The Gilded Age and Progressive Era

Joy Callaway writes novels - novels infused with historical research. Her latest is a Gilded Age romance story set in Westchester Co., New York. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, lynching took place across the country, even if we think of it as a phenomenon exclusive to southern states. Acclaimed historian and author of civil rights Philip Dray tells a different story, of a lynching in New York that rocked the small town of Port Jervis. The murder of Robert Lewis by a mob has great significance for how we remember the past and...

The Gilded Age had its fare share of political scandals, and the Star Route scandal ranks as one of its most important. It exposed the spoils system at a time when public debate about good government filled the headlines. Why has this scandal remained so obscure when compared to others like Credit Mobilier or the Whiskey Ring. Professor Shawn Peters joins the show to discuss his latest book When B...

In this episode, Dr. Michelle Krowl joins me to talk about the archives, and specifically one the biggest archives in the world, the Library of Congress. Michelle works there as the historical specialist on the Civil War and Reconstruction. She is also a specialist for the presidential papers from James K. Polk to William Howard Taft, and thereby an expert on the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Ho...

Child labor regulation seems emblematic of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and yet federal legislation to protect children only became settled law many decades later. Professor John Fliter joins the show to discuss the history of child labor laws and how it has shaped the contemporary political debates. Essential Reading : John A. Fliter, Child Labor in America: The Epic Legal Struggle to Prot...

If any figure of the Gilded Age has major relevance on the lives of the working class today - especially those that cannot or struggle to buy a home - it is Henry George. The best-selling author and single tax advocate offered Americans and the world a big idea that could change the way governments tax its people. Essential Reading : Christopher William England, Land and Liberty: Henry George and...

Historians often look for excluded voices, and that task is difficult because archives keep scarcer records of ordinary people leading seemingly ordinary lives. When a scholar finds records that can tell a new story it is exciting. Professor Joan Flores Villalobos accomplishes this task in the story of The Silver Women . She joins me to talk about migrant women who transformed the Panama Canal pro...

This special episode is a reading by author Aaron Stark from his new book Disrupting Time , an account of the Waltham Watch Company and the international espionage that led to its demise. https://www.aaronstarkbooks.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first federal legislation to prohibit an entire nation of people from coming to the United States. It instigated a century or more or immigration regulations and codified "illegal" immigration. Dr. Ben Railton joins the show to explore the act. Ten years ago, Ben wrote about how the legislation still reverberates throughout the twentieth century, and in th...

Professors Patricia Strach and Kathleen Sullivan are better known in political science circles as "The Garbage Girls." They have been researching the history and politics of trash collection for nearly a decade, which culminates in a most important book called The Politics of Trash . They join me to talk about why your waste matters. Essential Reading : Patricia Strach and Kathleen S. Sullivan, Th...

Edith Wharton ranks as one of the Gilded Age's most prolific and popular writers. In this episode, Professor Stacy Holden tells us about her research on Wharton's lesser known travelogue In Morocco , a revealing account of the author's travels to the French and Spanish colony. It tells us a great deal about American and European imperialism, and the Orientalism that pervaded her thinking. Essentia...

Last year, we had Professor Thomas Ruys Smith with us to talk about his book Christmas Past . Keeping in the festive spirit, Tom has returned, and with co-conspirator Professor Hilary Emmett to do a special holiday reading of a Gilded Age classic Five Little Peppers . This was one of the biggest stories of its day and it launched Margaret Sidney's career into the stratosphere of best known authors...

The newspapers called Mother Jones the most dangerous woman in America because her presence at a labor rally would stiffen the resolve of workers. As Professor Simon Cordery relates, she raised "Cain and Consciousness." Prof. Cordery joins me to talk about Jones and her influence on the labor movement in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Essential Reading : Simon Cordery, Mother Jones: Raising C...

Professor Chad Pearson joins me to talk about his latest book Capital's Terrorists: Klansmen, Lawmen, and Employers in the Long Nineteenth Century . The book explores the way in which employer organizations helped stope industrial action and bust union activism. The tactics "employed" will shock you, even if you know a great deal about the period. Pearson also makes a strong case for thinking abou...

Everything is bigger in Texas, including political movements. I have yet to speak with scholars of populism, and this show rectifies that with two outstanding authors of the latest Texas populism histories (professors Gregg Cantrell and Thomas Alter) and a guest host, my colleague at Dickinson State University Dr. Jeff Wells. Essential Reading : Gregg Cantrell, The People’s Revolt: Texas Populists...

I've been looking forward to talking about food for a while. Dr. Helen Zoe Veit joins me to answer all my questions about decadent recipes, food security, poverty, picky children, and the connections between Gilded Age foodstuff and our diet today. Dr. Veit is professor at Michigan State University and the director of the " What America Ate " project. Essential Reading : Helen Zoe Veit, Modern Foo...

Someone poisoned Jane Stanford, the co-founder of Stanford University. Who done it, is up for debate. This murder story includes a cover up and a winding tale of Gilded Age policing, patronage, gender norms, immigration, and higher education. Two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard White joins me to explain how he researched the case and what, if any, conclusions can be made about the chief suspe...

Foreign banks saw great opportunity in China. Financing trade and commercial activities such as railroad construction was lucrative. Like all investments there is risk and foreign banks faced substantial risks in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Wars and revolutions threatened growth, and banking in many ways sparked wars and revolutions. Ghassan Moazzin's book  Foreign Banks and Global Fi...

Grover Cleveland has an interesting place in American political history. He won more presidential election popular votes than anyone other than FDR, and he is the only president to serve non-consecutive terms. Is there any more to say about him? Troy Senik, a former speech writer, makes a strong case to remember Cleveland today. Essential Reading: Troy Senik, A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and...

The Gilded Age and Progressive Era Podcast is 1 year old. I use this opportunity to reflect on the year, the top downloaded shows, the new friends made, and some behind-the-scenes insights. I also want to thank everyone who has joined me on this journey - the guests, the listeners, and the publishers. Many, many thanks! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Of all the tycoons of the Gilded Age, Jay Gould stands out as a speculator and industrialist that would do anything to make money. Greg Steinmetz, a journalist and Wall Street analyst joins me to discuss the life of this legendary "rascal." Regardless of how you might interpret Gould's place in American history, he cannot be ignored. Essential Reading : Greg Steinmetz, American Rascal: How Jay Gou...

Do you know Vivekananda? He was the leading Hindu spiritualist of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and a major influence on modern mindfulness, meditation, and yoga. You should know him, and thanks to Professor Ruth Harris we have a new biography that provides an intersectional approach to his life. Essential Reading : Ruth Harris, Guru to the World: The Life and Legacy of Vivekananda (2022). H...

Religion and war has a paradoxical relationship. Dr. Benjamin Wetzel joins me to discuss the history of religion and war in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, from mainline Protestant ministers calling souls to join the Union Army, to Catholic priests resisting the war against Spain in 1898. Essential Reading : Benjamin Wetzel, American Crusade: Christianity, Warfare, and National Identity (2022)...

Why have we not heard about Miriam Leslie? She was one of the richest New York women, and a media tycoon. She was also a seductress who broke the era's gender norms and charlatan that concocted her origin story. Her life is riveting and no better author to bring this biography to life than Betsy Prioleau. Essential Reading: Betsy Prioleau, Diamonds and Deadlines: The Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a F...

No one can dispute the importance of the Great War, but where the conflict began, and the ideas that set it apart from other wars is the starting point of this episode. Patrick Cohrs discusses his latest tome The New Atlantic Order and explains how the long origin of World War I began in the 1860s and has reverberated to this very day. Essential Reading : Patrick O. Cohrs, The New Atlantic Order (...