Thursday December 10, 2015

Rise of Industrial America: Corporations & Conflict

Tasks: 

• Review: 
• Why did corporations rise?  Identify the reasons why corporations grow in size and strength after the Civil War.
• How did industrial leaders consolidate their power?  List the different management structures that emerge.
• Shift focus to question: How did industrialists reshape society? 
• The beliefs and actions of the industrial leaders were seen as controversial.  Some people were in awe of their ability to create new opportunity for all Americans, while other Americans were disgusted with their incredible wealth.  So, were these men "Captains of Industry" or "Robber Barons"?
• Choose one man, and watch a short video about his actions.
• Men Who Built America: Carnegie
• Men Who Built America: Vanderbilt
• Men Who Built America: Rockefeller
• Men Who Built America: Morgan
• Consider these questions as you view: 
• How did he acquire a wealth
  How he (and his related staff) treat workers
  How he spent his money
  How he donated his money
• Debrief in small group: Were these men "Captains of Industry" or "Robber Barons"?
• Assign: How did the rise of big business impact the economy and politics?  Use Howard Zinn's chapter "Robber Barons and Rebels" p. 253 - 262 to answer the question.

Wednesday December 9, 2015

Tuesday December 8, 2015

Industrializing America: Upheavals and Experiments

Part I: Corporations and Conflict

Tasks:

• Introduce new unit of study: Period VI - 1865 (end of the Civil War) to 1898 (start of the Spanish-American War)
• Listen to song from Hamilton, an American Musical, and review important components of Hamilton's vision for America's future.  The time period we are studying now is the moment in American history when Hamilton's vision surpasses that of Jefferson's.
• Small group discussion: What are some of the points made by Richard White in his essay, "The Rise of Industrial America, 1877 - 1900"?
• Central Inquiry for the first part of this unit: What opportunities and risks did industrialization bring?  How did industrialization reshape society?
• Identify the factors that made industrialization possible in America, and explain how each factor helped facilitate growth. 
• Abundance of labor and natural resources
• Role of the federal government
• Technological innovation
• Redesigned financial and management structures
• Watch selected excerpts from video, Chicago: City of the Century to identify the opportunities and risks of industrialization.
• Assignment: Use information from chapter 24 to answer questions 1 & 2 in your notes.

What opportunities and risks did industrialization bring?

How did industrialization reshape society?

1. Why did corporations arise? (p. 565 - 574)
2. How did industrialists consolidate their power? (574 - 579)
3. How did industrialization affect the South? (581 - 583)
4. What opportunities did new corporations offer people? (p. 583 - 586)
5. How did work conditions change for industrial workers in the late 19th century? Why? (p. 583 - 586)
6. What are the goals of the early labor unions? How successful were these labor unions in achieving their goals? (p. 587 - 592)

Monday December 7, 2015

Semester Review: 1491 - 1877

Test will include

• 40 multiple choice questions (8-9 documents to analyze)
• 1 long essay question

Access the APUSH curriculum guide using this link.

Period One: 1491 - 1607

• Spanish Colonization
• Interactions with Native Americans (Columbian Exchange)

Period Two: 1607 - 1754

• English colonization (similar and different from Spanish)
• Settlement of Chesapeake and New England colonies
• Growth of 13 American colonies
• Influence of Anglicization, Enlightenment, and Great Awakening on American thought

Period Three: 1754 - 1800

• War for Empire: French and Indian War
• Colonial resistance to increased Britain's imperial control
• War for Independence
• Founding of New Nation: Experiments in Government (Articles of Confederation & Constitution)

Period Four: 1800 - 1848

• Democratic-Republicans in Power (Jefferson elected in 1800)
• Rise and fall of the first party system
• Changes to the American democracy
• Political changes (Jacksonian politics - KNICKS)
• Economic changes (Market Revolution)
• Social changes (Antebellum Reform)

Period Five: 1844 - 1877

• Increased sectional tension
• westward expansion increases tension between north and south
• Civil War
• Reconstruction

Wednesday December 2, 2015

Reconstruction

Tasks: 

• Begin class with a quiz to review for upcoming test.
• Final review before essay test will focus on analyzing a student essay. 
• Read essay to determine the student's argument.
• Identify the historical evidence that the student utilizes to construct their argument.
• Together as whole class, brainstorm possible essay questions on the topic of Reconstruction

Reminders: 

1. Unit Five Test 12/3 (essay) & 12/4 (multiple choice)
2. Guest speaker Dr. Brodnax will speak in Library Classroom C at 2:35 on Monday 12/7

Tuesday December 1, 2015

Reconstruction

Tasks: 

• Yesterday, we worked to familiarize yourself with the relevant historical evidence from the Reconstruction era.  Today, we are going to practice using the evidence within the context of different historical arguments made about Reconstruction.  Using the evidence in different ways will, hopefully, prepare you for the essay portion of the exam on Thursday.
• Argument #1: Kennedy, the textbook author, makes the argument that the South was "resurrected rather than reconstructed."
• What is the difference between "resurrected" and "reconstructed"?
• Select the most relevant historical evidence from chapter 22 that would support his argument.
• Argument #2: Jay Winik April 1865: The Month that Saved America, 2001
• What is Winik's argument?
• Select the most relevant historical evidence from chapter 22 that would support his argument.
• Debrief: 
• Notice that the two historians are using similar evidence from the time period to make two different arguments about the Reconstruction.

Reminders: 

• Period V Unit Test (1844 - 1877): Essay (12/3) & Multiple Choice (12/4)
• Test corrections due 12/2
• Guest speaker: Dr. Brodnax on Monday 12/7 at 2:35 in Library Classroom C

Monday November 30, 2015

Reconstruction

Tasks: 

• Begin class by contextualizing the Reconstruction era (1865 - 1877).  
• Define reconstruction.
• Identify the ways in which the nation needs to be rebuilt: social, political and economic reconstruction.
• Small group work: identifying relevant historical evidence.
• Round 1:  Each group given a deck of terms from chapter 22, and asked to create two piles "Terms I know" and "Terms I don't know."  
• Round 2: Categorize the terms into groups by answering the questions raised in the chapter.  You should be able to answer the following questions: 
• How would the South, physically devastated by war and socially revolutionized by emancipation, be rebuilt?
• How would liberated blacks fare as free men and women?
• How would southern states be reintegrated into the Union?
• Who would direct the process of Reconstruction: southern states, Congress or the president?

Reminders: 

• Period V Test: Essay (12/3) & Multiple Choice (12/4)
• Guest Speaker: Dr. Brodnax will be joining us on Monday December 7 at 2:35 in the Little Theater.