Sample Pixeum Lesson Plan: Life in the Gilded Age

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Warm-Up
Warm-Up

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Industry: Pre-Gilded Age Railway Map (1861)
Industry: Pre-Gilded Age Railway Map (1861)

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Industry: Late Gilded Age Railroad Map (1890) 
Industry: Late Gilded Age Railroad Map (1890) 

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Urbanization: Pre-Gilded Age Population (1850)
Urbanization: Pre-Gilded Age Population (1850)

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Urbanization: Post-Gilded Age Population (1900)
Urbanization: Post-Gilded Age Population (1900)

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Urbanization: New York City Officials Investigate Housing (1900)
Urbanization: New York City Officials Investigate Housing (1900)

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Urbanization: Jacob Riis' Five Cents a Spot (1889)
Urbanization: Jacob Riis' Five Cents a Spot (1889)

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Urbanization: Cornelius Vanderbilt II House (const. 1883)
Urbanization: Cornelius Vanderbilt II House (const. 1883)

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Arts: Albert Bierstadt's Rocky Mountain Landscape (1870)
Arts: Albert Bierstadt's Rocky Mountain Landscape (1870)

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Arts: Robert Henri's Snow in New York (1902)
Arts: Robert Henri's Snow in New York (1902)

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Cities: Home Insurance Building (Chicago, const. 1884)
Cities: Home Insurance Building (Chicago, const. 1884)

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Cities: NYC Newspaper Row (circa 1900)
Cities: NYC Newspaper Row (circa 1900)

Warm-Up

Image 1 of 12 | e382 | i15210 | 2516x3341px
Warm-Up

Students: does anyone recognize this man? Based on his clothing and stance, do you think he's powerful?

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Industry: Pre-Gilded Age Railway Map (1861)

Image 2 of 12 | e382 | i15211 | 15566x12018px
Industry: Pre-Gilded Age Railway Map (1861)

Lloyd's American Railroad Map

Source: David Rumsey

 

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Industry: Late Gilded Age Railroad Map (1890) 

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Industry: Late Gilded Age Railroad Map (1890) 

Samuel Augustus Mitchell's Railroad Map

Students: observe how much rail network has developed in under 30 years! Put a dot on the part of the country that benefitted most from new railways, and explain why. 

Source: David Rumsey

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Urbanization: Pre-Gilded Age Population (1850)

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Urbanization: Pre-Gilded Age Population (1850)

United States Distribution of Population & Railways

Source: UT Austin

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Urbanization: Post-Gilded Age Population (1900)

Image 5 of 12 | e382 | i15219 | 1291x1111px
Urbanization: Post-Gilded Age Population (1900)

United States Distribution of Population & Railways

Students: compare this map with the previous. Where are people moving to? Are citizens evenly spread out?

Source: UT Austin

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Urbanization: New York City Officials Investigate Housing (1900)

Image 6 of 12 | e382 | i15224 | 3000x2295px
Urbanization: New York City Officials Investigate Housing (1900)

Source: Wikimedia

Students: put a dot on anything you see that is a fire hazard, health risk, or an overall poor living condition. Does this housing seem sustainable?

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Urbanization: Jacob Riis' Five Cents a Spot (1889)

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Urbanization: Jacob Riis' Five Cents a Spot (1889)

Source: New York Times

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Urbanization: Cornelius Vanderbilt II House (const. 1883)

Image 8 of 12 | e382 | i15217 | 910x639px
Urbanization: Cornelius Vanderbilt II House (const. 1883)

Students: what does this reflect about wealth levels in America at this time?

Source: Wikipedia

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Arts: Albert Bierstadt's Rocky Mountain Landscape (1870)

Image 9 of 12 | e382 | i15223 | 3000x2019px
Arts: Albert Bierstadt's Rocky Mountain Landscape (1870)

Students: How does this piece portray our world? Do you think this representation is accurate?

Source: Wikimedia

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Arts: Robert Henri's Snow in New York (1902)

Image 10 of 12 | e382 | i15222 | 449x560px
Arts: Robert Henri's Snow in New York (1902)

Students: how does this American Realism piece (made during the Gilded Age) differ from the previous Romanticism piece (made before the Gilded Age)? 

Put dots on specific parts of the image that support your ideas.

Source: National Gallery

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Cities: Home Insurance Building (Chicago, const. 1884)

Image 11 of 12 | e382 | i15220 | 640x853px
Cities: Home Insurance Building (Chicago, const. 1884)

Students: looking at this building and the buildings in the next image, what trends do you notice? Put dots on your evidence.

Source: Wikipedia

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Cities: NYC Newspaper Row (circa 1900)

Image 12 of 12 | e382 | i15221 | 800x597px
Cities: NYC Newspaper Row (circa 1900)

Students: looking at this building and the buildings in the last image, what trends do you notice? Put dots on your evidence.

Source: Wikimedia

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0

Warm-Up

Students: does anyone recognize this man? Based on his clothing and stance, do you think he's powerful?

0
Image 1 of 12
e382
i15210
2516x3341px
0
Share

Industry: Pre-Gilded Age Railway Map (1861)

Lloyd's American Railroad Map

Source: David Rumsey

 

0
Image 2 of 12
e382
i15211
15566x12018px
0
Share

Industry: Late Gilded Age Railroad Map (1890) 

Samuel Augustus Mitchell's Railroad Map

Students: observe how much rail network has developed in under 30 years! Put a dot on the part of the country that benefitted most from new railways, and explain why. 

Source: David Rumsey

0
Image 3 of 12
e382
i15261
9832x6056px
0
Share

Urbanization: Pre-Gilded Age Population (1850)

United States Distribution of Population & Railways

Source: UT Austin

0
Image 4 of 12
e382
i15218
1278x1098px
0
Share

Urbanization: Post-Gilded Age Population (1900)

United States Distribution of Population & Railways

Students: compare this map with the previous. Where are people moving to? Are citizens evenly spread out?

Source: UT Austin

0
Image 5 of 12
e382
i15219
1291x1111px
0
Share

Urbanization: New York City Officials Investigate Housing (1900)

Source: Wikimedia

Students: put a dot on anything you see that is a fire hazard, health risk, or an overall poor living condition. Does this housing seem sustainable?

0
Image 6 of 12
e382
i15224
3000x2295px
0
Share

Urbanization: Jacob Riis' Five Cents a Spot (1889)

Source: New York Times

0
Image 7 of 12
e382
i15225
688x548px
0
Share

Urbanization: Cornelius Vanderbilt II House (const. 1883)

Students: what does this reflect about wealth levels in America at this time?

Source: Wikipedia

0
Image 8 of 12
e382
i15217
910x639px
0
Share

Arts: Albert Bierstadt's Rocky Mountain Landscape (1870)

Students: How does this piece portray our world? Do you think this representation is accurate?

Source: Wikimedia

0
Image 9 of 12
e382
i15223
3000x2019px
0
Share

Arts: Robert Henri's Snow in New York (1902)

Students: how does this American Realism piece (made during the Gilded Age) differ from the previous Romanticism piece (made before the Gilded Age)? 

Put dots on specific parts of the image that support your ideas.

Source: National Gallery

0
Image 10 of 12
e382
i15222
449x560px
0
Share

Cities: Home Insurance Building (Chicago, const. 1884)

Students: looking at this building and the buildings in the next image, what trends do you notice? Put dots on your evidence.

Source: Wikipedia

0
Image 11 of 12
e382
i15220
640x853px
0
Share

Cities: NYC Newspaper Row (circa 1900)

Students: looking at this building and the buildings in the last image, what trends do you notice? Put dots on your evidence.

Source: Wikimedia

0
Image 12 of 12
e382
i15221
800x597px
0
Share
Dots count
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Dots count
2
1
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.15
0.35

Rail networks now extend to California! This means the entire country can be connected by high-speed transit.
2
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.64
0.26

The Midwest became much more inter-connected, allowing for knowledge and materials to be spread easily across the region.
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3
1
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.36
0.46

The West is becoming more populated (indicating people are moving Westward more)
2
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.29
0.28

In the West, populations are clustered around railroad lines
3
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.85
0.37

The population is not evenly dispersed - the East is generally more populated and certain areas are very densely populated (presumably cities)
Dots count
4
1
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.58
0.7

Garbage on the floor
2
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.38
0.13

Peeling ceiling
3
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.08
0.31

No windows and no observable light source
4
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.14
0.67

General messiness
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2
1
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.68
0.32

This piece shows the Earth as a beautiful place: full of towering mountains and beautiful scenery.

The dark foreground shifts the viewer's attention to the light background and, by forcing the viewer to look up, instills a sense of awe into the viewer. This beauty all revolves around nature.
2
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.39
0.38

I don't think this depiction is accurate. It's possible that this place exists, but even if it does it's likely beautiful in reality. This is an idealistic representation of some place, meant to display the beauty of nature.
Dots count
3
1
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.72
0.81

Darker color pallet - more depressing vibe to the piece
2
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.24
1.02

Realistic scene - this is more likely to be a representation of something that truly happened
3
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.39
0.51

More abstract style - the details are not as sharp as in the last piece (perhaps coming from the seemingly larger brushstrokes)
Dots count
1
1
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.54
0.66

Emphasis on functionality - a nice structure but little ornamentation besides certain rows and material intersections
Dots count
3
1
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.2
0.21

Still strong detail on functionality, but beginning to add fancy pieces to top of buildings
2
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.87
0.55

The decoration of choice appears to be arches - in doorways and windows
3
Sam Wexler
(@sam_wexler)
Jul 31 2023
0.21
0.44

Solid-looking structures, perhaps meant to show power and stability
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Place a DOT on the image