Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source: Patronage/populism: Politics of Gilded Age

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This collection uses primary sources to explore the politics of the Gilded Age.
Article
Missouri State University

Missouri State University: Lost World of Gilded Age Politics

For Students 9th - 10th
This extensive look at politics between 1876 and 1896 describes how the Republican Party functioned during this time and how the excesses in politics resulted in reform and the next era in politics, the Progressive Era. A very...
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: The Gilded Age

For Students 9th - 10th
Given background information, students will be able to identify economic, social, and political issues surrounding the Gilded Age. Students will identify significant historical figures associated with the Gilded Age.
Unit Plan
Other

Gilded Age Slide Show

For Students 9th - 10th
A class project slideshow about the Gilded Age covering topics such as: Reformers, Mark Twain, Spoils System, political candidates, and lots more.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Politics of the Gilded Age

For Students 5th - 8th
Politics in the last half of the 19th century reflected mediocrity at best and corruption at worst. Read about the series of "forgettable presidents," beginning with Andrew Johnson. Find out how big business could buy the government that...
Website
Stanford University

Stanford University: Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls

For Students 9th - 10th
A Stanford University site about popular literature during the Gilded Age.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Big City Politics, the Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870 1912

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Ash Can School artist John Sloan's painting Election Night captures the exuberance of urban politics in the early-twentieth century, and artist Henry Glitkencamp's illustration Voting Machines suggests its corrupting power. Both pieces...
Handout
Vassar College

Vassar College: 1896: Literary Themes in the Campaign

For Students 9th - 10th
Take a look at popular literary themes that are reflected in the political cartoons of 1896, the year in which William Jennings Bryant challenged William McKinley for the presidency.
Handout
Vassar College

Vasser College: 1896: Popular Amusements

For Students 9th - 10th
This 1896, A Website of Political Cartoons site lists concerts, lectures, travelling shows, opera houses, circuses, and more as popular amusements during the Gilded Age
Unit Plan
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: Ap Us History Study Guide, Period 6: 1865 1898

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] AP U.S. History study guide on the social, cultural, economic and political changes that occurred during the period of American expansion, industrialization, and urban migration, 1865-1898. Learning...
Unit Plan
Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University: American Populism, 1876 1896

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Using essays, primary source documents, images, and video this site explores the American Populist political movement in the early 1890s.
Website
Vassar College

Vassar College: 1896: Mary E. Lease

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
1896, A Website of Political Cartoons is an excellent site that includes a detailed biography and historical accounts from that time. Provides links to related subjects.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Corruption Runs Wild

For Students 5th - 8th
Government in the Gilded Age was often corrupt, tainted with money from various groups. Read about the role of political machines in many city governments, in particular Tammany Hall in New York City.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Roots of the Movement

For Students 5th - 8th
Progressivism got a push from the Populist movement, a reaction to the forgettable presidents and laissez-faire government in the Gilded Age. Find a listing of authors who wrote about progressive ideas, and see what influence populism...
Primary
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The Era of Expansion and Reform

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource, a speech by Woodrow Wilson to Congress on April 8, 1913, gives a great review of how the United States transformed from from a rural country to an urban one. It includes a review of industrialization, new inventions,...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Text Sets

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is a collection of 35 Grade-Leveled text sets (4-11). They are great for social studies teachers or for building background knowledge in reading class, CommonLit's text sets cover a range of historical, cultural, and political...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: America at the Centennial

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan requiring student to analyze primary documents from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. Learners interpret what these historical artifacts say "about the lives and values of Americans in 1876" among other things.
Website
US National Archives

Nara: Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission

For Students 9th - 10th
The site for National Archives and Records Administration gives you the Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission, beginning with its history.
Handout
Other

Powerful People: Geronimo, Chiricahua Apache

For Students 9th - 10th
Many beautiful quotes from Geronimo, as well as a short biography.
Handout
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: Sarah Winnemucca

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Women's Hall of Fame offers a biography of the extraordinary life of Sarah Winnemucca of the Paiute Indians.
Graphic
Curated OER

[Puma Pic]

For Students 9th - 10th
This 1896, A Website of Political Cartoons site lists concerts, lectures, travelling shows, opera houses, circuses, and more as popular amusements during the Gilded Age
Graphic
Curated OER

[Trapeze Pic]

For Students 9th - 10th
This 1896, A Website of Political Cartoons site lists concerts, lectures, travelling shows, opera houses, circuses, and more as popular amusements during the Gilded Age
Graphic
Curated OER

[Bicycle for Two]

For Students 9th - 10th
"1896 found the United States in the middle of a bicycle craze." Great site from Vassar College all about bicycles in the Gilded Age from 1896, A Website of Political Cartoons.
Graphic
Curated OER

[Crescent Bikes Ad]

For Students 9th - 10th
"1896 found the United States in the middle of a bicycle craze." Great site from Vassar College all about bicycles in the Gilded Age from 1896, A Website of Political Cartoons.