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TexasUS History

Module 1: The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did workers respond to industrial conditions, and what was the relationship between business and government in the Gilded Age?

Analyze the rise of the labor movement, major strikes and unions such as the American Federation of Labor under Samuel Gompers, and the laissez-faire relationship between business and government in the Gilded Age (TEKS US History RC4 Economics; RC3 Government and Citizenship).
A STAAR-level answer on the Gilded Age labor movement for the Texas US History EOC: working conditions, the rise of unions including the AFL under Samuel Gompers, major strikes, laissez-faire government, and the limits on labor, with worked stimulus questions.
12 min answer →

How did the new immigration and rapid urbanization reshape American society between 1877 and 1914?

Analyze the causes of the new immigration after 1880, the growth of cities, the responses of nativism and the political machine, and the cultural changes that resulted (TEKS US History RC2 Geography and Culture; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on Gilded Age immigration and urbanization for the Texas US History EOC: the new immigration from southern and eastern Europe, push and pull factors, the growth of cities, nativism, political machines, and the cultural changes they produced, with worked stimulus questions.
12 min answer →

How did industrialization and the rise of big business transform the United States economy after 1877?

Analyze the causes and effects of late nineteenth century industrialization, the rise of big business and entrepreneurs such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, and the free enterprise system (TEKS US History RC4 Economics, Science, Technology, and Society; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on Gilded Age industrialization for the Texas US History EOC: the causes of rapid industrial growth, the rise of big business and entrepreneurs such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, trusts and monopolies, and the free enterprise system, with worked stimulus questions.
12 min answer →

How did Progressive reformers try to fix the problems created by industrialization and big business?

Analyze the goals and achievements of the Progressive movement, including the muckrakers, reform of business and government, and the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson (TEKS US History RC3 Government and Citizenship; RC4 Economics; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on the Progressive Era for the Texas US History EOC: the muckrakers, reform of business and government, the Pure Food and Drug Act, trust-busting under Theodore Roosevelt, the constitutional amendments, and the leadership of Roosevelt and Wilson, with worked stimulus questions.
13 min answer →

Why did farmers organize politically in the late 1800s, and what did the Populist movement demand?

Analyze the economic grievances of farmers, the rise of the Grange and the Populist (People's) Party, its platform including free silver, and its long-term influence (TEKS US History RC4 Economics; RC3 Government and Citizenship; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on the Populist movement for the Texas US History EOC: why farmers struggled in the Gilded Age, the Grange and the People's Party, the free silver and reform platform, the election of 1896, and the movement's lasting influence, with worked stimulus questions.
12 min answer →

How did American women win the right to vote, and why is the suffrage movement a key part of expanding democracy?

Analyze the woman suffrage movement, the leadership of Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt, the strategies used, and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment (TEKS US History RC3 Government and Citizenship; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on the woman suffrage movement for the Texas US History EOC: its nineteenth-century roots, the leadership of Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt, the strategies of the movement, and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, with worked stimulus questions.
12 min answer →