Background: 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 that threatened to alter the character of American society; new technologies that 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 that troubled Americans in the last quarter of the nineteenth century resembled our own. The past often loses much of its vigor and tumult as it becomes codified as history, and it can be difficult at times to understand how truly revolutionary— transformative, disruptive, unprecedented, and divisive—an event such as the Industrial Revolution was for the people who lived through it. Resources: When composing your initial post and your responses to your classmates, draw from the material in AT LEAST TWO of the following primary sources: Bryan, W. J. (1896, July 8). Cross of gold speech . Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/william-jennings-bryan-cross-of-gold-speech-july-8-1896.php Carnegie, A. (June 1889). Wealth . Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/andrew-carnegie-wealth-june-1889.php Chief Joseph. (1877-1879). Chief Joseph speaks: Selected statements and speeches by the Nez Percé chief . Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/six/jospeak.htm Clark, F. E. (1912). Our immigrants at Ellis Island . Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor. Retrieved from the Library of Congress at http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/immigration/pdf/our_immigrants.pdf Gompers, S. (Sept. 1894). Letter on labor in industrial society to Judge Peter Grosscup . Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/samuel-gompers-letter-on-labor-in-industrial-society-to-judge-peter-grosscup-september-1894.php United States Populist Party. (1892, July 4). Populist Party platform . Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/populist-party-platform-july-4-1892.php White, A. W. (1896, Aug. 16). What’s the matter with Kansas? . Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/william-allen-white-whats-the-matter-with-kansas-august-16-1896.php Also draw from the material in ONE of the following videos: Hawksworth, R. (Producer). (2001). The American industrial revolution [Video]. United States: Media Rich LLC. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=47596&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref= Robbins, A. (Director). (2011). Industrial New York . [Television series episode]. In E. Hardy. (Executive producer), Filthy Cities: A History of Public Sanitation (or Lack Thereof). United Kingdom: BBC Productions. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=48012&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640.