National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: "Burden," the Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870 1912
This site includes poems and editorials, some of which that praise, others that harshly condemn what Rudyard Kipling asserted was the "White Man's Burden."
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Mark Twain, the Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870 1912
Two essays by Mark Twain that condemn American foreign expansion and the immorality of imperialism. Includes questions for discussion.
Curated OER
History Matters: Atlanta Compromise Speech, 1895
Read an excerpt from Booker T. Washington's 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech, in which he stresses accommodation rather than resistance as way to deal with racism. Includes a short audio clip - the only surviving recording of Washington's...
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: America at the Centennial
A lesson plan requiring student to analyze primary documents from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. Students interpret what these historical artifacts say "about the lives and values of Americans in 1876" among other things.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Era of Expansion and Reform
This resource, a speech by Woodrow Wilson to Congress on April 8, 1913, gives a great review of how the United States transformed from from a rural country to an urban one. It includes a review of industrialization, new inventions,...
Digital History
Digital History: The Gospel of Wealth
Andrew Carnegie was a believer in the gospel of wealth. Read about his philosophy concerning the millions made by business tycoons in the Gilded Age, and see how he carried out this gospel.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Identity in the Gilded Age
Examine the tension experienced by African-Americans as they struggled to establish a vibrant and meaningful identity based on the promises of liberty and equality in the midst of a society that was ambivalent towards them and sought to...
Cornell University
Cornell University: The Rush to Oklahoma
An observation printed in Harper's Weekly in 1889 about the Oklahoma land rush into the Indian Territory.
Vassar College
Vassar College: 1896: The Popularity of Bicycles
As part of the larger site about the year 1896, this article describes the bicycle craze at the end of the 19th century and includes newspaper articles and cartoons about this fad.
Stanford University
Stanford University: Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls
A Stanford University site about popular literature during the Gilded Age.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Office Workers
Briefly describes the shift in offices from male to female clerical workers. Details the progression of women in going from clerical positions to managerial positions.
Other
The Great Peshtigo Fire Page
Forgotten in the fame of the Chicago Fire, Peshtigo suffered even more in the toll of dead, injured, and total destruction.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission
Explore Pa History: Making Steel
Examine the historical and economic impact of the Pennsylvania's steel industry. Included in this historical account are video, maps, and pictorial artifacts of this era.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Around the World in 72 Days
This PBS site follows undercover journalist Nellie Bly (1864-1922) on her 72-day journey in 1889 around the world.
Other
Gilded Age Slide Show
A class project slideshow about the Gilded Age covering topics such as: Reformers, Mark Twain, Spoils System, political candidates, and lots more.
Other
Blackboard @ Sfsu: Vaudeville in Ohio
Gives a great description of small town U.S.A. entertainment: traveling vaudeville shows.
Other
Oak Park Tourist:the Fertile Mind of Edgar Rice Burrough
This article is about an exhibit at the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest highlighting Edgar Rice Burroughs. A brief biography is included.
Other
Brown Quarterly: The Chinese and the Transcontinental Railroad [Pdf]
From The Brown Quaterly (1997) an article describing the role of the Chinese immigrant in building the railroad. Includes images of the Chinese railroad workers. (PDF - scroll down to page 7)
The College Board
College Board: Ap u.s History Ubranization [Pdf]
By 1900, America had become an urban nation in its dominant tone, in its economy and work, and in its culture and aspiration as well as its demography. Gradually-and then seemingly suddenly-cities emerged as the focal points of the...
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University Libraries: Gilded Age: 1873 1876: The Panic of 1873
Explains the circumstances and events that led to the Panic of 1873, which was precipitated by the collapse of the Philadelphia investment house of Jay Cooke.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Newspapers Since 1860
A short summation of how Hearst and Pulitzer shaped the newspapers of their day by adding new features that would appeal to the populace.
University of Michigan
Making of America: The Lost City!
This site from the University of Michigan provides the full text of "The Lost City!" published a bare year after the Chicago fire; includes illustrations and accounts of the fire.
Authors Calendar
Author's Calendar: Joseph Pulitzer
Biography of Joseph Pulitzer, 1847-1911, and explanation of his connection to the Pulitzer Prize.