Core Themes

Changing Economies and Technologies

This theme will explore the interconnection of people, economies, resources and technologies that propelled massive industrial development within the United States. Teachers will study inventors (such as Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and the Wright brothers), entrepreneurs (including John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford), unions and corporations that contributed to America's industrial growth and technological evolution. By analyzing company articles of incorporation, merger manuscripts, union records, oral histories and federal documents such as the National Industrial Recovery Act, the National Labor Relations Act and the Taft-Hartley Act, participants will understand the impact of industrialization.