Industrialization and Social Conflict in the Gilded Age

Embracing an argument-based model for teaching history, the Debating American History series encourages students to participate in a contested, evidence-based discourse about the human past. Each book poses a question that historians debate--How democratic was the U.S. Constitution? or Why did
civil war erupt in the United States in 1861?--and provides abundant primary sources so that students can make their own efforts at interpreting the evidence. They can then use that analysis to construct answers to the big question that frames the debate and argue in support of their position.

Industrialization and Social Conflict in the Gilded Age poses this big question: Why was industrialization in the late nineteenth century accompanied by such great social and political turmoil?

"Embracing an argument-based model for teaching history, Debating American History encourages students to participate in a contested, evidence-based discourse about the human past. The series rejects the idea of history as an undisputed narrative and instead presents the past as understood through the direct engagement with historical evidence. Each book poses a question that historians debate--How democratic was the U.S. constitution? or Why did civil war erupt in the United States in 1861?--and provides abundant primary sources so that students can make their own efforts at interpreting the evidence. They can then use that analysis to construct answers to the key question that frames the debate and argue in support of their position. Through this process, students develop the dispositions and habits of mind that are central to the discipline of history. Industrialization and Social Conflict asks the question, "Why was industrialization in the late nineteenth century accompanied by such great social and political turmoil?"--

"The advantage that Debating American History has over other projects and texts currently available is that it brings a very clear and focused organization to the notion of classroom debate. The terms of each debate are clear. The books introduce students to historiography and primary sources. Most
of all, the project re-envisions the way that US history should be taught. No other textbook or set of teaching materials does what these books do when taken together as the sum of their parts."--Ian Hartman, University of Alaska

"Debating American History repositions the discipline of history as one that is rooted in discovery, investigation, and interpretation."--Ingrid Dineen-Wimberly, University of California, Santa Barbara

"Debating American History repositions the discipline of history as one that is rooted in discovery, investigation, and interpretation."--Ingrid Dineen-Wimberly, University of California, Santa Barbara

"I am enormously impressed with the design of this book. It is an exciting setup that moves students and professors rapidly through one of the most contentious periods of modern American societal development. The breakdown is effective and clear and it helps guide students in a meaningful direction.
Each layer builds on the previous to help instill knowledge and provoke thought. In this sense, this layout provides a nice structure where different angles are pursued and different voices are in conversation with each other. This is a highly impressive framework."--Michael Holm, Boston
University