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Causal Loop Diagram — Gilded Age Industrial Economy (vis-network)

Learning Objective

Students examine how interconnected causal relationships in the Gilded Age industrial economy produce reinforcing or balancing feedback loops, and distinguish between the two loop types using evidence from the diagram.

  • Bloom Level: Analyze (L4) — Examine
  • Library: vis-network | Chapter: 1 — Historical Methods and Analytical Frameworks

Interactive Sim

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About This MicroSim

This systems-thinking diagram models the Gilded Age industrial economy as a set of causal relationships and feedback loops rendered with the vis-network library. Students can drag nodes to rearrange the layout, click any node to read historical context for that variable, and click any edge to read a polarity explanation. Two control modes deepen analysis:

  • Find Loops — colors all edges by their loop membership (gold=R1, orange=R2, teal=B1) and shows a loop legend in the info panel.
  • Trace a Loop — steps through each loop one causal link at a time with the highlighted edge advancing on each click of "Next Step ▶". Students select R1, R2, or B1 in the panel to switch loops.

The vis-network version offers the same 7-node / 9-edge / 3-loop historical content as the p5.js version, with the addition of interactive node dragging for student-directed exploration.

Embed This MicroSim

<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/us-history/sims/causal-loop-diagram-builder-vis/main.html" height="542px" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Duration: 20–25 minutes | Grade: High School | Subject: U.S. History / Historical Methods & Gilded Age

Before: Ask: "What caused the rapid industrial growth of the Gilded Age? How did workers, corporations, and government all fit into that system?"

During: Students click all nodes and edges to read context, then identify which loops were strongest (R2) and weakest (B1) in the actual Gilded Age. Have students drag the nodes into a layout that makes the strongest loop visually prominent.

After: Discussion: Why was the regulatory brake (B1) so weak in this period? What changed in the Progressive Era to strengthen it?

Extension: Students modify the diagram (verbally or in writing) to show the New Deal era — which links changed? What new nodes would you add?

References

  • Donella Meadows, Thinking in Systems (2008) — Foundational guide to reinforcing and balancing loops
  • Josephine Ziegler, Captains of Industry — Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan primary sources
  • Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age (2017)