APUSH 11
Chapter 18 of America’s History: The Victorians Make the Modern
Key Concept 6.3: The Gilded Age produced new cultural and intellectual movements, public reform efforts, and political debates over economic and social policies.
I. New cultural and intellectual movements both buttressed and challenged the social order of the Gilded Age.
A) Social commentators advocated theories later described as Social Darwinism to justify the success of those at the top of the socioeconomic structure as both appropriate and inevitable.
II. Dramatic social changes in the period inspired political debates over citizenship, corruption, and the proper relationship between business and government.
B) Many women sought greater equality with men, often joining voluntary organizations, going to college, promoting social and political reform, and, like Jane Addams, working in settlement houses to help immigrants adapt to U.S. language and customs.
C) The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that upheld racial segregation helped to mark the end of most of the political gains African Americans made during Reconstruction. Facing increased violence, discrimination, and scientific theories of race, African American reformers continued to fight for political and social equality.
General Vocabulary: domesticity, suburban, personify, subsistence, collegiate, disenfranchisement, boycott, municipal, theology
Historical Vocabulary Don’t just define the word. Know how it relates to historical events. Make flashcards for each of the Key Concepts and Events and Key People at the end of the chapter.
Questions:
1. Differentiate between the upper, middle, and working classes in the Gilded Age. Explain how they were similar and how they were different in terms of entertainment, department stores, and technology.
2. Know what P.T. Barnum did and the impact of his shows.
3. Describe the impact of Plessy v. Ferguson and know which court case overturned it. Relate this to the gains made by African Americans during Reconstruction. Type this response and turn in as a homework assignment.
4. Describe the purpose of the YMCA.
5. Explain how baseball became America’s game.
7. Explain why the Negro Leagues were created.
8. Explain how American football developed.
9. Know how the Gibson Girl reflected the change in the lives of women.
10. Know who John Muir was and the impact he had on the environment.
11. Describe the other changes that occurred to protect the American environment.
12. Explain why the size of the American family shrank in the Gilded Age.
13. Explain how education changed in the Gilded Age based on gender and race.
14. Explain why whites supported Booker T. Washington’s efforts to educate African Americans.
15. What was the impact of women gaining advanced degrees?
16. Describe the purpose of the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement and its impact on society.
17. Describe the purpose of the National Association of Colored Women.
18. Know what Ida B. Wells did and know the impact she had on society.
19. Describe the successes and failures of NAWSA.
20. Describe the premise of Social Darwinism.
21. Describe the impact of eugenics on society.
22. Differentiate between realism and modernism in the literary field and know what who Mark Twain was.
23. Know what cubism was in art and know who Pablo Picasso was.
24. Describe the efforts of Catholics and Jews to retain their faith after arriving in the United States.
25. Explain why the American Protective Association was created.
26. Describe the Social Gospel and the impact of the Salvation Army.
27. Describe fundamentalism and Billy Sunday’s impact on American society.