Teacher's Guide: Hints for the Active Learning Questions
History
1a. Arguments and appeals in the letters included a possible blood relationship with Rockefeller, a common allegiance to the Baptist Church, a promise of future repayment, the great efforts already made by the writer to succeed, and Rockefeller's great wealth and reputation for generosity.
1b. Suggestions may include examples of appeals to which you have responded positively in the past.
2. The letters demonstrate the family's enormous wealth, the son's fervent desire to live up to his father's expectations, and the high value that both men placed on fulfilling their obligations to society.
1b. Using rebates from the railroads that transported its oil, Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company was able to reduce its prices and increase its sales. Rockefeller then bought out many other refineries that were unable to compete, forcing these companies to join the trust dominated by Standard Oil. As the size of his holdings increased, Rockefeller used economies of scale to further reduce his costs and his prices, thereby putting even more pressure on those competitors who remained. Eventually Standard Oil gained a monopoly on U.S. oil refining.
2. To distinguish between good and bad monopolies, one could ask such questions as: How did the attainment of monopoly status by a firm affect the prices the firm charged? The quality of product and/or service the firm provided? The level of employment in the industry? The economic health of areas dependent on that industry?
3. Reading about Rockefeller's tactics on other parts of the Web site will help you employ the tactics in the Corner the Market game successfully.
Geography
1. The photographs include views of land that has been cleared of trees; fields filled with oil derricks, barrels, and storage tanks; billowing smoke; and rail lines laid to transport the oil.
2. The roads were intended to provide car-free transportation into the park. Rockefeller was closely involved in the construction of the roads.
3. The high cost of transporting oil was one of the biggest expenses for oil refiners. Cleveland, a major railroad hub on Lake Erie, was well-situated as a transportation center.
Civics
1. Many Americans both feared and opposed communism and the Soviet Union. On the other hand, the onset of the Depression strengthened the arguments of Communists that the capitalist system was on the verge of collapse. Rockefeller Center was built by the greatest capitalist family in America.
2. Arguments for going include the prisoners’ dissatisfaction with other negotiators and the need to take any step that might conceivably reduce the chance of violence. Arguments against going include the danger of encouraging future riots and the possible loss of prestige if the governor is seen as giving in to the prisoners’ demands.
