The Industrial Revolution

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION High School The Industrial Revolution Writer - Kathryn A. Robinson, High School Social Studies Instructor and Education Consul...
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INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

High School

The Industrial Revolution Writer - Kathryn A. Robinson, High School Social Studies Instructor and Education Consultant, Parkville High School, Baltimore, Maryland Editor - Kimberly Gilmore, Ph. D, The History Channel

Introduction: In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States once again turned its focus to the industrial and economic growth of the nation that had accelerated in the first half of the 19th century. Industrial development affected every facet of American society as corporations expanded and manufacturing exploded. From entertainment to agriculture, industrialization brought widespread change throughout U.S. culture and society. With great advances, however, come tremendous changes – both positive and negative. The rapid growth of cities due to industrialization resulted in the increasing issues of poverty and squalor. Farm workers were displaced by machinery, and new factory methods eliminated much of the need for skilled workers. In sum, the effects of industrialization and modernization massively

transformed American society. Through an exploration of these topics, students will develop an understanding of the benefits and of the costs of industrialization in the United States.

Goal: To build an understanding of the causes, changes, and consequences of the Industrial Revolution and its influence and significance in American society today.

National Standards: This lesson plan addresses the NCSS Curriculum Standards associated with the themes of ● Culture and Cultural Diversity ● Time, Continuity, and Change ● Individual Development and Identity ● Production, Distribution, and Consumption ● Science, Technology, and Society

Introduction to the Teacher: The lesson activities on the next page are designed to thematically lead students through an exploration of the changes in the United States prompted by industrialization. Some students may need additional support in pursuing these lessons. A review of key events before, during, and after industrialization would be helpful for those students. We would recommend asking students to review their textbooks or offering them an illustrated timeline of these events to prepare them for the lessons below. Students should also be introduced in advance to the vocabulary of the unit.

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Each topic includes an activity designed to help students explore the topic in their own community. Local historical societies as well as other resources described in the activities should be explored in advance to ensure student access to necessary materials.

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High School Activity #1: Transportation – Taming the Iron Horse Begin this activity by having students think about how they might travel to visit a relative or friend in another state. Have the students expand their answers by discussing how their parents would have traveled and then their grandparents. Discuss with students the types of transportation available today and the changes in the speed and convenience of travel since their grandparents’ time. Have students read background information in classroom resources about the transcontinental railroad; alternatively, they can consult the website of the City Museum of San Francisco at sfmuseum.org/hist1/rail.html for additional background information on this history.

negative impacts of the railroad. Students can cooperatively complete a chart assessing the benefits and costs associated with railroad construction. Students can demonstrate their learning by explaining the impact on the American nation of the transcontinental railroad in a brief essay in which they respond to the claim that railroad expansion was critical to America’s rise as a national power.

Making History Local:

How was your area affected by the railroads? The Library of Congress has a collection of the railroad This activity will use a jigsaw strategy that begins with maps for the United States available at memory.loc.gov/ expert groups. Divide the students into groups of four. ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/rrhome.html. Click on the title Each group will research the effect of the transcontinental “browse by geographic location” and choose your state. On a railroad on one of four societal segments: settlers, Native blank map of your state, draw in the railroad lines and mark Americans, Chinese, or Irish. Some helpful sources to find the major cities. information about the role of these groups in building the ● Why were railroad lines constructed where they were? transcontinental railroad are: ● What cities are linked within your state? Why do you think certain routes were created in your state? What ● The National Park Service: nps.gov/gosp/history/Native_ information can you deduce from analyzing these links? American_RR.html ● The Digital History Archive: digitalhistory.uh.edu/ ● How were locations in your state affected by the railroad? historyonline/china1.cfm ● Many areas have railroad museums. If you were building such a museum where would you locate it? Why? ● The Smithsonian’s “America on the Move” exhibit: americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_ Students can demonstrate their knowledge by creating a 2_1.html newspaper of the past for a city in their community. They ● The Association of American Railroads: railfanclub.org/ should be asked to include in their newspapers: A helpful print source is John F. Stover (ed). The Routledge ● An article describing the proposed route for the railroad Historical Atlas of the American Railroads (Routledge, 1999). ● Community reaction to the railroad ● Sections describing the impact of the railroad on the After students have gathered information on their assigned United States segment, regroup the students into fours with each student ● An editorial describing their opinion on the impact of having information on a different group. Have the students the railroad share their information and discuss the positive and

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INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

High School Activity #2: Industry – Building a Better America Begin this activity by discussing with the students where their shirts were manufactured. Ask the students how and where their clothes are produced and how that has changed since the 19th century. Have the students reflect on how their wardrobe would be different if they or a family member made all their clothes. Inform the students that they will be participating in an activity to show the shift toward assembly lines in manufacturing. Divide the class into two groups and have each group create a company name. Both companies will be producing paper airplanes. Demonstrate the technique for creating a paper airplane. The paper airplanes should be relatively simple and involve a half sheet of paper and six to eight folds. One company will use a craftsmen technique, meaning that each employee will create a single plane from beginning to end. The other company will use an assembly line technique. If the group is large, use more than one assembly line, so that each student does only one or two folds. Allow the students time to practice. Give the students five minutes to complete as many airplanes as possible. Count the number produced by each group. Conduct a class discussion: ● Which group had the advantage in production? ● Which group had the more consistent product? ● Which company made the product for less cost? ● Which company could have hired less skilled workers? ● How much worker training does each company need to do? ● How did the shift to assembly lines change workers’ lives? Have students brainstorm to develop a list of ways that assembly lines changed the lives of consumers as well as workers. Extend this discussion by having students view some of photographer Lewis Hine’s images of factories, available from the National Archives at archives.gov/education/lessons/ hine-photos/. Additional photos are available on the site using the instructions found at archives.gov/research/arc/topics/ labor.html#child. Introduce students to the idea of muckrakers. Have students read biographical information about Jacob Riis at richmondhillhistory.org/jriis.html or in their class text.

Then divide students into pairs and assign them a chapter from Jacob Riis’ book How the Other Half Lives which is available from Yale University at cis.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/ riis/title.html. As students read, have them list the ways that industry impacted the lives of Americans. Students can demonstrate their knowledge by completing a cause and effect web showing the positive and negative impacts of assembly lines on the United States. Students may also conduct research projects based on the experiences of workers on assembly lines in specific places.

Making History Local What is your community’s industrial history? Every community has factories, and frequently specific industries are built near one another in one geographic area. For example, the Silicon Valley area of California attracted computer manufacturers and developers while in sections of Utah, copper manufacturing is the dominant industry. What industries are most prominent in your area? To find out, research your area’s business community by contacting your local Chamber of Commerce (uschamber. com/chambers/directory/default.htm) or your historical society. Research the industry by using the Internet or by interviewing members of your community that have had experience with the industries. Once you have discovered the industries that were or are active in your area, create a museum exhibit to demonstrate to others what you have learned. Each student in the class will choose one company to profile. The student will research the company and create a biographical sketch of it which will provide the information needed to create a museum exhibit of their company. Using a piece of graph paper, students will design an exhibit by indicating the machines, photos, movies, and displays that will help visitors understand the effect of their company on the community. To help with generating ideas, you can visit a real industrial museum on the web at thebmi.org/content/ index.cfm/ContentID/1812/SectionID/538 to see how the Baltimore Museum of Industry shows visitors about the industrial history of Baltimore. The students’ museum exhibits can then be displayed together to create a museum of the industries in your community.

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INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

High School Activity #3: Entertainment – Creating Fun One of the most significant consequences of the Industrial Revolution was the creation of an entertainment industry. The entertainment industry both offered workers an escape from the monotony of their work routines and created new avenues of consumption and economic growth. For this activity, students will explore the rise of the film industry in the United States. Begin this activity by discussing with students the last movie they saw. Ask the students how movies affect the way they think about other people. Inform the students that motion pictures were a product of the Edison labs under the direction of Thomas Edison. Direct students to the Library of Congress website to read a history of movies (lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/ edmvhist.html). The topics listed across the top lead to sections that detail the development of film. Students can use a sequence chain web to facilitate note taking. Students can demonstrate their knowledge by participating in a classroom discussion about the history of film. The discussion can be prompted with the following questions: ● How would your life be different without films? ● What were the topics of early films? How have they changed over time? ● How did and do films influence the culture of the United States?

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How did and do films influence the way other cultures perceive the United States? What can be learned from looking at past films?

Making History Local Much of United States modern history is recorded on film. Unfortunately, the film used in the early days of motion pictures is deteriorating and many rare movies are already gone. The United States Congress has recognized the historical importance of film by establishing the National Film Preservation Foundation whose mission is to find and preserve American film history. Direct students to visit the website for the National Film Preservation Foundation at filmpreservation.org/. Students should gather information about the challenges and accomplishments of those working on film preservation. The site includes a link for “The Film Preservation Guide” which will be a valuable resource for students. After students are familiar with film preservation, they should write an essay on the issue of preserving film. The essay should include the following points: ● An explanation of why films should be preserved ● The challenges in preserving film ● A synopsis of the work of the National Film Preservation Foundation ● A description of the preservation happening in your local area. This information is available on the NFPF site by clicking on the “Community of Archives” link

Activity #4: Agriculture – The Plow that Broke the Plains Although most students think of factories when they hear the term industrialization, agriculture was also vastly changed by the introduction of machinery. Crop production as well as the daily life of farmers were completely changed as a result of industrialization. Begin by asking students about the changes caused by the Industrial Revolution. Ask the students what needed to

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change as a result of immigrants and migrants coming to the cities. As students discuss the changes, highlight the responses that deal with daily needs, especially the need for food in urban areas. Remind students of the effects of the Homestead Act during the Civil War and of the growth of railroads in creating more farms. Inform students that American farm production increased despite fewer people living in rural areas. (Statistics are available from

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

High School Activity #4: Agriculture – The Plow that Broke the Plains (continued) the Census Bureau at census.gov/population/censusdata/ Making History Local table-4.pdf and at www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/ The advent of the Internet has opened new possibilities documents/1880a_v3-01.pdf.) Have students hypothesize for sharing information about a subject. One concept is a about how the increase in productivity was possible. “virtual museum,” which is a museum that exists only on the Assign students to groups of four or five and have students web. You can create a virtual agricultural museum for your research the use of machinery on farms. Students can find area. Begin by researching the crops grown in your area. information at the Library of Congress at memory.loc. This information is available from your state department gov/ammem/award97/ndfahtml/ngp_farm.html and kshs. of agriculture which can be found by searching on the web. org/cool/coolbarb.htm. As they research the inventions, Your state extension office can also provide assistance students should consider the impact on the lives of (csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/state_partners.html). farmers and American society as a whole. Students can Once you have gathered the information about your area’s demonstrate their knowledge by creating advertisements agricultural history, begin to plan what you will include on for the equipment to persuade farmers to buy. Examples your website. Remember to use exhibits that help visitors are available at memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/ visualize the agricultural history of your area. As you are ncdhtml/eaahome.html (go to “Browse the Subject Index” researching, look for letters or advertisements that you can then find “farm equipment”). add to your site to spark visitor interest. For an example of a virtual museum, visit the Cyber Telephone Museum at museumphones.com.

Activity #5: Communications One of the major changes that followed from increased industrialization were the methods and means through which Americans communicated with one another and with the world. Before the advent of the telegraph, the only reliable method of communication was mail that could take days or months. The telegraph shortened the time it took to receive a message but “telegraphic style” eliminated all but the most necessary details. The invention of the telephone improved communication but made the work of historians much harder. Organize students into six groups. Each group will be researching one of the following topics: ● Telegraph ● Radio (Wireless) ● Typewriter ● Television ● Telephone ● Internet (Arpanet) Each group will create a tabletop presentation about the invention assigned to them. Presentations will include: date of the invention, inventor(s) responsible, explanation of how it works, positive and negative impacts of the invention. The group will present their information to the class. As a class, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each form of communication.

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Making History Local Historians have long relied on letters and diaries to illuminate the past. The newer forms of communication such as Instant Messenger and email leave little behind for the historian. Even diaries are being replaced with computerized documents that may be erased. The federal government collects communications from its departments to preserve a historical record through the work of the National Archives. The work of the National Archives is described at archives.gov/about/info/whats-a-record.html. Individual diaries and letters have created a window into the past for historians. In the future your lives will be of interest to historians and therefore your assignment is to create a plan for your own archive. In a report to your teacher, detail the different forms of communication that you use and how each type can be preserved. Explain the challenges of creating your archive and how it will address the needs of future historians.