The document discusses the major economic and social changes during the last quarter of the 19th century in the United States, known as the Industrial Revolution. It prompts the reader to examine how these changes affected Native Americans, immigrants, and farmers, as well as the role of government. The reader is asked to draw from primary sources and videos in their response to summarize the most revolutionary developments, how different groups responded, and the role of government.

1. HIS 204 Week 1 DQ 2 The Industrial
Revolution
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The Industrial Revolution. Too much corporate
influence in politics; the specter of socialist
policies undermining capitalism and individual
freedoms; a middle class in apparent decline;
waves of immigration which threatened to alter the
character of American society; new technologies
which introduced new social problems as well as
offering new opportunities; and a general sense
that the common people had lost control of their
government: To a sometimes surprising degree,
the issues which troubled Americans in the last
quarter of the nineteenth century resembled our
own. The past often loses much of its vigor and

2. tumult as it becomes codified as history, and it can
be difficult at times to understand how truly
revolutionary—tranformative, disruptive,
unprecedented, and divisive—an event such as the
Industrial Revolution was for the people who lived
through it.
To better understand this turbulent period, review
the major economic and social changes of the last
quarter of the nineteenth century. Illustrate the
revolutionary character of this period by
describing the rise of Big Business and identifying
the particular forms new corporations assumed.
Identify the social problems and opportunities
which economic changes created in the cities, the
New South, the farmlands, and the West. Explain
the role of state and federal governments in these
developments. In your response, explain how
socioeconomic changes affected the following
groups, and how those groups responded to these
changes:
a. Native Americans
b. Immigrants
c. Farmers

3. Summarize your responses to the prompts above
by responding to the following questions:
a. What were the most revolutionary social and
economic developments of the last quarter of the
nineteenth century?
b. How did different groups of Americans respond
to those changes and how effective were their
responses?
c. What role did government play in these
developments?
When composing your initial post and your
responses to your classmates, draw from the
material in at least THREE of the following
primary sources:
a. Cross of gold speech
b. Wealth
c. Chief Joseph speaks: Selected statements and
speeches by the Nez Percé chief
d. Our immigrants at Ellis Island
e. Letter on labor in industrial society to Judge
Peter Grosscup

4. f. Populist Party platform
g. What’s the matter with Kansas?
Also draw from the material in ONE of the
following videos:
a. The American industrial revolution
b. Industrial New York
Your initial post should be no fewer than 200
words in length, which does not include works
cited or the questions being answered. It should
address all of the components of the question in a
way that demonstrates independent, critical
thought and command of the required material. It
should not merely repeat the material in the
textbook or other sources, but should use that
material as the basis for an idiosyncratic
interpretation of the topic.
In addition to your initial post, you should respond
substantially, in posts of no fewer than 100 words,
to at least two classmates and contribute to their
analysis of the topic. When responding to
classmates, you should refer to the material from

5. one of the sources which you did not reference in
your initial post. Identify important points which
they may have missed which either support or
challenge their interpretation. Explain how their
views have made you rethink your own
conclusions or offer perspectives which might help
them regard the topic in a different way. Feel free
to ask probing questions of your classmates, but, if
you do, offer your own interpretation. That is,
don’t just respond, “What do you think of X, Y,
and Z?” Instead, respond, “What do you think of
X? I think W because of V, U, and T. On the other
hand some might point to S and R.” In short, the
ideal response to a classmate would involve you
encouraging a classmate to see things from a new
perspective, even as you clarify and develop your
own thoughts as well.