Discussion Questions
November 25, 2008
- What is meant by the "democratization of leisure" in the
Gilded Age"? What are its attributes and what are some examples?
- In what manner was the bicycle and the bicycle craze of the
1890s an ideal symbol of the Gilded Age? What were the features and the
values associated with it that made it a microcosm of the Gilded Age?
- What was 'baby farming'? What were the factors in the
Gilded Age which created and perpetuated that phenomenon? In what manner
is any consideration of baby farming and class inseparably linked, and why was
it a concern for the public (beyond the obvious death of infants)?
- Why was birth control largely a 'black market' affair in
the Gilded Age?
- What was the Comstock Law? How was it enforced and
why did it largely fail?
- In what manner might Andrea Tone in her article be
considered a revisionist historian? What precisely was she revising?
- How might "The Jungle" be used as a source by historians?
What are its assets and what are its limitations?
- Why would "The Jungle" be of particular concern to
reformers and the general public?