Newport Mansions

In the wild and extravagant heyday of the Gilded Age, Newport Rhode Island was the summer retreat for America’s social elite. In this quaint coastal town, the “400” of high society built their most magnificent estates—summer palaces filled with rare marble and glass, woodwork, art and even solid gold taps running salt and fresh water. America’s Castles takes you on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the famed Newport mansions. America’s Castles: Newport Mansions would be useful for classes on American History, American Culture, Economics, and Architecture. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

• aesthetic
• ambiance
• amenity
• analogy
• audacious
• bastion
• conspicuous consumption
• dynamic
• echelons
• eclectic
• endeavor
• entourage
• epicenter
• illustrious
• innovation
• irrepressible
• lucrative
• noveu riche
• opulent
• patina
• precursor
• stalwart
• veneer
• vigorous

1. Discuss the historical significance and the impact of the Industrial Revolution.

2. Author and humorist Mark Twain dubbed the late eighteenth century the “Gilded Age.” What does this phrase mean? Was it truly a “Gilded Age?”

3. Alva Vanderbilt built a Japanese style teahouse on her estate, Marble House. This teahouse played a significant role in American women’s history. What was that role?

4. New York’s social elite during the Gilded Age were called “the four hundred.” Why were they called this? What did this title mean?

5. Why did elaborate architecture become a hallmark of the Gilded Age?

6. The Breakers was an architectural marvel for its time and had many innovations that were a departure from the building practices of its time. What were some of these innovations?

7. What is meant by the term “social ritual?” How are the houses in Newport, Rhode Island, designed to accommodate “social ritual?”

8. There was no such thing as personal income tax during the Gilded Age. How did this absence of personal income tax help establish the massive fortunes of the Gilded Age?

9. How did the town of Newport become a summer haven for America’s wealthy capitalists?

10. How did these “cottages” personify “conspicuous consumption?”

1. Design your own Newport “cottage.”

2. Create a poster that illustrates the disparity in the lifestyles of the very wealthy and the workers of the Gilded Age.

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