Dear Family
Over the next few weeks, our United States history class will be learning about the Gilded Age. We will be reading chapter 5; Changes on the Western Frontier, chapter 6; A New Industrial Age, Chapter 7; Immigrants and Urbanization. The following information will give you some background to the content your student will be studying.
During the late 1800s, American Industrialization transformed the United States into one of the most powerful nations in the world. Advantages of abundant natural resources such as oil, lumber, and coal, propelled American industries. In addition, available labor increased dramatically as millions arrived in the United States after the Civil War. With these elements in place, the development of American corporations placed tremendous profits in the hands of a very few people. Industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie became the target of politicians who sought to minimize the impact of monopolized industries.
Many of the workers in the large industries were recent immigrants to the United States. Better opportunities in the United States drew people to leave their homelands. However the journey to America and the conditions in which many immigrants were forced to live in were difficult to endure. Cities attracted both immigrants and rural farmers with job opportunities and exciting lifestyles. Technological advances, such as trolley cars, improved living conditions for some, but overpopulated ghettos were widespread. Workers struggled to improve working conditions and wages, establishing the Knights of Labor in the 1880s and the later the American Federation of Labor to challenge big business, with occasional violence erupting when business leaders opposed union influence.
In the west, Native Americans faced continued persecution as the reservation system confined them to smaller areas. In response, some Native American tribes resisted, as at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. As Native Americans were forced onto reservations, miners, railroaders, ranchers and farmers all moved into the West seeking opportunities. Along with Native Americans, the African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Chinese immigrants all faced extreme discrimination during the late 1880s. Not until the early 1900s, however would politicians truly address the social concerns of the era.
In the weeks ahead, your student may wish to share what he or she is learning with you. Please participate in your child’s educational experience through discussion and involvement.
Sincerely
Paul Goike
Over the next few weeks, our United States history class will be learning about the Gilded Age. We will be reading chapter 5; Changes on the Western Frontier, chapter 6; A New Industrial Age, Chapter 7; Immigrants and Urbanization. The following information will give you some background to the content your student will be studying.
During the late 1800s, American Industrialization transformed the United States into one of the most powerful nations in the world. Advantages of abundant natural resources such as oil, lumber, and coal, propelled American industries. In addition, available labor increased dramatically as millions arrived in the United States after the Civil War. With these elements in place, the development of American corporations placed tremendous profits in the hands of a very few people. Industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie became the target of politicians who sought to minimize the impact of monopolized industries.
Many of the workers in the large industries were recent immigrants to the United States. Better opportunities in the United States drew people to leave their homelands. However the journey to America and the conditions in which many immigrants were forced to live in were difficult to endure. Cities attracted both immigrants and rural farmers with job opportunities and exciting lifestyles. Technological advances, such as trolley cars, improved living conditions for some, but overpopulated ghettos were widespread. Workers struggled to improve working conditions and wages, establishing the Knights of Labor in the 1880s and the later the American Federation of Labor to challenge big business, with occasional violence erupting when business leaders opposed union influence.
In the west, Native Americans faced continued persecution as the reservation system confined them to smaller areas. In response, some Native American tribes resisted, as at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. As Native Americans were forced onto reservations, miners, railroaders, ranchers and farmers all moved into the West seeking opportunities. Along with Native Americans, the African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Chinese immigrants all faced extreme discrimination during the late 1880s. Not until the early 1900s, however would politicians truly address the social concerns of the era.
In the weeks ahead, your student may wish to share what he or she is learning with you. Please participate in your child’s educational experience through discussion and involvement.
Sincerely
Paul Goike