Political Changes

In today's class we are briefly looking at two more Progressive Era presidents. The presidency of Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison are examined to see how they too contributed to the reform movement started by Garfield and Arthur.

Secondly we are looking at 4 words that changed political participation.
primary
initiative
referendum
recall
Dissecting these vocabulary words and making current day comparisons will be the focus of the second half of the class.

Enrichment Group:

Presidential Reformers

Today we are looking at the work of U.S.Presidents during the Progressive Era and their contributions toward political reform. Last Friday we talked about James Garfield and his assassination. By trying to end the "Spoils System" Garfield was actually murdered by a so called supporter who felt he deserved a political appointment. It is a good story an important lesson that many Progressive did pay quite a price for their boldness.

Today we looked at Chester A. Arthur as the new president and how he continued Garfield's efforts at ending the Spoils System and patronage. He went against many in his own party to sign the Pendenton Act and set the stage for meaningful Civil Service Reforms

Enrichment Group: Video Alexander Graham Bell and Garfield

Political Cartoon Project

To end the unit on Big Business students are creating and sharing political cartoons.
Click HERE for the diretions to the project.