Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
- Textbook: Chapter 18, 21, 23
- Lesson
- Minimum of 3 scholarly sources (in addition to the textbook). The sources associated with each topic selection below can be used as part of the 3 scholarly sources.
Optional Resources to Explore
Feel free to review the library guide for scholarly sources and videos at the following link:
- Link (website): History Library Guide (Links to an external site.)
Introduction
The purposes of each case study assignment include the following:
- To hone your abilities to research using scholarly sources
- To advance critical thinking and writing skills
- To compile a response to the prompts provided
- To explore a historical topic and make connections to change over time
Instructions
Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic. Use at least one (1) documented example of the corresponding primary source in your writing.
Option 1: Big Business (Monopolies) and Exploitation of Workers
View the following resource:
- Link (video): The Progressive Era (Links to an external site.) (27:30)
Browse and read one (1) of the following:
- Link (article): Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (Links to an external site.)
- Link (library article): The Pullman Strike (Links to an external site.)
Then, address the following:
- Explain if big business leaders were “captains of industry,” “shrewd businessmen,” or “robber barons.”
- Based on one of the resources noted for this option, assess American working conditions and exploitation of workers in the Age of Industry.
- Analyze the role that government played in reforming American working conditions.
- Explain the benefits of the Federal Government regulations of monopolies.
- Analyze which progressive presidents attained economic justice and reform for workers.
Option 2: Who is A Progressive?
Review the following site:
Then, address the following:
- According to Roosevelt, what are the characteristics of a progressive?
- Explain and give examples of the characteristics of “anti-progressives.”
- Trace what types of activities “anti-progressives” engaged in?
- Analyze the goals of progressivism.
- Explain what areas of society progressives addressed?
- Analyze the progressive achievements Roosevelt highlights in his speech?
Option 3: World War I
Review the following resources:
- Link (video): A War to End All Wars: Part 2 (Links to an external site.) (6:56)
- Link (library article): The Treaty of Versailles and the Rise of Nazism (Links to an external site.)
Then, address the following:
- Trace the origins of World War I, and assess if the world war was inevitable in 1914?
- Explain if it was possible for the United States to maintain neutrality in World War I. If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.
- Analyze if the United States should have entered World War I to make the world safe for democracy.
- Analyze if the Treaty of Versailles was a fair and effective settlement for lasting world peace.
- Explain if the United States Senate should have approved of the Treaty of Versailles.
ANSWER
World War I, also known as the Great War, started in 1914 and came to an end in 1919. The war resulted in the loss of over 20 million lives, leftover 20 million more injured, devastated economies, and led to wide destruction of property (History, 2021). Until the start of the war, the United States use isolationism as its approach to foreign matters. Events that transpired during the war made it hard for the country to maintain a neutral stand. This write-up explores events that led to the Great War, its inevitability, the neutrality of the United States, and assesses fairness or lack thereof of the…. To access full answer, click on the purchase button below.