The Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Origins of Modern America

The United States that entered the twentieth century was vastly different from the nation that emerged from the Civil War. Industrialization, mass immigration, the growing presence of women in the work force, and the rapid advance of the cities had transformed American society. Broad in scope, The Gilded Age brings together sixteen original essays that offer lively syntheses of modern scholarship while making their own interpretive arguments. These engaging pieces allow students to consider the various societal, cultural and political factors that make studying the Gilded Age crucial to our understanding of America today. Charles W. Calhoun connects all of these essays with a comprehensive introduction that places each article in an understandable historical context. For the second edition of this successful book, each essay was revised and three new pieces have been added that explore technology, consumerism, intellectual life, and race in late nineteenth century America.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter 1: Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business Chapter 2: Technology and America as a Consumer Society, 1870–1900 Chapter 3: American Workers and the Labor Movement in the Late Nineteenth Century Chapter 4: The Immigrant Experience in the Gilded Age Chapter 5: Urbanizing America Chapter 6: Women in Industrializing America Chapter 7: The African-American Experience Chapter 8: Native American Resistance and Accommodation during the Late Nineteenth Century Chapter 9: The Influence of Commerce, Technology, and Race on Popular Culture in the Gilded Age Chapter 10: Cultural and Intellectual Life in the Gilded Age Chapter 11: The Political Culture: Public Life and the Conduct of Politics Chapter 12: Party Conflict: Republicans versus Democrats, 1877–1901 Chapter 13: Farmers and Third-Party Politics Chapter 14: Phases of Empire: Late Nineteenth-Century U.S. Foreign Relations Chapter 15: Law and the Constitution in the Gilded Age

About the Author :
Charles W. Calhoun received his doctorate in history from Columbia University. He is professor of history at East Carolina University, and author of Conceiving a New Republic: The Republican Party and the Southern Question, 1869–1900, Benjamin Harrison, and Gilded Age Cato: The Life of Walter Q. Gresham.

Review :
This book is an essential resource—the only collection of essays on the post-Civil War decades currently in print. The first edition provided excellent coverage of politics, the economy, science and technology, and the experiences of such key social groups as women, Native Americans, and African-Americans. The new second edition enhances this with superb new essays on the era's cultural and intellectual history. From the steel industry to the Chicago World's Fair, from the Supreme Court to the Social Gospel, these essays introduce readers to one of the most formative and exciting periods in American history. This second edition, building on the many strengths of the first, offers a comprehensive introduction to the transformation of America in these years. Charles Calhoun has improved upon an already valuable teaching text. . . . Calhoun's synthesis remains a great tool for teaching. Not only does it allow a glimpse of specialized topics and groups within the Gilded Age, essays are also read with relative ease. . . . Educators and students alike can gain a better perspective on the origins of modern America. The straightforward essays in The Gilded Age cut through stereotypes and introduce readers to the ways that the top historians analyze and discuss late-nineteenth-century America. The first edition was especially strong on economic, social, and political developments. The addition of chapters on cultural trends enhances the book's value as a course reader for undergraduates and as a reference tool for graduate students and professionals.