HIS.3007 Gilded Age of America: 1865-1900
The generation that followed the Civil War is often said to have experienced more significant chance than perhaps any other in American history. A contemporary novel co-authored by Mark Twain gave the age its lasting nickname, with its implication that beneath the gilded "shine" of the era's fabulous wealth lay less golden realities. This course will examine the transformations of American life during the late nineteenth century, emphasizing the northeastern urban, industrial quadrant wherein much of modern America struggled to be born. The course will conclude with the beginning dawn of a "progressive" movement and seek to explain exactly what forces produced the particularities of that reform episode. Both successes and failures will be considered.
LA