Scott High School, Madison EVERYTHING Everything 05.04 The Social Response.

Question 1. Evaluate the extent to which the Gilded Age reformers were successful.
Thesis:
 Answers the question
 Arguable
 Alludes to the evidence
The Gilded Age reformers were quite
successful, as they achieved many of their
goals, but still fell short in some areas.
Supporting Point 1: The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed in 1890
which prohibited any “contract, combination, in
the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in
restraint of trade or commerce.” This was due to
the trusts’ power, good or bad.
Specific Evidence: The reformers wanted to prevent great
businesses from controlling a whole industry. This
Act banned any formations that would restrict
trade, and this shows that government is moving
away from laissez faire style relationships.
How does this point support
your thesis or argument?
This supports my thesis because they had a goal
of establishing laws to prevent monopolizing
companies. The reformers of the Gilded Age were
successful in one of their goals.
Supporting Point 2: Reformers fought for a work week that was
shorter and higher pay. They wished for an 8-hour
working day to reduce stress and fatigue related
to work accidents and labor.
Specific Evidence: Reformers tried to establish laws to reduce labor,
but the closest thing they received is Ulysses S.
Grant signing a law to reduce workdays to 8 hours
for government employees. Eventually, the
reformers helped evolve this idea into a reality.
How does this point support
your thesis or argument?
This supports my argument by showing how
reformers were partially successful in getting 8-
hour days for some, and then eventually this led
to less labor hours for every worker.
Supporting Point 3: The reformers successfully formed labor unions
that were against and who protested poor
workplaces and very low pay. These unions led to
the systems for wages and labor we have in place
today.
Specific Evidence: In the Great Railroad Strike of 1977, a group of
railroad workers struck due to wage cuts and one