Assignments due Wednesday Nov 23rd
None
Assignments you should work on
Chapter 6 Section 2
Men Who Built America Part 6 ( see below)
Industrial Revolution Project - Directions sheet
Due Date: Extended to - Week of Nov 28th
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Extra Credit Opportunity
- Build a 20 X 30 Infographic of this Info - ( here )
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Part 2 of the work assigned in this chapter - Watch and reflect on the History Channel's
Men Who Built America
Answers to the questions for part 6 will be due Wed, Nov 23rd
Questions to be answered - (by Wednesday, Nov 23rd)
Part 6 for Tuesday/Wednesday - Here is the episode about Tesla and Edison
Episode 6:With an investment from Morgan, the Edison Electric Company is created and begins wiring homes in New York. A rival, Nikola Tesla, soon emerges with a different technology for electric light. A battle between Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) power ensues. Morgan eventually buys out Edison and forms General Electric which adopts AC power,setting the stage for the next several decades of electric power. Meanwhile, there is increasing unrest among American workers as the gap between the rich and the poor grows.
Key terms to define
BEDROCK, HORSEPOWER, PRIVATE SECTOR, STREAMLINE, VIABLE, VULNERABILITY, WATERSHED,
Discussion Questions
1. What is the difference between AC and DC power?
2. What do you think of Morgan’s decision to buy out Thomas Edison? Do you think this decision was fair to Edison?
3. Why was J.P. Morgan’s ability to loan funds to the federal government so important? Do you agree with one commentator that this was an “act of nationalism”?
4. What is “Morganization”? Why was this approach an important and notable feature of the American economy?
Men Who Built America
Answers to the questions for part 7 will be due the week we return
Part 7 (c0nsider doing this if you have some free time) - Here is the link on Taking the White House
Episode 7: Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan have gone unmonitored for decades, but American politicians are about to change that. They want to guard against monopolies and an unbalanced use of power. The men, some lifelong enemies, come together with a play to gain influence with the White House. Their candidate, William McKinley, wins the White House and passes legislation favorable to big business. Morgan and Carnegie create U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar company in the U.S. while Rockefeller takes control of 90 percent of North American oil.
Key terms to define
ANTI-TRUST, CAPITAL, ELITE, LUCRATIVE, NICHE, PROSPERITY, RUTHLESS
Discussion Questions
1. Why were American workers upset at the time of the 1896 election? How did William Jennings Bryan attempt to address some of their concerns?
2. Why did the business tycoons put their support behind William McKinley? Were they successful?
3. What does “anti-trust” mean? Do you agree with the strategy of breaking up businesses that become very dominant in one industry?
Men Who Built America
Answers to the questions for part 8 will be due the week we return
Part 8 (consider this if you have some free time) - Roosevelt takes office, Ford and his car
Episode 8: After McKinley is assassinated, Theodore Roosevelt becomes president and quickly passes a series of regulations increasing oversight of American business. Henry Ford devises the plan for a gas-powered car, and he launches the assembly line as an innovative method of production. He targets the middle class with his Model T and changes the landscape of America. The Panama Canal opens up new trade routes. Rockefeller is put on trial for anti-trust violations. He loses in court and his company, Standard Oil, is one of the first monopolies broken up by the U.S. government. J.P. Morgan helps to establish the
Federal Reserve and cements his legacy as the father of modern capitalism. He and other big business leaders become major philanthropists. As the U.S. Army sets sail for Europe in World War I, one thing is clear…these men didn’t discover America, they built it.
Key terms to define
DURABLE, MONOPOLY, PHILANTHROPY, SUPERPOWER, UTILITARIAN
Discussion Questions
1. Why was the election of President Theodore Roosevelt so significant? What were some of the major changes he made?
2. What were some of Henry Ford’s key innovations?
3. Why was the Panama Canal such an important project?
4. What is philanthropy? Do you think all business leaders are obligated to also be philanthropists?
