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 these two videos 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 must have 1. a picture of the person as the background, 2. the business man's name, and 3. the name of the company they owned. All three of these things should be on the first of the two slides about this particular person.
On the second slide you need to have 1. a picture that represents the industry or invention that made them rich and famous. 2, You should also include how much money each person was worth (approximately) on the second slide (in today's money). For example, Vanderbilt University is named after Cornelius Vanderbilt… But that's not what made them rich. He got rich in the shipping industry both using ships and trains. So the picture on the second slide should show something to do with the shipping industry, not the College. You will need to read about each one of these people just a little bit in order to make sure that you know what they did.
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.