America in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

By: Edward T. O'Donnell, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Edward T. O'Donnell

America stands at a dramatic crossroads: Massive corporations wield disturbing power. The huge income gap between the one percent and the other 99 percent grows wider. Astounding new technologies are changing American lives.

Sound familiar? These and other issues that characterize the early 21st century were also the hallmarks of the transformative periods known as the Gilded Age (1865-1900) and the Progressive Era (1900-1920). Before the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, America was a developing nation, with a largely agrarian economy and virtually no role in global affairs. Yet by 1900, within 35 years, the US had emerged as the world's greatest industrial power.

Explore these tumultuous times in America in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Over decades marked by economic, political, social, and technological upheavals, the US went from an agrarian, isolationist country to the world's greatest industrial power and a nascent geopolitical superpower. In a time rife with staggering excess, social unrest, and strident calls for reform, these and other remarkable events created the country that we know today: industrialization gave rise to a huge American middle class; voluminous waves of immigration added new material to the "melting pot" of US society; the phenomenon of big business led to the formation of labor unions and the adoption of consumer protections; electricity, cars, and other technologies forever changed the landscape of American life.

In taking the measure of six dramatically innovative decades, you'll investigate the economic, political, and social upheavals that marked these years, as well as the details of daily life and the cultural thinking of the times. In the process, you'll meet robber barons, industrialists, socialites, reformers, inventors, conservationists, women's suffragists, civil rights activists, and passionate progressives, who together forged a new United States.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2015 The Great Courses (P)2015 The Teaching Company, LLC

Fascinating time of American History

What did you love best about America in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era?

Prof. O'Donnell does a great job with explaining the good and the bad about the Industrial Revolution. Even the name Gilded Era is explained that though it is shiny and pretty on the surface underneath is harsh (thanks Mark Twain). He is fair to show the personalities of the leaders and their foibles. We learn of the amazing jumps in progress during this time. Electricity and its daily uses, travel, manufacturing, treatment of the Native Americans, giving up the improvements for African Americans in the South found after the Civil War. So much you will learn of items we use today, developed 100 years ago.

What did you like best about this story?

i am a great lover in History, especially American, and learned that this era is just a blank part of my past learning.

Which character – as performed by Professor Edward T. O'Donnell, PhD – was your favorite?

as many people do, I am interested in Teddy Roosevelt. What a character. Aggressive but able to get along with people.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

all that glitters is not gold.

Wow

I learned so much! The organization, framing, and delivery of the content was so clear and most enjoyable. I’m tempted to listen again and take notes next time.

Gave me a far better and wanted understanding of our current day world

This was a great listen!! In particular, the contrasts between the Guilded age and Progressive era were so insightful -and really enlightened me to historical social and political patterns in the US (and some for developed world overall) that apply to our current day situation. It gave me a much wanted understanding of what in the last 2 centuries has led up to today's US social, political and economic nuances -and even some sense and comfort of the future.

A great look at the period

As with the Great Courses, "America in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era" is a great look at the Period now known as the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. From a look at politics, to a look at various sectors of Cultural and Public Life, Dr. O'Donnell does a great, and invigorating job at educating the public on a period that, at least to some, seems to be happening again.

Great Overview...

of an important era in US history. I enjoyed this Great Course. Professor was well-spoken.

A Great Look into a Not Well Known Era

Usually when you take an American History course the Gilded Age is not well covered. I only remember a little bit of this era from the history courses I took. So I came in with a small understanding of the era. After this course I found it to be the most fascinating era in US history. So many things happened during this time that still effect us. This is not only in regards to law but also culture.

Professor O'Donnell has a great voice and I found myself feeling a comfortable familiarity with him. He tells some great stories along the way too so you feel like the people in this era are truly people and not just listed names.

Sometimes you get a treat with some background music from the era. I loved that as it made the lecture feel really alive.

I think that this is an important course to get as it has a lot of correlation to our times. Many of the problems of this era are still going on today. Some examples are the rise of nativism, the huge rich versus poor divide and campaign finance. I would personally suggest this as a course for all of those reasons.

O'Donnell is enthusiastic and well organized

After having listened to Allitt's Industrial Revolution series, this course on Gilded and Progressive eras America is certainly superior and crafting a narrative. Civil rights, conservation, urbanization, unions, strikes, robber barons and Muckrakers are all covered very well, and very logically. O'Donnell clearly sees a larger picture for this era, and the battle between notions of individualism and common good in the American psyche play out exceptionally well in his lectures. For a survey course in this period, O'Donnell does a fantastic job in teaching American history.

Great overview! Leaves me wanting more...

This course gives a solid introduction to the major people and events of the gilded age and the progressive era.
It touches on a thousand different things which deserve the attention of anyone wishing to be an informed citizen -- making it quite comprehensive in its scope, but inevitably light on the details in many cases.
So, if you want to do more than scratch the surface on a lot of these things you will have to dig deeper elsewhere, but a course like this is a great starting point, wetting your appettite and leaving you wanting to learn more.
It was stimulating, but has also left me with the sense that I didnt know nearly as much as I thought I did. I have my homework cut out for me.

Good knowledge to know

This was a very interesting topic that every high school and college graduate should know but many don't. Especially things that were done historically to control black voter suppression in the south All the way up to the late 1950s and '60s. I think this is suppressed by most higher education today because it is a dark stain on the political party that also gave you the KKK. Nevertheless, this was a balanced, non-political bias look at the truth and history of the country.

great series

this series of lectures is a great study in history and wide scope of learning