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History, Civics & Social Studies · Grade 8

Industrialization, Migration and Reform

Between the Civil War and 1920, railroads, steel and oil made the United States the world's largest industrial economy, millions of immigrants and Black Southerners moved to booming cities, workers organized and struck, and reformers fought to fix the problems industry created. Learners analyze data, sources and the debates of the era and judge what Progressive reform achieved and whom it left out.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 115 minutes
  • Industry, migration and reform check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, estimate, highlight a text, pin a map and match pairs
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What learners will discover

  • Explain how railroads, steel, oil and new forms of business organization transformed the US economy after 1865.
  • Explain the push and pull factors behind immigration and the Great Migration, and the nativist reactions they provoked.
  • Describe industrial working conditions and the strategies and conflicts of the labor movement.
  • Evaluate Progressive Era reforms, including their achievements and limits, using primary sources.

Lessons

  1. Rails, steel and oil 5 steps3 practiceabout 28 min
  2. Immigrants and migrants 5 steps3 practiceabout 29 min
  3. Workers organize 5 steps4 practiceabout 29 min
  4. Progressive reform and its limits 6 steps4 practiceabout 29 min
  5. Industry, migration and reform check 9 questions at the end

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Guide for grown-ups