Question: This period encompasses the rise of the labor movement in the US, industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of a new class of wealthy capitalists. These developments led to debates over who the government should represent and what groups should have the most power. Using the document(s) describe and analyze some of these arguments.
Documents to consult in Containing Multitudes:
Document 16.2: National People’s Party Platform, 1892
Document 17.1: Henry George Predicts What the Railroad Will Mean for California, 1868
Student Instructions:
In an essay that is approximately 750 words in length, answer the provided question using one or more primary sources from the relevant portion of your reader, Containing Multitudes: A Documentary Reader of the American Past, as well as any source(s) provided by your instructor. Your essay should contain a thesis or argument that answers the question and should use evidence from the source to support that argument. You may use your textbook and/or lecture notes in your answer.
Your analysis of the primary source(s) should include the following information:
What type of source is this?
Who produced this source? When?
What was the context in which the source was created?
What biases or agendas do you see influencing the source?
Demonstrate how the source provides evidence to support your answer to the question.
In addition, excellent essays will make broader connections between the social or ethical issues presented in the sources and those of other historical periods, including the present.
Your essay must include documentation of the sources within the essay.
