Industrial Growth & New Technologies

Active learning helps students grasp the tensions between economic progress and civil rights during the Plessy Era. Debates, investigations, and discussions make abstract concepts like the 'Talented Tenth' or the Niagara Movement tangible and memorable. These strategies also build critical thinking by requiring students to weigh competing ideas and historical evidence.

• 11th Grade
• US History
• 3 activities
• 30 min–60 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze how specific inventions, such as the telegraph and the Bessemer process, directly contributed to the expansion of industries like communication and steel production.
2. Evaluate the economic and social consequences of rapid industrialization on different segments of American society, including workers and business owners.
3. Compare and contrast the business strategies of key industrialists like Carnegie and Rockefeller during the Gilded Age.
4. Explain the role of new technologies, such as electricity and the internal combustion engine, in transforming daily life and business operations in the late 19th century.

Formal Debate

⏱ 60 min·Whole Class

Formal Debate: Washington vs. Du Bois

Students take on the roles of supporters of both leaders. They debate whether 'industrial education' and economic self-help (Washington) or 'higher education' and political agitation (Du Bois) is the better strategy for the time.

Prepare & details

Analyze how new technologies like electricity and the Bessemer process fueled industrial growth.

Facilitation Tip: During the Structured Debate: Washington vs. Du Bois, assign roles explicitly to ensure students engage with both perspectives, not just their assigned stance.

Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest

Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Niagara Movement

Small groups research the founding of the Niagara Movement and its evolution into the NAACP. They must identify the specific goals of the organization and how they differed from the 'accommodationist' approach.

Prepare & details

Explain the impact of inventions such as the telephone and typewriter on American business and society.

Facilitation Tip: For Collaborative Investigation: The Niagara Movement, provide a clear protocol for source analysis to prevent students from glossing over key documents.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The 'Talented Tenth'

Students read Du Bois's essay on the 'Talented Tenth.' They work in pairs to discuss his idea that a small group of educated Black leaders would lead the race to equality, and the potential pros and cons of this elitist approach.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the role of technological advancements in shaping the Gilded Age economy.

Facilitation Tip: In the Think-Pair-Share: The 'Talented Tenth,' circulate during pair discussions to redirect off-topic conversations and push students to cite specific evidence.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should emphasize the interplay between economic survival and civil rights, avoiding a binary view of Washington and Du Bois as opponents. Research shows that framing this as a strategic debate—rather than a personal rivalry—helps students understand the nuances. Use primary sources to ground discussions, and avoid oversimplifying Black resistance as a single movement.

What to Expect

Students will demonstrate understanding by articulating the differences between Washington and Du Bois, tracing the origins of the NAACP, and explaining how Black resistance strategies evolved. They will use evidence from speeches, primary documents, and organizational histories to support their reasoning.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Structured Debate: Washington vs. Du Bois, some students may assume Booker T. Washington did not care about civil rights.

What to Teach Instead

Use the debate prep materials to guide students in analyzing Washington’s 'Atlanta Compromise' speech alongside his private funding of legal challenges to segregation. Have them prepare rebuttals that acknowledge this duality.

Common Misconception

During Collaborative Investigation: The Niagara Movement, students might think the NAACP was the first organization to fight for Black rights.

What to Teach Instead

Provide a 'genealogy of resistance' graphic organizer listing organizations like the Afro-American Council and the Niagara Movement. During the investigation, have students map how these groups built on one another’s work.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After the Structured Debate: Washington vs. Du Bois, give students a short exit ticket asking them to write one sentence comparing Washington’s and Du Bois’ views on education and one sentence explaining which argument they found more persuasive.

Discussion Prompt

After Collaborative Investigation: The Niagara Movement, facilitate a class discussion where students must use evidence from their research to explain how the Niagara Movement’s goals differed from earlier Black organizing efforts.

Exit Ticket

During Think-Pair-Share: The 'Talented Tenth,' collect students’ written responses identifying one leader associated with the 'Talented Tenth' and one way they contributed to racial progress.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: After the debate, ask students to draft a letter from either Washington or Du Bois responding to a current social justice issue, using their historical arguments.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence stems for the Niagara Movement investigation, such as 'The Niagara Movement demanded ______, which differed from Washington’s approach by ______.'
• Deeper exploration: Compare the NAACP’s founding documents to later civil rights strategies, such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s methods in the 1950s-60s.

Key Vocabulary

Bessemer Process	An industrial process developed in the mid-19th century for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron, making steel cheaper and more abundant.
Assembly Line	A manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using strategically placed workstations, significantly increasing production efficiency.
Trust	A business structure where a group of companies is managed by a single board of trustees, often used to consolidate power and reduce competition, particularly in industries like oil and steel.
Mass Production	The manufacture of large quantities of standardized products, often using assembly lines or automation technology, to reduce the cost per unit.
Interchangeable Parts	Components that are manufactured to be identical and can be substituted for one another in the assembly of a product, simplifying repair and mass production.