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Name: Reid Schroeder

General Purpose: To Inform
Specific Purpose: To Inform of the History of Monopoly
Organization: Chronological
Thesis Sentence: I would like to tell you about the origin of Monopoly, it’s publishing, and
modern legacy.

Monopoly Speech Outline

I. Audience Hook
A. Played globally
B. 94% of the class played Monopoly, and 84% of those people enjoyed it
C. As a game design student
D. Thesis
“So how do you think Monopoly was created?” (Transition sentence)
II. Creation
A. Lizzie Magie in Washington DC
B. Board games in the 20th century commonplace
C. Reflect Lizzie’s views on monopolists and income inequality
D. Invented as “The Landlord’s Game” in the early 20th century
E. Anti-monopolist and monopolist sets of rules
“After several years of working on her board game, Lizzie decided it was ready to be
finalized.” (Transition sentence)
III. Publishing
A. Patented by Lizzie in 1903
B. Co-founded the Economic Game Company to publish the game in 1906
1. Became popular with left-wing intellectuals and colleges
C. Rejected by Parker Brothers for being too complicated
D. Charles Todd introduced the game to Charles Darrow in 1935
E. Darrow makes his own version known as “Monopoly”
1. Only used monopolist set of rules
F. Darrow sells the rights to the Parker Brothers
1. Lies about being the original creator
G. Lizzie was happy at first, but then became upset and gave interviews
H. Darrow received royalties all his life while Lizzie was payed $500
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“Decades later, Lizzie’s name was all but forgotten from the legacy of Monopoly.”
(Transition sentence)
IV. Legacy
A. Lizzie’s involvement lost for decades
B. Ralph Anspach was sued by Parker Brothers over the rights to make “Anti-
Monopoly” in 1973
1. Brought Lizzie’s story to the public
2. Hasbro acquired Parker Brothers in 1991
“To wrap things up, Monopoly has a surprisingly different history.” (Transition sentence)
V. Final Notes
A. Origin as anti-monopolist
B. Published as pro-monopolist
C. Thank Ralph Anspach

Bibliography

CBS News. “The Scandalous History of Monopoly.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 21 Mar. 2015,
Retrieved February 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/the-scandalous-history-of-
monopoly/.
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Pilon, Mary. “The Secret History of Monopoly: the Capitalist Board Game's Leftwing Origins.”
The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Apr. 2015, Retrieved February 2020,
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/apr/11/secret-history-monopoly-capitalist-
game-leftwing-origins.

Pilon, Mary. “Monopoly Was Designed to Teach the 99% About Income Inequality.”
Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Jan. 2015, Retrieved February 2020,
www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/monopoly-was-designed-teach-99-about-income-
inequality-180953630/.

Schroeder, Reid. Audience Analysis. 18 People. February 2020.