Activity
Other

The Classical Gold Standard, 1815 1914

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the classical gold standard of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Activity
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: The Dismal Science: The Gold Bug Variations

For Students 9th - 10th
This page provides access to the article, "The Gold Bug Variations: The gold standard-and the men who love it." In it, Paul Krugman discusses the relationship between the gold standard and monetary policy. (Nov. 22, 1996)
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech: Mesmerizing the Masses

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains the text of the "Cross of Gold" speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Democratic National Convention. This brings up an important point of view in the free silver controversy in which America debated between the...
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: One Is Silver and the Other's Gold

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn about the money supply and that it can affect the value of money. Students investigate this in the 1896 presidential election (Bryan vs. McKinley, Free Silver vs. Gold Standard) and examine a political cartoon that depicts...
Handout
Vassar College

Vassar College: 1896: The Currency Question: The Gold Standard

For Students 9th - 10th
This site is provided for by the Vassar College. "The bitter controversy surrounding the issues of `Free silver' and `sound money,' so central to the 1896 campaign, has proved difficult for historians to explain." However, this 1896, a...
Website
Other

Earliest Voices William Taft

For Students 9th - 10th
Hear historic voice recordings of Supreme Court Justice and President William Howard Taft on such issues as the gold standard, the right of labor, and the rise and progress of the American Negro. A biography and downloadable images...
Primary
University of Groningen

American History: Documents: William J Bryan Cross of Gold Speech July 8, 1896

For Students 9th - 10th
Read William Jennings Bryan's speech delivered at the Democratic National Convention in 1896; it is considered one of the greatest political speeches in American history.
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: William Mc Kinley: Domestic Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
This section of the excellent site on American presidents discusses the various domestic policies of William McKinley. Read about his policies on the gold standard, tariffs, civil service reform, and his lack of addressing race relations...
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: William Mc Kinley: The Campaign and Election of 1896

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the campaign of 1896 in which William McKinley represented the Republican Party and William Jennings Bryan the Democratic Party. One big issue was the contrast between the use of the gold standard as opppsed to free silver.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Searching for Gold: A Collaborative Inquiry Project

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Contains plans for six lessons that ask students to research the Gold Rush before teaching each other about it. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as...
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Winter Olympics: Non Standard Measurement

For Teachers 1st Standards
We are going for GOLD! Students will use different objects to measure the length achieved in different Olympic events.
Website
Federal Reserve Bank

Federal Reserve Bank San Francisco: American Currency Exhibit: Metal Standards

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides information about the expansion of the United States Currency, with links to other related sources.
Graphic
Curated OER

Auburn University: The "Costs" of a Gold Standard

For Students 9th - 10th
Take a look at the cost involved in having a gold standard. If you need more informaiton after reading this article, provided is a list of references that you could look up.
Lesson Plan
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Curriculum

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A great site to find lesson plans, connections to state standards, and curriculum links to the California Gold Rush. Offered by the Oakland Museum of California.
Unit Plan
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: u.s. History: The Populist Revolt

For Students 11th
Looks at the unrest of farmers in the 1890s that led to the development of a new populist party called the People's Party. Explains the debate that raged around whether to adopt a gold or a silver standard, examines the election of 1896,...
Website
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Nist: Physics Measurement Laboratory: Marie Curie and the Nbs Radium Standards

For Students 9th - 10th
Use this site to learn about Marie Curie and her work with radioactivity which earned her worldwide recognition and two Nobel Prizes. This gallery is organized into a "timeline" of significant events, from 1913 to the present, in which...
Website
Charles I. Kelly and Lawrence E. Kelly

American History: Election of 1896: It Came Down to a Question of Money

For Students 6th - 8th
This program, part of The Making of a Nation from Voice of America gives a very good description of the issues in the presidential campaign of 1896. Learn about the differences between the gold bugs and silverites, a third party...
Article
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Legendary Coins and Currency

For Students 9th - 10th
Archived images of coins from a beautiful online exhibition on the history of money.
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters:"pitchfork Ben" Tillman Addresses the 1896 Democratic Convention

For Students 9th - 10th
Ben Tillman, senator from South Carolina, gave a speech at the Democratic Convention in 1896, advocating for the free coinage of silver, the same issue addressed in a later speech by William Jennings Bryan. Read Tillman's speech here,...
Website
Harp Week

Harp Week: The Presidential Elections: 1880 Garfield v. Hancock

For Students 9th - 10th
Just getting candidates for president was a trial for both the Republicans and Democrats in the election of 1880. Read about the factions in each party, and the several hopefuls wishing for the nomination. Find out about the platforms of...
Handout
Vassar College

Vassar College: Democratic Party Platform, July 9, 1896

For Students 9th - 10th
This "1896, A Website for Political Cartoons" site provides text of the actual platform stating the Democratic stand on "The Money Question." of 1896.
Handout
Library of Economics and Liberty

Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
For upper level classes and abilities only. A very scholarly explanation of the causes of the Great Depression and steps Franklin Roosevelt to end it. An excellent source due to its thorough analysis and detail.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Politics in Gilded Age 1870 1900: Social and Labor Unrest in the 1890s

For Students 11th - 12th
Learn about the factors that helped the Populist Party gain followers and what caused it to lose them after the 1896 presidential election.
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Rutherford Birchard Hayes: Domestic Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
An in-depth analysis of the domestic policies and problems that Rutherford B. Hayes faced as president. Read about the end of Reconstruction, Hayes' economic policy, his troubles with a Democratic majority in the Congress, and his...

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