The Muckrakers

THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
A Web Quest

MR. R. FELDMAN

MOTT HALL II

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES

Many literary minds of the late 1800's began to consider the corruption and exploitation involving large companies. Naturally, they put their talents to work, most often using fiction based on fact, but sometimes writing straight documentaries. The term "Muckrakers" was coined by Theodore Roosevelt in reference to their ability to uncover "dirt."

Miss Ida Tarbell had been at work for years on her history of the Standard Oil Company, and it began to run in McClure's in November 1902. Lincoln Steffen's first novel on municipal corruption, "Tweed Days in St. Louis" appeared in McClure's Oct 1902. Henry Demerest Lloyd's Wealth Against Commonwealth, published in 1894, attacked the Standard Oil Company. How the Other Half Lives, published in 1890 by Jacob Riis, exposed life in New York's slums. John Spargo, an Englishman, published The Bitter Cry of the Children, an account of youth at work in sweatshops. Perhaps the most famous Muckraking novel, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, exposed the horrors of the Chicago meat-packing plants and the immigrants who were worked to death in them.

The writers ushered in monumental changes, later termed the PROGESSIVE ERA. This period, from 1900 through 1916 was a turning point in American history. Social, political and economic policies would never be the same again. The role of the President, Congress and the Courts became deeply involved in the lives of all Americans as never before. This was a 20 year restructuring of American society that took Europe over 200 years to accomplish. The transformations included an Industrial Revolution, massive Immigration, urbanization, unionization, growth of monopolies and trusts, the beginning of the end of the rural farming America and deep separations between rich and poor. How were the average worker and poor immigrant to survive or compete in the face of a billionaire led aristocracy. Those, who believed in SOCIAL DARWINISM and THE GOSPEL OF WEALTH, felt that the poor should either be sacrificed for progress or be led by the few wealthy.

More importantly, the cornerstone of America, “democracy”. was threatened with revolt, revolution and anarchism. The Muckrakers began to expose the problem but that did not put food on the tables of the poor, prevent children from dying in factory accidents of black lung or keep woman from becoming dehumanized as husbands came home drunk.

However, as in all drastic change, there was controversy. Some believe that we are here today because of those who sought solutions to major social problem and created new public policies to meet the needs of this new industrialized and urbanized America. There are others, who believe that progressives ruined the American dream. The truth probably lay somewhere in between.

These men and woman were given the name PROGRESSIVES. In this web quest you will investigate this era. You will be asked to recreate the period in the “task” section. There are many lessons to be learned from the progressive policies. The problems in the early 20^th century are still with us in the 21^st. Good luck.

CHOICE OF TASKS

YOU CAN CHOOSE #1

You can form a group representing the staffs of newspapers in various large cities like New York, Chicago or Philadelphia. You will represent both the wealthy corporate leader philosophy (Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan) as well as represent the middle and lower class point of view toward ideas and policies of THE PROGRESSIVES.

Your newspaper staff must research, write and edit a “Commemorative Issue" of your newspaper about the issues, events and people involved within the progressive movements. You will include opinions of “captains of industry, government administrators (progressive proponents and opponents), woman, northern and southern blacks, middle class professionals and factory workers. The time period covered by this commemorative issue will be1895-1916. The newspaper staff members will have various assignments.
You will be using your textbook, library resources, and the Internet to find the information that will help you write your articles. Some specific Internet links have been listed with each assignment. However, you may search any of the Inclusive Research Sights as a format for your newspaper article.

Possible Story Assignments for the Staff of your Newspaper

o Editor in Chief

o Business writer

o Local news reporters

o Political reporters

o Editorial writers and political cartoons

o Researchers

· Inclusive Research Sites

The key role is editor-in chief
Editor Assignment Details

#2 YOU MAY CHOOSE

Your class will read and research one of the books written by a PROGRESSIVE. You will then write a play, edit, memorize, build sets, rehearse and perform it in the school’s auditorium. The play may be in the form of a TRIAL, COLLEGE DEBATE or a SENATE Hearing before a Congressional investigative committee. You may pick any other scenario your group may want to pursue. Your presentation must include corporate leaders of the Progressive era, factory workers, woman, northern and southern blacks, middle class professionals and government proponents and opponents of progressive ideals.

ROLES

PLAY RESEARCHER

DIRECTOR

DIALOGUE WRITER

PROP DIRECTOR

IN BOTH CHOICES, you must confront moral dilemmas and

Confrontations of the PROGRESSIVE ERA.

PROCESS Guidelines

Find the answers to whom, what, when, where, why, and how relating to the Progressives...
Be sure that your information is accurate - newspaper reporters always check their facts through multiple sources. Turn in all notes and sources as well as finished articles.
Use illustrations to make your story clear and interesting to the reader.
Write catchy, concise headlines.
Meet your deadlines!
Your group's newspaper should look like a newspaper. Your teacher will give you instructions on the final format of your paper.

· Playwrights must do extensive research making sure that information is accurate, always check their facts through multiple sources and turn in all notes as well as finished projects.

· Use language appropriate to the times and the situations.

· Create moods with the text, interpretation of the text, costumes, scenery and acting styles.

THE PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST

REQUIREMENT: Groups are required to incorporate ALL sections of the Public Policy Analyst into their products; each group must complete the worksheets linked below using the Internet “Resource” section of the web quest along with text material given by Mr. Feldman.

LINKS AND WORKSHEETS

STEPS in the AHPPA

1: Identify the Historical Problem

During the progressive era

2: Find Evidence or impact of the Problem

3: Find the Causes for the problem

4: Evaluate the Policies

(Of opponents and proponents of the Progressives. Illustrate their success and failures)

Be sure your product creates a thesis regarding the success and/or failure of the Progressive Era.

The American Immigration Home Page - History of immigration broken into time periods and topics. Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth (1889):

THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY PLATFORM 1912 (Theodore Roosevelt)

THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY PLATFORM 1924(BELIEFS AND HOPES)

THE RISE OF INDUSTRIAL AMERICA (CHARTS GRAPHS AND PHILOSOPHY)

RESPONSE TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

IMMIGRATION

THE PROGRESSIVE ERA

A FULL HISTORY WITH DATES, NAMES & EVENTS

THE PROGRESSIVE ERA-MANY LINKS

AN EARLY HISTORY

EVALUATION

Newspaper : THE PROGRESSIVES

Teacher Name: Mr. FELDMAN

CATEGORY	4 EXCELLENT	3 VERY GOOD	2 SATISFACTORY	1 UNACCEPPTABLE
Layout - Headlines & Captions	All articles have headlines that capture the reader's attention and accurately describe the content. All articles have a byline. All graphics have captions that adequately describe the people and action in the graphic.	All articles have headlines that accurately describe the content. All articles have a byline. All graphics have captions.	Most articles have headlines that accurately describe the content. All articles have a byline. Most graphics have captions.	Articles are missing bylines OR many articles do not have adequate headlines OR many graphics do not have captions.
Contributions of Group Members	Each person in the group has contributed at least two articles and one graphic without prompting from teachers or peers.	Each person in the group has contributed at least one article and one graphic with a few reminders from peers.	Each person in the group has contributed at least one article with some minimal assistance from peers.	One or more students in the group required quite a lot of assistance from peers before contributing one article.
Knowledge Gained	All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to a) stories in the newspaper and b) technical processes used to create the newspaper.	All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to a) stories in the newspaper and b) technical processes used to create the newspaper.	Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to a) stories in the newspaper and b) technical processes used to create the newspaper.	Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts and the technical processes used for the newspaper.
Who, What, When, Where & How	All articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where and how).	90-99% of the articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where and how).	75-89% of the articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where and how).	Less than 75% of the articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, and how).
Articles - Interest	The articles contain facts, figures, and/or word choices that make the articles exceptionally interesting to readers.	The articles contain facts, figures, and/or word choices that make the articles interesting to readers.	The article contains some facts or figures but is marginally interesting to read.	The article does not contain facts or figures that might make it interesting to read.
Use of Internet Sources	Reading and understanding of Internet source material was thorough.	Reading and understanding of Internet source material was fairly thorough.	Reading and understanding of Internet source material was incomplete.	Reading and understanding of Internet source material was not done.
Articles - Supporting Details	The details in the articles are clear, effective, and vivid 80-100% of the time.	The details in the articles are clear and pertinent 90-100% of the time.	The details in the articles are clear and pertinent 75-89% of the time.	The details in more than 25% of the articles are neither clear nor pertinent.
Uses Public Policy Analyst	Uses PPA extensively and follows all the directions of the web quest.	Uses PPA in most articles and supports sections with details and follows all requirements of the web quest	Uses PPA in most articles but does not support it with details follows some of the requirements of the web quest	Shows no use of the PPA or understanding of the procedure and disregards the web quest requirements.

GRADING: A=30-32 B=26-29 C=20-25 F=BELOW 20

Historical Role Play : THE PROGRESSIVES

Teacher Name: Mr. FELDMAN

CATEGORY	4 EXCELLENT	3 VERY GOOD	2 SATISFACTORY	1 UNACCEPTABLE
Historical Accuracy	All historical information appeared to be accurate and in chronological order.	Almost all historical information appeared to be accurate and in chronological order.	Most of the historical information was accurate and in chronological order.	Very little of the historical information was accurate and/or in chronological order.
Role	Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were consistently in character.	Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were often in character.	Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were sometimes in character.	Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were rarely in character.
Knowledge Gained	Can clearly explain several ways in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters and can clearly explain why.	Can clearly explain several ways in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters.	Can clearly explain one way in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters.	Cannot explain one way in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters.
Required Elements	Student included more information than was required.	Student included all information that was required.	Student included most information that was required.	Student included less information than was required.
Props/Costume	Student uses several props (could include costume) that accurately fit the period, show considerable work/creativity and make the presentation better.	Student uses 1-2 props that accurately fit the period, and make the presentation better.	Student uses 1-2 props which make the presentation better.	The student uses no props OR the props chosen detract from the presentation.

GRADING: A=16-20 B=12-15 C=9-11 F=BELOW 8

CONCLUSION

You should have learned from this web quest, that the progressives played a crucial role in shaping the lives of past and present Americans. Their policies attempted to address the social problems that arose during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Their policies infiltrated all levels of government and became a “turning point” in the history of Western Civilization. However, you also should have learned that change is difficult. Public policy change leads to controversy, debate, protest and struggle. No policy change is easy.

Moreover, you have learned the importance of the Public Policy Analyst in American politics. Democracy is not a simple political process. Citizens must participate for it to accommodate all the different classes of people. The public policy analyst attempts to be this active citizen and create positive change. Those who do not participate become tools for those who do.

STANDARDS ADDRESSED

Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 2: World History

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Standard 3: Geography

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.

Standard 4: Economics

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and non-market mechanisms.

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.