The following lesson serves as an introduction to the Age of Progressivism. In this unit, students should connect the various ways individuals and communities respond to new innovations. In response to industrialization, civilizations across the globe reacted in a number of ways ranging from violent protests to political engagement to isolating from the political process. In the early 1840s in a town in western Massachusetts, Northampton, the Northampton Association of Education and Industry (NAEI), formalized their beliefs in a binding constitution. Through examining the NAEI constitution, students will explore the progressive politics of a utopian community and their response to the changing times. In the process, students will evaluate the beliefs of such a utopian community to serve as a foundation for the Progressive era. In the end, students will consider the ways individuals can form a better world.
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