Discussion Questions
October 7, 2008

1. What is the argument of Andrew Carnegie?  What are the class values and assumptions on which his argument is based?
2. "The Jungle is a microcosm of Gilded Age problems and Progressive Era reformers' concerns."  Discuss this contention with specifics from The Jungle, and relate what you see in The Jungle back to specific readings so far this term.
3. What defines "American" at this time?  Who/what is an American?  What are their qualities and characteristics?  (in answering this, move beyond the simplistic WASP paradigm)
4. What is Mayo's central argument?  What are the problems and what are the solutions, according to Mayo?
5. How does Westinghouse paternalism compare to that of Pullman?
6. According to the historian Westbrook, Hine's photographs "...pose[d] a challenge to the benevolent posture at the heart of progressive ideology."  What does Westbrook  mean by this statement?
7. As historians, what do the images provided with this week's readings tell us about the past?  How can we use them as means to examine the past? In answering this you need to critically assess the images, not simply glance at them, and to note the specific details that they provide.

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