THE INDUSTRIALIZATION MACHINE

How Did America Become an Industrial Giant?

Today you are going to investigate eight major figures from the Industrial Revolution and figure out how their businesses, inventions, and ideas connected.

The goal is NOT to memorize eight biographies.

Your goal is to figure out:

How did all of these pieces work together to transform the United States?

STEP 1 MEET THE PLAYERS

This Should Take You About 10 Minutes

You have 8 Player Cards:

Andrew Carnegie
Cornelius Vanderbilt
John D. Rockefeller
George Eastman
J.P. Morgan
Thomas Edison
Nikola Tesla
Henry Ford

YOUR MISSION

Read each Player Card.

As you read, think about:

What did this person provide that an industrial economy needed?

Transportation? Money? Energy? Materials? Technology? Manufacturing? Consumer products?

CREATE THEIR SUPERPOWER

After reading each card, give that person an:

INDUSTRIALIZATION SUPERPOWER

Your superpower should summarize their importance in 3–7 words.

For example:

Cornelius Vanderbilt

⚡ “Moves Everything Everywhere”

Don't just copy words from the card. Put their contribution into your own words.

There isn't one correct answer. Make it memorable!

STEP 2 — BUILD THE MACHINE

This Should Take You About 15 Minutes

Now you know the players.

But here's the important part:

THEY DIDN'T OPERATE ALONE.

Take a blank sheet of paper and write this in the middle:

HOW AMERICA BECAME AN INDUSTRIAL GIANT

Arrange the names of all 8 players around the page.

Now start building your Industrialization Machine.

MAKE CONNECTIONS

Draw arrows between people whose industries, inventions, money, or businesses depended on or helped one another.

Every arrow needs a short explanation.

EXAMPLE

Carnegie → Vanderbilt

Railroads needed huge amounts of steel.

OR:

Vanderbilt → Rockefeller

Railroads transported oil across the country.

YOUR MACHINE MUST HAVE:

✓ All 8 people

✓ At least 2 connections for every person

✓ At least 12 connections total

✓ A short explanation for EVERY connection

IMPORTANT!

Don't connect two people just because you can.

You need to be able to answer:

“WHY does this connection matter?”

If you can't explain it, don't draw it.

LEVEL UP

Once your machine is finished, look at all of your connections.

Choose the THREE connections you believe were most important to America's industrial growth.

Put a ⭐ next to each.

Be ready to explain:

What would happen to America's Industrialization Machine if this connection disappeared?

BEFORE YOU MOVE ON...

Look at your finished machine.

You should start noticing something:

Steel needs transportation.
Transportation needs steel.
Factories need energy.
Businesses need money.
Mass production needs customers.
Customers need products.
Products need transportation.

So ask yourself:

Was America's industrial growth really the story of a few successful individuals...

...or was it the creation of an entire interconnected system?

You'll need to answer that question before class is over.

THE INDUSTRIALIZATION MACHINE

STEP 3     BUILD YOUR INDUSTRIAL CITY

This Should Take You About 15 Minutes

You've figured out how the eight players connect.

Now it's time to put that knowledge to the test.

THE YEAR IS 1900.

You have been hired to build America's next great industrial city.

You want factories. You want jobs. You want products moving across the country. You want your city to become an economic powerhouse.

There's just one problem...

YOU CAN'T HAVE EVERYONE.

You may recruit only FOUR of the eight industrial leaders:

Andrew Carnegie
Cornelius Vanderbilt
John D. Rockefeller
George Eastman
J.P. Morgan
Thomas Edison
Nikola Tesla
Henry Ford

MAKE YOUR DRAFT

Fill this out on your own sheet of paper. You will take a picture of this and it will be part of what you turn in to classroom

Choose your four.

PICK #1: ______________________________

Why do you need this person?

PICK #2: ______________________________

Why do you need this person?

PICK #3: ______________________________

Why do you need this person?

PICK #4: ______________________________

Why do you need this person?

CHECK YOUR CITY

A successful industrial economy needs a lot of things.

How will your four people help your city with:

TRANSPORTATION

RAW MATERIALS

ENERGY

MONEY & INVESTMENT

PRODUCTION

CONSUMERS & MARKETS

You don't necessarily need one person for every category.

Instead, be able to explain:

How do your four people work TOGETHER to make your city successful?

UH-OH...

Your rival city just made a better offer.

THEY STOLE ONE OF YOUR FOUR!

Cross one person off your list.

You now have only THREE.

WHO DID YOU LOSE?

WHAT STARTS GOING WRONG?

Identify at least TWO problems losing this person creates.

Problem #1:

Problem #2:

THE BIG QUESTION

Could your remaining three find another way to solve the problem?

Explain.

STEP 4 — INVEST $100

This Should Take You About 10 Minutes

Congratulations.

You are now a very wealthy investor.

You have exactly:

$100

You can invest your money in any of the eight industrial leaders.

Your goal is simple:

Invest the most money in the people you believe were MOST IMPORTANT to America's industrialization.

You may divide the money however you want.

You could give one person $50.

You could give everyone $12.50.

You could give someone $0.

THE ONLY RULE:

YOUR TOTAL MUST EQUAL EXACTLY $100.

INDUSTRIAL LEADER

YOUR INVESTMENT

Andrew Carnegie

$________

Cornelius Vanderbilt

$________

John D. Rockefeller

$________

George Eastman

$________

J.P. Morgan

$________

Thomas Edison

$________

Nikola Tesla

$________

Henry Ford

$________

TOTAL

$100

DEFEND YOUR MONEY

Your Biggest Investment:

______________________________ — $________

Why does this person deserve the most?

Your Smallest Investment:

______________________________ — $________

Why did this person receive less?

FINAL CHALLENGE

Look back at your city AND your investments.

Choose one:

A — THE PEOPLE MATTERED MOST

America became an industrial giant mainly because of brilliant entrepreneurs, inventors, and business leaders.

B — THE SYSTEM MATTERED MOST

America became an industrial giant because transportation, resources, energy, money, technology, production, and consumers became connected.

C — YOU NEED BOTH

Neither the individuals nor the system completely explains industrialization without the other.

YOUR CHOICE: ________

Be ready to defend your answer with evidence from today's Industrialization Machine.