Name:_________________
Library Monday March 2, 2009
In developing your answer to Part III, be sure to keep this general definition in mind:
discuss means “to make observations about something using facts, reasoning, and argument; to present in some detail”
Part III
DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION
This question is based on the accompanying documents. It is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. Some of the documents have been edited for the purposes of the question. As you analyze the documents, take into account the source of each document and any point of view that may be presented in the document.
Historical Context:
The industrialization, which followed the Civil War, had a great impact on many different areas of life in the United States. One of the groups most affected by the growth of industry was the worker.
Task: Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States
history, answer the questions that follow each document in Part A. Your answers to
the questions will help you write the Part B essay in which you will be asked to
• Discuss the impact of industrialization on workers in the United States form 1865 to 1914 and evaluate the ways that individuals and government responded to the problems created by industrialization.
Short Answer Questions
Directions: Analyze the documents and answer the short-answer questions that follow each document in the space provided.
Document 1
The opportunity to get rich, to attain great wealth is here…now within the reach of almost every man and woman…. You have no right to be poor. It is your duty to be rich…. I sympathize with the poor, but the number of poor who are to be sympathized with is very small… let us remember, there is not a poor person in the United States who was not made poor by his own shortcomings… Russell Cornwell, Acres of Diamonds, 1900
What was the attitude of Russell Conwell toward the poor?
Document 2
It is true that wealth has been greatly increased, and that the average comfort, leisure, and refinement have been raised, but these gains are not general. In them the lowest class do not share…There is a vague but general feeling of disappointment; and increases bitterness among the working classes; a widespread feeling of unrest and brooding revolution. Henry George, Progress and Poverty, 1905.
Why did Henry George warn against dissatisfaction among the working classes?
Document 3
The employer desires to reduce wages and lengthen the hours of labor, while the desire of employees is to obtain shorter hours of labor and better wages, and better surroundings. Strikes establish or maintain the rights of unionism; that is, to establish and maintain the organization by which the rights of worker can be better protected. Samuel Gompers
According to Samuel Gompers, what are the differences between the goals of employers and employees?
Document 4
I am going to fight… If it takes all summer and all winter, and all next summer and all next winter. Yes, even life itself. I will fight this to the bitter end. I will never recognize the union, never, never. HC Frick, President, Carnegie Steel, 1892
What was the attitude of many "captains of industry" toward unions?
Document 5
What does this poster show about the government response to the Haymarket affair?
Access to Mr. Harris's Webpage
Document 6
How did government and management respond to strikes between 1902 and 1904?
Document 7
What does this cartoon show about working conditions?
Document 8
The Dumbbell Tenement Plan
What does this floor plan show about living conditions in the tenements that housed immigrant workers?
Access to Mr. Harris's Webpage
Developed by Peter Pappas
Part B
Essay
Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Use evidence from at least five documents in the body of the essay. Support your response with relevant facts, examples, and details. Include additional outside information.
Historical Context:
The industrialization, which followed the Civil War, had a great impact on many different areas of life in the United States. One of the groups most affected by the growth of industry was the worker.
Task: Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States
history, write an essay in which you
• Discuss the impact of industrialization on workers in the United States form 1865 to 1914 and evaluate the ways that individuals and government responded to the problems created by industrialization.
Guidelines:
In your essay, be sure to
• Develop all aspects of the task
• Incorporate information from at least five documents
• Incorporate relevant outside information
• Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details
• Use a logical and clear plan of organization, including an introduction and a conclusion that are beyond a restatement of the theme
