Labor Unions ?

In the late 19th century, most working people suffered long hours, low pay, and hazardous conditions at the hands of their employers. Despite these conditions, many refused to join had been organized to light for better treatment of workers. They feared they would lose their jobs, as employers often found some reason to fire such "trouble- makers." Imagine you're working in a cotton mill or a coal mine in the late 19th century. Your family needs your income to help put food on the table and keep the roof over your heads, but you work long hours in dangerous conditions. You work 14 hours a day, six days a week, and have seen co-workers lose lives and limbs on the job. What would you do if some- one asked you to join a labor union to fight for better working conditions?

Would you join, even if it meant you might lose your job? Or would you refuse to join, and accept your employer's unreasonable demands?

Haymarket Square Strike

On May 3, 1886, police fired into a crowd of striking workers at McCormick Reaper Company in Chicago, killing four people. The strikers held a protest rally the next day at Haymarket Square. A bomb exploded during the rally and killed seven police officers. The rally's organizers were quickly arrested and convicted, despite the fact that the actual bomber was never identified. Four men were hanged and three were jailed. Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld (1847-1902) pardoned the three survivors in 1893, a move that ruined his political career.

1. Do you think the organizers of the rally should have been convicted? Support your response.
2. What is your opinion Governor Altgeld's decision? Would you have done as he did and pardoned the survivors?
3. Would you have done so even if you knew it would cost you your career? 

Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth"

Andrew Carnegie made a fortune in the steel industry and went on to give a good deal of it away. In an 1889 speech, "The Gospel of Wealth," Carnegie proclaimed that the rich had a responsibility to use their money to help others. He said, "The man who dies . . . rich dies disgraced."

Do you agree with Carnegie that the rich have an obligation to help others? Explain your reasons. If you had millions of dollars, how would you use it to help others?

Child Labor

Mary Harris Jones, also called Mother Jones, was a well-known union organizer at the turn of the century. In 1903, she led a "March of the Mill Children" from Philadelphia to New York City. The young workers carried placards that read, "We want to go to school," and "We want time to play." As a result of the march,Pennsylvania made child labor illegal.

Why do you think children were sent to work in the first place? How do you think children and families felt when child labor laws were passed? Why might these laws have been viewed as a mixed blessing? What do you think could have been done to make child labor unnecessary? 

The Industrial Age Begins

The late 1800s was a time of invention and advances in technology. These breakthroughs combined with railroad expansion and new   business practices to launch an age of industry. Government policies encouraged growth, and large corporations became an important part of the economy. Meanwhile, poor pay and working conditions led workers to form unions in an attempt to improve their lives.
How does technology change the way people live and work?

Reconstruction

The South was devastated physically, economically, and spiritually after the Civil War. Lincoln's Plan was to bring back rebellious states into the union with as little trouble for them as possible. After Lincoln's death, his successor, Andrew Johnson, wanted to follow to follow Lincoln's plan, however, Radical Republicans wanted to make it much more difficult for states that seceded to rejoin the Union. The Radical Republicans were more powerful than Johnson and had their way. They divided the South into military regions under the command of generals. They also required the states to adopt constitutions that allowed blacks to vote and to accept the 14th amendment, which extended citizenship to blacks.
Based on what you know about Reconstruction, which plan would you choose, the moderate plan like Lincoln or the harsher plan like the Radical Republicans?
Why do you think many northerners wanted to make it difficult for southern states to rejoin the Union?  Support you answer with facts.

Sherman's March to the Sea

In May 1864, General William T Sherman invaded Georgia with 100,000 Union troops. By September, Sherman had taken Atlanta. The General then marched to the Atlantic coast, destroying everything in his path. Sherman's tactics are now known as "Total War", meaning not just war against an enemy army, but enemy civilians, as well.
What is your opinion of the tactic of "total war"? Explain
Do you agree the old saying "All is fair in love and war?" Explain.

D Day

The Allied Expeditionary Force landed on the coast of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. The invasion had been in the planning stages for over two years. Troops from the United States, England, and Canada invaded the coast of France, which had been controlled by the Nazis since June 1940. The invasion took six months of preparation.  The Germans expected an invasion,but in the wrong location. The assault was successful, but not easy. Missteps by the Nazis gave Allied Forces valuable time. Within 24 hours, the Allies secured a toehold on the Coast of France. D-Day marked the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.

Explain how this singular event is considered "the beginning of the end" of Hitler's Third Reich?

Overcoming Obstacles

Franklin Delano Roosevelt  would later recall how his 1921 bout with polio and its crippling effects taught him to be a fighter: “Once I spent two years lying in bed, trying to move my big toe. That was the hardest job I ever had to do. After that, anything seems easy.”

How can overcoming obstacles help make a person stronger? What difficulties have you or someone you know had to face in life? How has dealing with them made you or that person stronger?

Wilson's War Request

In his request to Congress on April 2,1917, President Wilson said,"It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace,  and we shall fight for the things we have carried nearest our hearts..... for Democracy...."
Do you think that democracy is worth fighting for? 

What things, if any would risk fighting for? Why?

Minding Our Own Business

When World War I erupted in Europe in the summer of 1914, most Americans wanted no part in the war. Neutralism-a policy to not get involved with either side in a dispute was an important part of
United States foreign policy at the time. We took care of business in our own hemisphere, period. The United States' eventual entry into the war forever changed our foreign policy. We were no longer a country that minded its own business; we were a world power that looked out for the rest of the world.

What do you think of the policy of neutralism? Should the United States should go back to that policy? Tell why or why not. How do you feel about the policy of neutralism in your personal life? When should you mind your own business? When should you get involved in other people's disputes? 

The United States and Overseas Territories

You are a Hawaiian living on Maui, one of the Hawaiian Islands, in 1890. Your parents work in a sugar mill owned by American planters. Although the mill supplies jobs, you don’t trust the sugar planters. They have already made your king sign a treaty that gives them a lot of power in the islands. You are afraid they will take over the government.
What would you do if planters took over your islands?

The Progressive Presidents

It is 1912 and you’re voting in your first presidential election. This election is unusual—there are three major candidates. One is the popular former president Theodore Roosevelt, who is running as a third-party candidate. He thinks the Republican candidate will not make enough progressive reforms. But the Democratic candidate is a progressive reformer too.

How will you decide which candidate to support?

The Rights of Women and Minorities

You are a member of the graduating class of 1912 from an excellent women’s college. You have always been interested in science, especially biology. You would like to be a doctor, but you know that medical schools accept very few women. One career path for you is to go into social work. Yet that’s not what you really want to do.

How would you want to use your education?

Reforming the Workplace

You have been working in a hat factory since 1900, when you were eight years old. Now you are experienced enough to run one of the sewing machines. You don’t earn as much as older workers, but your family needs every penny you bring home. Still, the long hours make you very tired. One day you hear that people are trying to stop children from doing factory work. They think that children should be at school or playing.

Would you be for or against this social reform? Why?

The Gilded Age and the Progressive Movement

You live in a big-city neighborhood in the 1890's. You and your brother are both looking for jobs. You know that the man down the street is the “ward boss.” He can always get city jobs for his friends and neighbors. But in return you’ll have to promise to vote the way he tells you to in the upcoming election.

Would you ask the ward boss for a job? Why or why not?