Western Studies Summer Reading Assignment

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Annice Anderson
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1 Western Studies Summer Reading Assignment This year we are going to take three class trips: New York City, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. First trip to NYC : September 29 (Timber Creek) TBD (Triton) TBD (Highland) We will begin the year by focusing on the growth of city (urbanization) as well as developing your narrative writing skills (telling a story). In order to do that, we want you to read the novel, Devil in the White City, complete reading questions in your journal, and research one of the three cities we plan on visiting this upcoming school year. You will use that research once you return to school in the fall to help you write two short stories - both take place in the same city, but they will be about two different people whose lives connect in an unexpected way. We don t want you to write the stories over the summer, just complete research on a city that will serve as the setting for your story that we will write together in September. Step 1: Define the history summer vocabulary (15 terms attached). Step 2: Watch the following Crash Course video on the Gilded Age Politics and answer the questions that accompany the video (10 questions attached). Step 3: Watch the following Crash Course video on the Industrial Economy and answer the questions that accompany the video (10 questions attached). Step 4: Purchase and read the book, Devil In the White City Step 5: Complete the reading questions (see attached) in your journals. All entries must be: dated and titled at least a page long each contain research or direct quotes with citations from the book (page number)

2 Step 6: Select one of the three cities: New York City, Washington D.C., or Philadelphia Locate and Print out THREE sources the more you have, the easier writing your narratives will be The origin of that city The layout of the city, including boroughs or neighborhoods (how these have changed over time) Who lived there when it was first built and who lives there now? How has the city changed since it was started? What issues or problems plague the city such as homelessness or housing shortages What is the city known for (industry, culture, important historical events)? Make sure your research is reliable and free of opinion (Don t use Wiki, blogs, or editorials) Print out your sources and annotate for important information You must use your annotations to create one full page of notes on each one of your sources - staple the notes to the front of that source Step 7: Compile all of your work in a neatly organized folder or binder in this order 1. History terms and questions 2. 3 printed and annotated sources 3. 1 page of notes on each source 4. Journal with the Black Devil in the White City reading response questions Due on the first day of school. You will lose 10 points everyday it is late. Note: Make sure your assignment is neat, organized and everything is labeled or you will lose points. If you have any questions please us at jemonroe@bhprsd.org or sanderson@bhprsd.org

3 Reading and Reflection Questions for Devil in the White City 1. Erik Larson writes Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow." Define gore, loam, and evanescence, then use these definitions to interpret the quote. What does the book reveal about "conflict between good and evil"? What is the main difference between men like Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes? Are they alike in any way? Can you find any modern day examples of these types of people? 2. Who was more powerful Burnham or Holmes? Why do you think Erik Larson chose to tell Burnham and Holmes' stories together? How did the juxtaposition affect the narrative (story)? Do you think they worked well together or would you have preferred to read about just Holmes or just Burnham? 3. What do you think of Holmes' claim that he was the devil? Can people be inherently evil? How would you explain his strange allure and cold-hearted behavior? How was Holmes able to exert such power over his victims? What weaknesses did he prey upon? Why wasn't he caught earlier? In what ways does his story "illustrate the end of the century" [p. 370] as the Chicago Times-Herald wrote? 4. a. What did you learn about architecture? What do you think the fair contributed to the architectural landscape in the United States? Draw a map that reflects the city planning and description from the book. b. How did Holmes' hotel contrast with the buildings of the World's Fair? Can architecture reflect goodness or evil, or are buildings neutral until used? c. Do you think a fair of this size could happen in today s America? In which specific cities would it work best? What advantages or disadvantages can you foresee with such a project?

4 5. At the end of The Devil in the White City, Larson writes "The thing that entranced me about Chicago in the Gilded Age was the city's willingness to take on the impossible in the name of civic honor, a concept so removed from the modern psyche that two wise readers of early drafts of this book wondered why Chicago was so avid to win the world's fair in the first place" [p. 393]. a. What motives, in addition to "civic honor," drove Chicago to build the Fair? In what ways might these motives (for example, the desire to "out-eiffel Eiffel" and to show New York that Chicago was more than a meat-packing backwater) be seen as problematic? b. In his speech before his wheel took on its first passengers, George Ferris "happily assured the audience that the man condemned for having 'wheels in his head' had gotten them out of his head and into the heart of the Midway Plaisance" [p. 279]. In what way is the entire Fair an example of the power of human ingenuity and imagination? What examples do we have of ingenuity and imagination today? c. After the Fair ended, Ray Stannard Baker noted "What a human downfall after the magnificence and prodigality of the World's Fair which has so recently closed its doors! Heights of splendor, pride, exaltation in one month: depths of wretchedness, suffering, hunger, cold, in the next" [p. 334]. What is the relationship between the opulence and grandeur of the Fair and the poverty and degradation that surrounded it? In what ways does the Fair bring into focus the extreme contrasts of the Gilded Age? 6. What is the total picture of late nineteenth-century America that emerges from The Devil in the White City? How is that time both like and unlike contemporary America? What are the most significant differences? In what ways does that time mirror the present? Could this many murders and/or disappearances have gone undetected in a different city? What about today?

5 Name: Western Studies Summer Vocab Assignment Define the following terms 1. Per Capita 2. Social Darwinism 3. Monopoly 4. Oligopoly 5. Sherman Antitrust Act 6. Collective Bargaining 7. Industrial Union 8. Interstate Commerce Act 9. Gilded Age 10. Philanthropist 11. Robber Barron

6 12. Captain of Industry 13. Political Machine 14. Graft 15. Subsidy Name: Western Studies Crash Course: The Gilded Age Politics Answer the questions below using the Crash Course video 1. Who helped give the Gilded Age its name? 2. What was the most infamous political machine? 3. Name two corrupt politicians from the Gilded Age mentioned in the video. 4. Describe the story of corruption that surrounded the NYC county courthouse (now the NYC Board of Education building). 5. In what ways could political machines be beneficial? 6. How were elections in big cities rigged? 7. Summarize one story of corruption at the level of the Federal government.

7 8. What reforms were passed to stop corruption? 9. What were the goals of the Populist Party? 10. Summarize 3 main ideas from this video: Name: Western Studies Crash Course: The Industrial Economy Answer the questions below using the Crash Course video 1. What event helped spur industrial growth in the United States in the late 1800s? 2. Name 4 resources America possessed to help industrial growth. 3. Which cities became major industrial areas and what industries are the associated with them? 4. In what ways did railroads improve the American economy? 5. How did the American government help the growth of the railroad industry? 6. Describe how vertical consolidation works (Danforth Armour and his meat business is the example of this). 7. Describe how horizontal consolidation works (Rockefeller and Standard Oil is the example of this).

8 8. What were working conditions like in America at this time? 9. What was the goal of the American Federation of Labor? 10. Summarize 3 main ideas from this video:

Warm Up. 1 Use your ipad to research The Gilded Age

Warm Up. 1 Use your ipad to research The Gilded Age Warm Up 1 Use your ipad to research The Gilded Age 2 Create an bubble map with 20 bubbles on people, events, facts and other informacon on the Cme period known as the Gilded Age The Gilded Age The Gilded