Week 33: The Capitalists of the Nineteenth Century
Homeschooling moms must fill up their knowledge bank in order to give the best to their kids. The more mom knows, the better she can teach. Research these topics and share the general idea with younger kids. For older kids, you might invite them to pick a topic to research.
Henry Ford
Topics for Week 33
Benjamin Harrison
The Capitalists
Henry Ford
Writing More Funny Poetry
Discussion Questions
This has been said of Benjamin Harrison: "He seemed insensitive and unaware of the massive industrial changes that had overtaken America; of the poverty that afflicted the urban areas; of the depths of economic hardship affecting the nation's farmers as they fell down the economic ladder to tenancy; and of the industrial crisis that began to topple railroads, banks, and business corporations like dominoes within days of his retirement from office."
What kind of actions are required by an official to ensure that they are aware of the domestic realities that affect their constituents?
At noon on April 22, 1889, just a few weeks after Harrison’s inauguration, a gunshot signaled the opening of the Indian Territory in Oklahoma—some 1.9 million acres—to white settlers. That day, 20,000 people crossed into the territory, claiming all the available acreage.
How was the decision to allow Indian Territory to be claimed a grave injustice?
Capitalism is a mode of economic freedom that allows those with good ideas to profit. However, in the absence of any government regulation, the common person is often harmed by capitalists. Where do we draw the line between unfair business practices and competition that leads to innovation, investment, and improvement in the standard of living for everyone?
Would the industrial economy have succeeded without entrepreneurs willing to take competition to its extremes?
What kind of regulations are needed to balance the freedom to invest and make money with the freedom needed to access healthcare, rest, and education?
The 1873 depression was caused in part by three "robber barons," Jim Fisk, Jay Gould and Jay Cooke. Each one sold land or stock to the public for an elevated price. When the land or stock was revealed to be worthless, people lost money and the ripple effects were felt throughout the whole economy.
Andrew Carnegie built the steel industry on capitalist principles and then gave his fortune away later in life as a philanthropist.
John D Rockefeller learned from his mother to work, save and give to charities. His father was a "fraud" who sold fake remedies for cancer. John followed his mother's counsel rather than his father's example. Children learn thrift, work ethic and compassion from adults who model those behaviors. America would aa be much different place if John had tried business practices that defraud the customer.
Henry Ford wanted to make a car that average people could afford. He was inspired by the meat-packing houses of Chicago and a grain mill conveyor belt he had seen. He reasoned that if he brought the task to the workers, they spent less time moving about. His genius was to design interchangeable parts, organize tasks so there was a continuous flow as the car was built, divide the labor up efficiently, and reduce wasted effort.
Using interchangeable parts meant making the individual pieces of the car the same every time. That way any valve would fit any engine, any steering wheel would fit any chassis. This meant improving the machinery and cutting tools used to make the parts. But once the machines were adjusted, a low-skilled laborer could operate them, replacing the skilled craftsperson who formerly made the parts by hand. To improve the flow of the work, he arranged the work so that as one task was finished, another began, with minimum time spent in set-up. Ford Then he divided the labor by breaking the assembly of the Model T into 84 distinct steps.
What was the relationship between production and cost of automobiles?
What are the major differences between the specialized vs. unspecialized workers (skilled vs. unskilled)?
From the perspective of the factory worker, what would it be like to do the same job for 12+ hours a day?
Resources
Books (all links go to Goodreads)
Childhood of Famous Americans Series - Henry Ford
The Eiffel Tower Read aloud on YouTube
Mr Ferris and His Wheel Read aloud on YouTube
Henry Ford for Kids: His Life and Ideas
Free E-Books
Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Videos
Robber Barons and the Rise of Big Business
Simple History: TycoonsActivities
1. Continue a State Cards Project. As each state enters the union, create a card with fun facts about that state. Younger kids might enjoy a coloring/activity book about the states. Add Washington 1889, Idaho and Wyoming 1890
2. Set up an assembly line for making paper snowflakes. Precisely identify which part of the snowflake each person will cut. This activity works best if two groups are competing with each other but even a few kids can get an idea of how an assembly line speeds up a complicated task. Use a timer to measure the speed a group can complete a snowflake as opposed to a single person making them one at a time.
3. Check out this lesson about Monopolies provided by econedlink.org
4. Check out education resources provided by thehenryford.org
5. Color a picture of Benjamin Harrison chasing his goat "Old Whiskers" through the White House gate in the coloring book Presidential Pets
Image Credit: Henry Ford Photograph / Library of Congress / Public Domain