Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Origins of Modern America - Paperback

by Eric Arnesen (Contribution by), Robert G. Barrows (Contribution by), Michael Les Benedict (Contribution by)

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.

Author Biography

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.