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I find the era between the end of the Civil War, and the start of World War I, a fascinating period. A time which spanned from the cowboy era, the railroads, the further growth of the United States, the emergence of the U.S. as a major player on the World Stage, right up to the outbreak of the Great War. It seems a much freer, more rugged, yet in some ways also more refined time. A time when America still had untamed frontiers and a man could make anything he wanted of himself.
I am curious if there are any good books which can further illuminate what the political and social life of the United States was over this period of time? How it changed after World War I?
For a basic survey type introduction, you can try the Don't Know Much About History book by Kenneth Davis. From there, you can see what topics particularly interest you. I recently read Devil in the White City about the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago and found it a good case study of the Gilded Age.
But be prepared that your perceptions about a freer, more rugged, and more refined time might be challenged.
I recently finished Doris Kearns Goodwin's The Bully Pulpit; It traces the rise of the Progressive movement of the day (which arose within the Republican Party, rather than the Southern/agrarian-dominated Democrats), and the split between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. The role of journalist Samuel McClure and his well-known staff of what would come to be called "investigative journatsits"also receives extensive coverage,
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is a frank, and brutal portrayal of blue-collar life in the early years of industrialization, but the ideological nature of the work tends to diminish its impartiality. Mark Wyman's Hoboes provides a study of a time in which unattached men outnumbered women, and sustained themselves in a manner little-remembered in today's sensitized society.
And while it's more focused on events in Europe, Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower depicts the slow decline of the class structure and ruling families as the modern industrial states emerged.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 04-05-2016 at 11:40 PM..
I've always been fascinated by the period around the turn of the century. Photography became available to the masses, automobiles started taking over horse and carriage, the Wright Brothers made their first flight, the first subway station was built, aspirin was invented, motion pictures took off, etc. It must have been an exciting time to be alive and I'm hoping Walter Lord's "The Good Years" (1900-1914) captures some of that (it's on my to-read list).
For a great subjective view of life in rural Vermont during that period (up to about 1900), try to find "The Williamstown Branch" by R.L. Duffus (who wrote for the NY Times, but grew up in Vermont) The style of the book is episodic and similar in voice to "To Kill a Mockingbird". He wrote another book "The Waterbury Record" that covers rural Vermont from 1900 onward. There was grumping that a few town secrets were revealed in his books.
If you appreciate photography, drawings and political cartoons of the time, and are willing to have any illusions about the so-called Gilded Age thoroughly crushed:
How The Other Half Lives with 100 photographs from the Riis Collection, by Jacob A. Riis, Dover Pub The Good Old Days-They Were Terrible! by Otto L. Bettmann, Random House pub
Last edited by nightlysparrow; 04-06-2016 at 03:08 PM..
I find the era between the end of the Civil War, and the start of World War I, a fascinating period. A time which spanned from the cowboy era, the railroads, the further growth of the United States, the emergence of the U.S. as a major player on the World Stage, right up to the outbreak of the Great War. It seems a much freer, more rugged, yet in some ways also more refined time. A time when America still had untamed frontiers and a man could make anything he wanted of himself.
I am curious if there are any good books which can further illuminate what the political and social life of the United States was over this period of time? How it changed after World War I?
The era is not quite what you think it was. I would describe the period from about 1875 to 1900 as being the Guilded Age. It was the age of laisse faire and people like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller built huge fortunes by creating the steel and petroleum industries. The abuses of some individuals and corporations became so widespread that this era contained the seeds of its own destruction. These abuses included: railroads charging rates to some customers that only be called extortion; prices for consumer and industrial goods set artificially high by monopolies rather than by the market; the production of unsanitary foods and goods because those practices were cheaper; and plundering of public lands and resources for private gain--without compensation to the public.
Starting in 1890, with the passage of the Sherman Anti Trust Act, the public became more and more wary of unregulated capitalism. Unregulated capitalism was not leading to more competition. Instead, it was leading to less competition and more control of industries by monopolies. The Sherman Act represented the first attempt by Congress to prohibit monopolies and other anti-competitive practices.
When Teddy Roosevelt became President in 1901, he initiated the Progressive Era in American politics. This would last until 1920 when Warren Harding was elected President. The Progressive Era resulted in a variety of legislation and regulation designed to curtail the worst abuses that laisse faire capitalism had brought to this country. The Pure Food and Drug Act set up a system of inspection that compelled manufacturers to produce sanitary foods. The Antiquities Act allowed the President to designate sections of public land for purposes of conservation to prevent plundering and unwise development by private interests. The Hepburn Act regulated the freight rates that railroads could charge customers. TR did many other things that didn't require legislation to accomplish. He made sure his Attorney General, Philander Knox, vigorously enforced the Sherman Anti Trust law. He started by going after the railroads first. Than he went after a series of other industries that were using monopoly power to gouge the public.
Subsequent presidents, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson pushed even more progressive measures through Congress. Taft's administration brought roughly twice as many anti-trust prosecutions--including the Standard Oil case-- as TR had. Wilson got the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act passed. These laws prohibited practices like price fixing and misleading advertising. Corporate mergers were to be regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. Other laws attempted to prohibit child labor and regulate the number of hours that an employer could force his employees to work.
The frontier did end around the turn of the 20th Century. Some, like Frederick Jackson Turner, theorized its ending would have profound effects on America. If it did, I haven't been able to identify any of those effects.
Last edited by markg91359; 04-06-2016 at 03:54 PM..
The era is not quite what you think it was. I would describe the period from about 1875 to 1900 as being the Guilded Age. It was the age of laisse faire and people like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller built huge fortunes by creating the steel and petroleum industries. The abuses of some individuals and corporations became so widespread that this era contained the seeds of its own destruction. These abuses included: railroads charging rates to some customers that only be called extortion; prices for consumer and industrial goods set artificially high by monopolies rather than by the market; the production of unsanitary foods and goods because those practices were cheaper; and plundering of public lands and resources for private gain--without compensation to the public.
No time period is a utopia, but it doesn't mean the things the OP described weren't true. I think the OP just meant that if you look at everything that happened and how much America changed from 1870 to 1914, it's like looking at completely different worlds, in a relatively short time span. This is also why I'm so fascinated by the period around the turn of the 20th century - about 1890-1910 - so much seemed to happen so quickly in that short time frame in terms of inventions and advancements on pre-existing inventions.
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