Assignment #8 – The Gilded Age
Step 1: Watch – “Something WallMart This Way Comes”
online
Step 2: Watch – “Is Wal-Mart Good for America?” online
Step 3: Read – “Robber Barons and Rebels,” from A
People’s History
Step 4: Complete the Discussion Board
Discussion Prompt:
For this discussion, I am going to have you watch first the South
Park episode entitled, “Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes.”
Much of this episode, while crude in many ways, actuallly is very
similar to what Mark Twain was trying to get across to us in his
book, The Gilded Age. These writers use sat- ire to get their
points across. What point do you believe the writers of this South
Park episode were trying to make with this story? How is it
similar to the satire of Mark Twain?
Many scholars and writers seem to believe we have found
ourselves in a second Gilded Age today, and that the difference
between the haves and the have-nots has actually become much
worse today than it was 100 years ago. Many of your articles
for today’s discussion touch on this. To further understand the
situation, take a look at the database amassed by the AFL-CIO.
It was designed specifically to help monitor CEO compensation
year by year to see the trends that have garnered a 4300%
pay increase for these top executives since the early 1980’s.
(Oh, and by the way, if you missed it…the average worker’s salary
during that same 30 year period only doubled.)
Please read the chapter “Robber Barons and Rebels,” from Howard Zinn’s book A People’s History of the United States.
Please be prepared to discuss at least five things from this chapter you thought were interesting!