Introduction and Assignment / Week 4

 

Joseph Keppler was a head political cartoonist for Puck magazine. This cartoon addresses anti-trust. The word "monopoly" is printed on the underbelly of the hissing snake. 
Credit: Library of Congress
Media type: political cartoon
Museum Number: LC-USZC4-2835
Year: 1881

It's good to have you here. Our chapter this week is Chapter 20 in our OpenStax textbook -- on the Gilded Age. Please read it before tackling the rest of the content items in this module.

I strongly recommend that, each week, you begin your journey into that week's module sequentially -- item by item. They are all assigned.

If you wish to get a "feel" for the work ahead in each module, nothing stops you, of course, from quickly clicking through the content items to note what lies ahead. When you are ready to begin the module in earnest, however, move through it in sequence and take in the content. 

 

Key Questions for This Week

1. What form did corruption take in the Gilded Age? How did it show itself?
   
   
2. How did patronage, tariffs, and the gold issue shape the national discourse in this period (1870-1900)?
   
   
3. What hardships did farmers face in this period and what solutions did they propose to solve them?
   
   
4. List and discuss the many forms that social and labor unrest took in the 1890s.

Overview

In our last module we learned how the cities began to look as they do today -- places of multiculturalism, of pollution, of constant innovation and activity. Immigrants came to the U.S. in this period -- 1870-1900 -- as never before. Internal migrations occurred as well, with African Americans moving to Eastern and Northern cities to find work in the new industrial centers (Chapter 18). Faced with these new pressures, American cities sought reforms in local government while improving housing, water, and transportation.

In this week's chapter we learn about the Gilded Age -- a period of outward wealth and culture, yet teeming underneath with bribery and political corruption. A series of weak presidents took office, biding their time as the true leaders of the country -- the business elite -- called the shots. Frustrated by the impotence of the political elite, farmers and others who were left out of the American Dream began to organize at the grassroots level. 

What were their demands? Were they successful? And what was at stake? 

 

Important Tip

If you are not reading the textbook, do so. The midterm and final -- as well as all of the primary source analyses -- require that you show your knowledge of our text. More importantly, a knowledge of the text is essential if you wish to learn the history of which you are a part.