Oklahoma Social Studies TOT.C.2.3
The Standard
Trace the rise and limited appeal of the Industrial Workers of the World and the Socialist Party in the United States of America.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace how the IWW used strikes and the Socialist Party used elections to gain supporters in the early 1900s. They explain why support stayed limited despite some success in strikes and local elections.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student distinguishes a union that organized strikes from a party that ran candidates. They can explain how the Lawrence strike drew attention and Debs won about 6 percent of the 1912 presidential vote. They can name obstacles such as employer resistance, rival unions, and suspicion of socialism.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat the IWW and Socialist Party as one organization. Some assume neither had any support because neither became a major national force. Others assume all labor unions backed the IWW, missing opposition from craft unions.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Name one IWW action and one Socialist Party election effort. Explain one reason each attracted supporters and one reason support stayed limited.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Have pairs arrange four dated cards: the Socialist Party founding, IWW founding, Lawrence strike, and Debs's 1912 campaign; label each group's method.
Ask: Why might a noncitizen mill worker join an IWW strike but not vote Socialist in 1912? What risks might stop them?
Play a matching game: connect Lawrence to the IWW, Debs to the Socialist Party, and wartime arrests to both; explain each match.
Bring a short news report on a current union drive; students compare workers' demands and organizing obstacles with the Lawrence strike.
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