Social and Economic Development
in Iowa 1870 - 1940
Teachers' Guide Table of
Contents
This guide provides teacher direction for use of project materials
related to the post -Civil War period 1870 - 1940. These materials explore the social and
economic development that shaped Iowa's transition into the twentieth century. These
materials are structured around the following themes:
The Rise of Technology (1870 - 1896)
The Golden Age ( 1897 - 1918 )
The Depression ( 1919 - 1940 )
Sub-themes are identified
for each unit and highlight significant social and economic trends:
- Industry
- Agriculture
- Transportation/Communication
- Women
- Cultural Minorities
Each lesson includes
specific objectives, procedures, student activity sheets and references to primary source
materials listed below:
Theme:
The Rise of Technology (1870 - 1896)
Life In A Lumber Camp
File: LumberCamp.pdf Size:
547 k
George Austin Woodward describes life in the
lumber camps of the northern pineries of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The logger's clothing,
job, food and living conditions are included as well as a description of the various jobs
done by the lumbermen.
Lumber Rafting on
Wisconsin River
File: LumberRaft.pdf Size:
519 k
Simon Augustus Sherman details an 1849 lumber
raft trip down the Wisconsin River .This account describes the early process
of transporting logs to the sawmills along the Mississippi.
The Memories of a Raft
Pilot
File: RaftPilor.pdf
Size: 147 k
J.M. Turner, a steamboat captain, provides a
look at life on the Mississippi during the later years of lumbering when rafts were towed
down the Mississippi by steamboats.
The Dubuque Lumber
Reporter
File: Reporter.pdf
Size: 1.5 Mb
The facsimile of a Dubuque Newspaper for the
1880 includes articles and advertising applying specifically to the seasonal
fluctuation of the lumber industry in Dubuque.
Musser Lumber Company
File: Musser.pdf
Size: 815 k
This publication provides a look at the inside
workings of a lumber mill. Included are photographs and a narrative description taken from
the Muscatine Weekly Journal for 1871.
M.A. Disbrow &
Company Catalogue
File: Disbrow.pdf
Size: 1 Mb
This catalogue illustrates the millwork
produced by the many wholesale dealers of the day. Included are pictures of doors,
windows, porches and other wood "fancywork" produced during the late
nineteenth century.
The Iowa Agriculturist
File: Agriculturist.pdf
Size:
3Mb
The post-Civil War technological advances in
farm machinery are illustrated in numerous photographs throughout this booklet.
The Iowa Housewife
File: HouseWife.pdf
Size: 4.7 Mb
The weekly schedule of the nineteenth century
Iowa housewife is chronicled each day of the week. Monday was washday, Tuesday reserved
for ironing, . . .
Growth of the Iowa
Railroad Network
File:
RailroadGrowth.pdf Size: 2.2 Mb
In addition to the brief description of the
railroading in Iowa, five Iowa maps are included illustrating the development of
railroading in Iowa.
Theme: The Golden Age ( 1897 - 1918 )
Coal Mining in Iowa
File: Coal
Mining.pdf
Size: 865 k
Using photographs, charts and narrative, the
pamphlet describes the development of coal mining in iowa, how miners lived and what their
work was like.
A Tour Through an Albia
Coal Company Mine
File: Albia
Mine.pdf
Size: 661 k
A Monroe County mine is described from the
point of view of a visitor to the mine. The underground aspects of the mine are
described in a typically nineteenth century dramatic style.
As I Remember
File: As I
Remember.pdf
Size: 880 k
Minnie B. London describes her experience as a
resident and school teacher in Buxton, one of Iowa's most unique and enduring coal
communities.
The Iowa Farmstead
File: Farmstead.pdf
Size: 3.6 Mb
The impact of economic prosperity on Iowa's
farm economy during the early years of the twentieth century is detailed in a description
of technological advances during that period.
Theme: The Depression ( 1919 - 1940 )
Five Families in Dubuque:
The Urban Depression
File: Families.pdf Size:
446 k
This packet of five pamphlets summarizes the
feelings of five unemployed Dubuque workers during the Depression.
The Depression Diary of
Elmer Powers
File: Elmer
Powers.pdf
Size: 158 k
Farming in south central Iowa during the
Depression, Elmer Powers describes the difficulties encountered on the farm during these
troubled years.
The Depression Diary of
Mrs. Clara Ackerman
File: Clara
Ackerman.pdf
Size: 148 k
Mrs. Ackerman chronicles her daily experience
during the Depression. She describes the difficulties encountered by the farm community
from the viewpoint of an Iowa woman.
The Depression in
Waterloo: The African-American Experience
File: African-AmerExperience.pdf Size: 23 k
Included are interview summaries of three
residents of Waterloo recalling their experience during the Depression from the
African-American point of view.
You will need Adobe Acrobat
reader 4.0 to view the files for download. Note: Some files are very large.
Please be aware of possible extended download times. Click the picture below
to go
to the Adobe Acrobat download site.
Explorations in Iowa History Project
Malcolm Price Laboratory School
University Of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
©COPYRIGHT 2003 University of Northern Iowa
Lynn.Nielsen@uni.edu
Duplication for Instructional purposes only.
Credits: Logo and site design by ITS CET
Documents courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa
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