8. Leaders of Industry

The United States of America wasn't always the economic giant that you have known in your lifetime. There was a time when the United States was an emerging nation, but not a powerhouse on the world wide scene. In the later 1800's that all changed when a group of entrepreneurs were able to invent, develop, and capitalize on some of the world's biggest technological developments in modern history. During this time the use of petroleum, steel, railroads, and automobiles revolutionized how people travel, build buildings, etc. It also changed how business was conducted in America. Words like Monopoly became common in describing business practice. These leaders below, in many ways, created America into what it is today through hard work, calculated risks, and vision.

1. Watch the video below. If the video doesn't appear in on this page, then use the link below it to watch the video straight from youtube.

Watch this video before you start the activity

If the video doesn't appear in the box, use this link.

2. After watching the video, you will be profiling 8 business leaders from the Industrial Revolution. (Its a true revolution, in that the way things were done completely changed). Using Google Slides, you need to make two slides per person. (You will have a total of 16 slides when you are done.)

On the first slide, you much have a picture of the person as the background, the business man's name, and the name of the company they owned.

On the second slide you need to have a picture that represents the industry or invention that made them rich and famous. You should also include how much money each person was worth (approximately) on the second slide (in today's money).

YOU MAY WORK WITH ONE PARTNER. You must complete on Google Slide presentation that represents both of your work.

To do this, you may use any resource in the room, as well as the internet. The goal is to understand just how much money each of these people are worth, and to understand where some of our most revolutionizing inventions came from.

Andrew Carnegie

Cornelius Vanderbilt

John D. Rockefeller

George Eastman

J.P. Morgan

Thomas Edison

Nikola Tesla

Henry Ford

After completing the Google Slides you may watch any of the following videos from the "Men Who Made America" series.

Intro to Rockefeller, Morgan, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, etc

The Rise of Cornelius Vanderbilt

Competitive Nature of the Men Who Built America

Rockefeller Defending His Company in Court

Ford's Decision to make a car that everyone could afford

After watching these you may read or you may watch CNN10.