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"The
Election
of 1896"
Developed
by:
Victor
W.
Geraci,
Ph. D. |
Click here for the
Word Document version of this
page.
Materials
Needed:
• The Republican
Platform
pdf --- one
packet for every two
students
• The People’s Party
Platform
pdf --- one
packet for every two
students
• The Democratic
Platform
pdf --- one
packet for every two
students
• Pencil/Paper
• US History
textbooks and
internet access for
supplementary data
Class Time:
Two or three class
periods.
Objectives:
It is necessary to
understand that the
1890s and 1990s have
some common
historical themes.
Because a few
business and
government leaders
controlled the
nations booming
political and
economic growth,
American writer Mark
Twain dubbed the
late 1800s the
Gilded Age. Twain,
and others, worried
that the American
industrial wealth
was a facade
covering up
overcrowded cities
filled with
immigrants, rising
crime, environmental
problems (water,
solid waste,
sewage), and health
and education
crisis. On top of
this, depressions in
the middle of each
decade since the
Civil War resulted
in the collapse of
the small family
farm. The analogy to
the
corroded/corrupted
inner core grew to
represent the
majority of
Americans struggling
to live from day to
day. As a result of
the mal-distribution
of wealth and
political power many
from the developing
middle-class and
rural Midwest and
South formed the
Populist Party that
gave birth to the
Progressive party.
Today many are
concerned that again
a few wealthy
business and
government leaders
have gained control
of America by
influencing
elections and
government policies
with large campaign
contributions. By
the 1990s many
proponents of
campaign finance
laws alluded to a
second American
Gilded Age.
Anticipatory Set:
• Video clip from
the film The Man Who
Corrupted Hadleyburg
• Have students read
all or parts of Mark
Twain’s The Man Who
Corrupted Hadleyburg
http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Mark_Twain/The_Man_that_Corrupted_Hadleyburg/
• Use Mark Twain’s
book The Gilded Age
http://www.mtwain.com/The_Gilded_Age/index.html
• Internet quotes on
corruption and
politics from Twain
are available
online.
Activity:
Day One;
- Anticipatory
Set
- Either a
lecture on the
Gilded Age or
reading assignment
in textbook to set
the context for
the election of
1896 ---
Click here for
sample lecture
- Break the
class into three
or six groups
- Assign each
group to study one
of the 1896
Political Parties
(Republican,
Democratic,
People’s Party)
and distribute
party platforms to
each of the
groups.
- Each group is
to read the
platform and make
a list of the key
points of the
party’s platform.
Equally distribute
the planks to the
members of the
group. Each group
member is to then
to prepare to
discuss his or her
planks.
Day Two;
- Have each
group list on the
board the key
points of the
platform they
read. Each member
should briefly
describe his or
her planks.
- Have students
write these lists
down on the
left-hand side of
a piece of
notebook paper
folded in half
lengthwise.
- Homework; Take
the list from the
other two groups
and on the right
hand side of your
note sheets
describe how your
party felt about
this plank/issue.
Day Three:
- Using homework
assignments as
reference points
execute a teacher
led brainstorm (TABA
exercise) about
the key concerns
addressed in the
platforms.
- Organize the
brainstormed list
into key groups of
similarities.
- Teacher
Debrief; Do any of
these
topics/concerns
appear today ---
business is to
powerful,
government is to
big and in the
control of a few,
need for campaign
finance laws, no
voice for the
common voter,
poverty, crime,
immigrants…..
- Pose this
writing topic---
How did American’s
in 1896 feel about
who controlled
their government
and what
changes/reforms
were they
proposing? Collect
the next day.
If you have any
comments or
suggestions about
this activity or
would like to submit
your own activity,
please
contact us
and share your
ideas.
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