Gilded Age Fishbowl

Gilded Age FishbowlWohlgy- US History

What is a Fishbowl?

Let’s learn each other’s names….once and for all….

Gilded Age TEST Grade

Reading Like A

Historian

Consumerism, changes in leisure time (sports,

music, entertainment), advancements in education and literacy, technology, and communications

Corruption and poverty in cities Issues with farming Problems with currency and economic issues Status of African Americans in the South after

Reconstruction

What was this unit all about?

1. Washington has been a very controversial

figure. Some historians say that he was a sell-out who kissed up to white people; others say he was realistic about the situation in the South, and tried to avoid inciting white hostility. What do you think?

2. what was DuBois’s critique of Washington? Do you think he makes a good point? Why or why not?

DuBois and Washington

3. Why might some of Washington’s

supporters say that DuBois didn’t understand what life was like in the South? Based on what he wrote, do you think DuBois was clueless about what was happening in the South?

4. Based on these documents, who do you think was a stronger advocate for the rights of African-Americans: Booker T Washington or W.E.B. DuBois?

DuBois and Washington

DuBois said that the issue of race was going to

be “the issue of the 20th century.” While we are now in the 21st century, what is the issue of the 21st century? Is it still race?

The Issue of Race…

During the Gilded Age, middle class Americans

tried to consume (buy) things to make themselves seem richer than they really were. They tried to emulate the fashions and products of Europeans. Do Americans still do this? If so, are advertisements to blame?

Shop ‘til you Drop

Like the Gilded Age, America has developed a

love for new gadgets and technologies. Has our cultural emphasis on technology improved our country or have we lost ourselves in technological fervor?

Technology and America

Many Gilded Age politicians were corrupt.

Americans began to push for reforms (change in government) to fix these problems. Do we need government reforms today? Can we really succeed in keeping politicians honest?

“Power Corrupts.”

The Election of 1896 divided the nation into

Americans who were pro-Gold (typically wealthy Americans) and those who wanted silver added to the currency supply (farmers, populists, industrial workers). In 2012, what issue do you think will divide America? Will we see a class division as we did in 1896?

Election of 1896

Who would be the modern “trusts?”