Central Question: How did individuals challenge societal ills during the Progressive Era?
During the Gilded Age, as society rapidly industrialized, new social problems deepened in American society. In response, Americans began to address some of these problems: Workers formed unions and joined the Socialist Party, farmers formed the Populist Party to defend their interests, and female reformers brought the temperance movement into national consciousness. These movements helped lay the groundwork for what would become the Progressive Era. Some of the most significant reforms during the Progressive Era came as a result of the efforts of individuals and the reporting of investigative journalists who exposed social ills in an attempt to promote reform and change. These reformers’ efforts met with mixed legislative success. Even so, they made an enormous impact on the American public and their awareness of social issues that had previously gone unnoticed and unaddressed.
For more background, read “The Transnational Nature of the Progressive Era” and “The Jungle and the Progressive Era” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required), “Roots of the Movement” on Independence Hall’s UShistory.org website, and “Muckrakers” on the Khan Academy website.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 6 Key Terms:
Scholars understand how the Progressive Era gained momentum at the turn of the 20th century and can explain how individuals led the charge in challenging the societal ills of the era.
Preparation
Launch (2 minutes)
Watch (6 minutes)
Read (3 minutes)
Discuss (4 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: Why did Americans disagree on women’s suffrage?
The movement for women’s suffrage (also often called woman suffrage) was not new during the Progressive Era. Since the Revolution, American women had sought the right to vote. The movement grew in the mid-1800s, with the Seneca Falls Convention and rise of leaders such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. As the Progressive Era gained momentum, so did the suffrage movement, capitalizing on the spirit of reform and the active role of women as reformers. Despite the increased enthusiasm for the movement, suffrage faced harsh opposition. Many reformers feared that suffrage would worsen the social problems of the era, removing women from their duties in the home and destroying traditional family life.
For more background, read “The Nineteenth Amendment and the Movement for Woman Suffrage” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 6 Key Term:
Scholars understand the key arguments for and against women’s suffrage and can explain why these perspectives clashed during the Progressive Era.
Launch (2 minutes)
Watch (2 minutes)
Discuss (6 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: How did Plessy v. Ferguson and Jim Crow laws promote a culture of white supremacy in the United States?
Not all Americans benefited from the spirit of reform during the Progressive Era. Following Reconstruction, a system of segregation and discrimination called Jim Crow developed in the South. These laws both enforced segregation and turned a blind eye to racial violence. In 1892, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jim Crow discrimination in Plessy v. Ferguson, paving the way for states across the country to segregate based on the faulty logic of “separate but equal.” As a result, segregation intensified across the nation. Note that this lesson contains graphic descriptions and images of violence. Front-load this with scholars before the lesson using the Guide for Teaching Sensitive Material in the Intellectual Prep section of this unit.
For more background, read “Plessy v. Ferguson” on the PBS website and watch “The Origins of Lynching Culture in the United States” on the Facing History and Ourselves website.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 6 Key Terms:
Scholars understand the impact of Plessy v. Ferguson and the rise of Jim Crow laws, especially in the South, and can explain how the Plessy decision and Jim Crow reinforced and promoted a culture of white supremacy in the United States.
Preparation
Launch (2 minutes)
Watch (5 minutes)
Read (4 minutes)
Discuss (4 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: How did African Americans challenge Jim Crow and segregation?
In response to the segregation, discrimination, and violence of Jim Crow, many African Americans joined together to resist the injustice. Some, such as Ida B. Wells, used muckraker journalism to expose the violence in the South. Others, such as former slave Booker T. Washington, believed that education and hard work were the answer to hardship. W. E. B. Du Bois, an academic rival of Washington, believed that African Americans should directly challenge Jim Crow and not appease white Americans. Despite their differences, all three leaders and many others helped bring awareness to the plight of African Americans while combating racial injustice. In 1909, Du Bois, Wells, and other leaders formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
For more background, read “‘Hidden Practices’: Frederick Douglass on Segregation and Black Achievement” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 6 Key Terms:
Scholars plan and draft clear and compelling written arguments that answer the narrative writing prompt with strong ideas and evidence that supports their ideas.
Preparation
Launch (2 minutes)
Read (10 minutes)
Discuss (3 minutes)
Plan (15 minutes)
Flash Draft (15 minutes)
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: How did African Americans challenge Jim Crow and segregation?
Scholars revise their speeches based on individualized teacher feedback to make their speeches stronger and clearer and to understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.
Preparation
Homework
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: Why did the KKK regain prominence at the end of the Progressive Era?
As the Progressive Era neared its end, race relations continued to worsen. In response to African American advances, white supremacy grew stronger. In 1915, the movie Birth of a Nation was released, which retold Reconstruction as a story of honorable white victims and lazy, immoral former slaves. That same year, William Simmons founded the second KKK. The KKK and Birth of a Nation normalized white supremacy; the KKK appealed to communities by getting involved in the church and defining itself as a fraternal organization, dedicated to brotherhood, masking its violent actions. The KKK was mostly made up of white middle-class Protestant men, and by 1925, it had more than 3 million members. Note that this lesson deals with issues of racial violence and prejudice as well as issues of sexual violence. Front-load this with scholars before the lesson using the Guide for Teaching Sensitive Material in the Intellectual Prep section of this unit.
For more background, read “When Bigotry Paraded Through the Streets” on the Atlantic website.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 6 Key Term:
Scholars understand the goals and tactics of the second KKK in American society and can explain why the KKK rose to prominence by the 1920s.
Launch (2 minutes)
Watch (2 minutes)
Discuss (6 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: To what extent did the U.S. government adequately respond to the societal ills of the Progressive Era?
As many Americans actively attempted to reform American society through journalism and activism, the U.S. government responded by enacting a number of progressive laws. Beginning with the election of Theodore Roosevelt as president, the government began passing legislation in response to the demands of reformers. Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson focused their reform efforts on regulating big business and became known as “trust busters.” They shepherded legislation to protect public land and regulate the meat industry. But not all progressive legislation adequately responded to reformers’ demands, especially those of the African American community.
For more background, read “Theodore Roosevelt and Themes of Progressive Reform” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 6 Key Terms:
Scholars understand the reformers’ appeals to the government for social change, can explain the extent to which the government responded to these appeals, and can plan a presentation that explains the government’s response to their chosen reform.
Launch (2 minutes)
Examine (3 minutes)
Discuss (5 minutes)
Teacher Model (5 minutes)
Investigate (15 minutes)
Planning (15 minutes)
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: To what extent did the U.S. government adequately respond to the societal ills of the Progressive Era?
Scholars organize, reread, and revise their presentations in preparation for presenting them to the class in the following lesson.
Preparation
Homework
Central Question: To what extent did the U.S. government adequately respond to the societal ills of the Progressive Era?
Scholars finalize their presentations and present them to the class.
Preparation
Homework
Prompts: Scholars may choose one of the following prompts about Big Ideas in American history.
Project Menu: Scholars may then choose to respond to the prompt chosen above with one of the formats outlined below.
resources
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