Not everybody was getting rich. The new wealthy class, although more prominent, larger, and richer than any class in American history, was still rather small. People soon began to ask fundamental questions. How did one get rich in America? Was it because of a combination of hard work and intelligence? Was it because of inheritance? Did education and skill play a role? Or was it simply luck?

The Gilded Age will be remembered for the accomplishments of thousands of American thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, writers, and promoters of social justice. Few politicians had an impact on the tremendous change transforming America. The Presidency was at an all-time low in power and influence, and the Congress was rife with corruption. State and city leaders shared in the graft, and the public was kept largely unaware. Much like in the colonial days, Americans were not taking their orders from the top; rather, they were building a new society from its foundation.

The battle lines were clearly drawn. People were either workers or bosses, and with that strong identity often came an equally strong dislike for those who were on the other side. As the number of self-employed Americans dwindled in the Gilded Age, workers began to feel strength in their numbers and ask greater and greater demands of their bosses. When those demands were rejected, they plotted schemes to win their cases.

Divide and conquer. That simple strategy gave the owners the advantage over labor until the dawn of the 20th century. Laborers did not all have the same goals. By favoring one group over another, the bosses could create internal dissent in any union. Unions were spread from town to town. Unity among them might make a more effective boycott or strike, but bringing diverse groups together across a large area was extremely difficult.

Keep it simple. That was the mantra of labor leader Samuel Gompers. He was a diehard capitalist and saw no need for a radical restructuring of America. Gompers quickly learned that the issues that workers cared about most deeply were personal. They wanted higher wages and better working conditions. These "bread and butter" issues would always unite the labor class. By keeping it simple, unions could avoid the pitfalls that had drawn the life from the National Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.

The Age of Industry brought tremendous change to America. Perhaps the single greatest impact of industrialization on the growing nation was urbanization. Thomas Jefferson had once idealized America as a land of small, independent farmers who became educated enough to participate in a republic. That notion was forever a part of history.

They spread like wildfire. For a new factory to beat the competition, it had to be built quickly. Laborers needed fast, cheap housing located close to work. Roads would be hastily built to connect the factory with the market. There was no grand design, and consequently, the new American city spread unpredictably. Urban sprawl had begun. But the growing beast brought benefits that raised the standard of living to new heights.

Lights, trolleys, skyscrapers, romance, action. These were among the first words to enter the minds of Americans when contemplating the new urban lifestyle. While American cities allowed many middle- and upper-class Americans to live a glamorous lifestyle, this was simply a fantasy to many poorer urban dwellers. Slums, crime, overcrowding, pollution, disease. These words more accurately described daily realities for millions of urban Americans.

To cope with the city's problems, government officials had a limited resources and personnel. Democracy did not flourish in this environment. To bring order out of the chaos of the nation's cities, many political bosses emerged who did not shrink from corrupt deals if they could increase their power bases. The people and institutions the bosses controlled were called the political machine.

Like the American economy, American art and literature flourished during the Gilded Age. The new millionaires desired greatly to furnish their mansions with beautiful things. Consequently, patronage for the American arts was at a higher level than any previous era. Painters depicted a realistic look at the glories and hardships of this new age. Writers used their pens to illustrate life at its best and its worst. The net result was an American Renaissance of arts and letters.

City life or country life? The typical farmer rose with the sun, tended the animals, worked the fields, broke bread with the family, and retired when the sun went down. With the exceptions of the Sabbath and holiday observances, life remained constant, changing only with the seasons. While this bucolic lifestyle was and still is romanticized by many, it simply bore no resemblance to big city existence. The city promised conveniences, nightlife, excitement and variety.

Demands for better public education were many. Employers wanted a better educated workforce, at least for the technical jobs. Classical liberals believed that public education was the cornerstone of any democracy. Our system of government could be imperiled if large numbers of uneducated masses voted unwisely.

Victorian values dominated American social life for much of the 19th century. The notion of separate spheres of life for men and women was commonplace. The male sphere included wage work and politics, while the female sphere involved childrearing and domestic work.

Even the news was a business. As Americans streamed into cities from small towns and overseas, journalists realized the economic potential. If half of Boston's citizens would buy a newspaper three times a week, a publisher could become a millionaire.

The sands of the Nile River Valley hold many clues about one of the most mysterious, progressive, and artistic ancient civilizations. A great deal of evidence survives about how the ancient Egyptians lived, but questions remain. Even the wise sphinx would have trouble answering some of them. How were the pyramids built? Who came up with the idea for mummies and why? What was a typical day like for a pharaoh?

Students explore combinations using colored blocks in this Nrich activity. The activity emphasizes mathematical reasoning and discourse.

https://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/3d-geometry/29389361/NOTE: These are video notes! They are to be used AFTER instruction of these concepts or possibly as a precursor to the actual activities. The link provided is a 27 minute video that I have used for notes with my 6th grade honors class. Obviously students shouldn't sit down and watch a 27 minute video all at once but it could be used in a part series as students are discovering these concepts in your class with actual activities. I love Educreations because it's really easy to make a video, get a link that you can embed into any online classroom space, and a large portion of the storage space is free! YAY FREE!

3D pens are an easy way to create a 3D object. You can design from scratch or use a template. The pens work like a glue gun, except that they use the same filament in a 3D printer. The objects that the students create can be used in project based learning projects.

This is a task from the Illustrative Mathematics website that is one part of a complete illustration of the standard to which it is aligned. Each task has at least one solution and some commentary that addresses important asects of the task and its potential use. Here are the first few lines of the commentary for this task: A small square is a square unit. What is the area of this rectangle? Explain. What fraction of the area of each rectangle is shaded blue? Name the frac...