Oklahoma Social Studies USH.C.2.1.G
The Standard
- USH.C.2
- Analyze the social, economic, and political changes that occurred during the American Industrial Revolution, the Gilded Age, and reform movements.
- USH.C.2.1
- Evaluate the transformation of American society, economy, politics, and culture during the American Industrial Revolution.
Assess the significance of the Labor Movement, including the leadership of Samuel Gompers and Eugene V. Debs, by comparing its early goals (e.g., formation of trade unions,favorable legislation) to repercussions following the Pullman Strike and the Haymarket Affair .
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · USH.C.2.1
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why workers formed unions and pushed for shorter hours by law. They compare Gompers's AFL with Debs's railway union. They judge how the backlash after Haymarket and the federal response to Pullman affected labor organizing.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can connect Gompers to the AFL's wage and hour demands and Debs to the railway boycott. They explain that Haymarket stirred public suspicion, while Pullman brought federal troops, a court order, and Debs's imprisonment. They use both outcomes to explain why unions faced resistance.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Gompers led the Pullman boycott, which Debs led. They may treat the Haymarket bombing as proof that unions endorsed violence or assume federal troops supported the Pullman strikers.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Name one early union goal and match Gompers and Debs to their unions. Explain one consequence of Haymarket and one of Pullman, then state what both meant for labor organizing.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs cards for Gompers, Debs, Haymarket, and Pullman; have them build a timeline with a union goal and consequence beside each event.
Ask: Did Haymarket and Pullman limit or reshape union organizing? Write three sentences citing one detail from each event.
Post Gompers, Debs, Haymarket, and Pullman in four corners; read clues like 'rail boycott' and 'public backlash' for students to match.
Give students a sample job ad offering $16 an hour and ten-hour shifts; have them draft two union demands and compare them with AFL goals.
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