessemer process. However, for the most part they were “robber barons” because
they got rich by taking advantage of the poor and manipulating the government. Basic: Big business leaders were robber barons because they took advantage of
the poor and controlled the government.
Suggested Rubric – A – This rubric can be used to assess students on their completion of the analysis chart and their individual thesis.
Source Analysis (Main
Idea, Message, Details)
Connecting Source to
Essential Question
Thesis
Needs Improvement
Message / main idea missing or
unclear for some sources. Lacking
details. Incomplete.
(1 point)
Missing answers to essential
questions, lacking any attempt at
explanation.
(1 point)
Thesis is unclear or does not answer
essential question.
(0 points)
Satisfactory
Message / main idea for all or most
sources, some details. Some may be
clearer than others.
(2 points)
Answers to essential question for all
or most sources, but lacking
explanation or unclear explanation.
(2 points)
Thesis basically answers essential
question and may use some
evidence from the sources but could
be more thorough. (2 points)
Excellent
Clear message / main idea for each
source with relevant details listed in
chart.
(3 points)
Clear answer to essential question
for each source with explanation.
(3 points)
Thesis clearly answers essential
question and uses several pieces of
supporting evidence from the
sources. (4 points)
Total Points: _______ / 10
Suggested Rubric – B – This rubric can be used if you only want to assess students’ individual thesis statements.
Thesis
Total Points: _______ / 4
Needs Improvement
Thesis is unclear or does not answer
essential question.
(0 points)
Satisfactory
Thesis basically answers essential
question and may use some
evidence from the sources but could
be more thorough. (2 points)
Excellent
Thesis clearly answers essential
question and uses several pieces of
supporting evidence from the
sources. (4 points)
Source 1 – “The Protectors of Our Industries” 1883
Source 2 – Political Cartoon “What a Funny Little Government”
Source 3 – Photograph of a Ford factory assembly line
Source 4 – Illustration of the Bessemer process