Idaho Social Studies 6-12.US1.50

Social StudiesGrades 6–12United States History I

The Standard

Describe the impact of business leaders, laissez-faire capitalism, and the use of corporations, monopolies, and trusts on the American economy.

Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Growth of Industrial World 1877-1890 (Bridge with US History II)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain how leaders such as Carnegie and Rockefeller expanded production and used corporations and trusts to control industries. They describe how limited government intervention and fewer competitors could affect prices, jobs, and wages.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a short account of an oil trust, a student explains who controls the companies and why rivals struggle to compete. They identify a possible gain, such as cheaper goods, and a possible cost, such as lower wages or higher prices.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think every corporation is a monopoly or that a trust is one large factory. They may also think laissez-faire meant no government role at all, or that large firms always raised prices.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Rockefeller's oil trust controls most refineries in a region. Name one possible benefit and one possible cost, then explain how a laissez-faire government might respond.

Lesson moves

Give groups refinery cards and price tokens; let one group buy rival refineries, then compare each group's pricing choices.
Ask students to write: Did Rockefeller's oil trust help consumers if prices fell but rivals lost business? Give one benefit and one cost.
Sort four case cards into corporation, trust, monopoly, or laissez-faire: shareholders fund a factory; owners pool firms; one seller dominates; officials leave prices alone.
Use two grocery store flyers to compare prices for the same product, then ask how fewer sellers might change those prices.

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