Unit 1: Forging an Industrial Society


​Critical Vocabulary: 
​Homestead Act, Exodusters, Great Sioux War, Ghost Dance, Dawes Act, New Immigrants, Chinese Exclusion Act, Political Machines, Patronage, Pendleton Act, Populist Party, Omaha Platform, Laissez Faire Economics,Social Darwinism, Vertical Integration, Horizontal Integration, Monopoly, A Gospel of Wealth, American Federation of Labor, Industrial Workers of the World, Homestead Strike, Pullman Strike, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Muckrakers, Social Gospel Movement, Settlement House Movement, Atlanta Compromise, Niagara Movement, Square Deal, Trust-Buster, The Jungle, Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, Progressive Party, New Nationalism, New Freedom, Sixteenth Amendment, Federal Reserve Act, Clayton Anti-Trust Act, Seventeenth Amendment, Eighteenth Amendment, Nineteenth Amendment


​Lesson 1:  The Great West

I can describe the changes that took place as Americans moved west from 1860-1915.
  • This means I can explain why 1000s of settlers began to move west after the Civil War, and I can describe the challenges they faced as a result.
  • It also means that I can explain how western expansion impacted the lives of Native Americans living on the Great Plains.

Lesson 2: Gilded Age Politics

I can discuss the issues that dominated American politics at the national and state level during the Gilded Age.
  • This means I can summarize the reasons people immigrated to the United States during the Gilded Age, and I can evaluate the domestic response to these groups.
  • It also means that I can describe the corruption common to Gilded Age Politics, and I can evaluate the degree to which it was addressed by the major parties.

Lesson 3: The Growth of Industry

I can describe the growth of industry in the United States, and I can assess its impact on American society.
  • This means I can explain laissez faire economics, and I can describe how it shaped business practices during the Gilded Age.
  • It also means I can describe working conditions during the Gilded Age, and I can analyze the degree to which the Labor Movement was able to improve upon them.
Take the Unit 4 Quiz

Lesson 4: America Moves to the City

I can describe the major issues that emerged as Americans moved into cities, and I can analyze the ways in which they were addressed.
  • This means I can explain the role of muckrakers in exposing the problems of the era, and I can discuss the issues they shared.
  • It also means I can identify the reform movements that emerged, and I can analyze the degree to which they addressed the problems of the era.

Lesson 5: Progressive Politics

I can compare and contrast Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson’s domestic policies, and I can evaluate the degree to which they addressed the problems of the era.
  • This means I can explain Roosevelt’s Square Deal, and I can evaluate the degree to which it addressed the problems of the era.
  • It also means I can identify the candidates in the Election of 1912, and I can analyze the degree to which it shaped American politics in the years that followed.
  • It also means I can explain Wilson’s domestic policies, and I can evaluate the degree to which they addressed the problems of the era.
Class Materials:
  • ​Progressive Politics Reading
Additional Materials: