Gilded Age (1865-1918)

In United States history, the Gilded Age is a period spanning approximately the 1870s to the turn of the twentieth century. The term was coined by writers Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873), satirizing what they believed to be an era of serious social problems disguised by a thin gold gilding.

The Gilded Age was an era of enormous growth, especially in the North and West. This attracted millions of emigres from Europe. However, the Gilded Age was also an era of enormous poverty. The average annual income for most families was $380, well below the poverty line. Railroads were the major industry, but the factory system, mining, and labor unions also increased in importance.

Two major nationwide depressions known as the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893 interrupted growth. The South remained economically devastated; its economy became increasingly tied to cotton and tobacco production, which suffered low prices. African-Americans in the South were stripped of political power and voting rights. The political landscape was notable in that despite some corruption, turnout was very high and elections between the evenly matched parties were close.

The dominant issues were cultural (especially regarding prohibition, education and ethnic and racial groups), and economics (tariffs and money supply). Reformers crusaded against child labour and for the 8-hour working day, civil service reform, prohibition, and women's suffrage. State & local governments built schools, colleges and hospitals that sometimes received donations from philanthropists and various diverse religious denominations structured the social and cultural lives of many Americans.

Did you find this review helpful?
55 Items found Print
Active Filters: In-Stock Books & Materials
American History for Young Students III
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 1st-6th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in TruthQuest History (Location: HISCUR-TQ)
$29.95
Before the Gold Rush
from McClelland & Stewart Limited
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Bite of the Gold Bug
by Barthe DeClements
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$4.99 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Carver: A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
from Boyds Mill Press
for 7th-11th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.95
Cobblestone "The Panama Canal"
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Dreams in the Golden Country
Dear America
by Kathryn Lasky
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Elizabeth Leads the Way
by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
from Square Fish Publishing
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Era Of Industrial Growth & Foreign Expansion 1865-1900
Focus on U.S. History
by Kathy Sammis
from Walch Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
from Henry Holt and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service: 1878-1915
by Rebecca Locklear
for 4th-12th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$19.95
Frederick Douglass In His Own Words
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
George Washington Carver - Unit Study Curriculum Guide
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gilded Age: A History in Documents
by Janette Thomas Greenwood
from Oxford University
for 9th-12th grade
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Greater Journey
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
J. Pierpont Morgan
by Michael Burgan
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
John Flynn
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Klondike Fever
by Michael Cooper
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th rgade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ladies Were Not Expected
by Dorothy Nafus Morrison
2nd edition from Oregon Historical Society Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
for 7th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Scholastic Inc.
for 7th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lost City
by Ted Lewin
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$8.99
Meet Samantha
American Girl
by Susan S. Adler
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mornings on Horseback
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
National; Book Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$20.00
Orphan for Nebraska
A Guild Book
by Charlene Joy Talbot
from Atheneum
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Orphan Train Rider
by Andrea Warren
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$9.95
Orphan Train Rider
by Andrea Warren
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Panama Canal
by Elizabeth Mann
from Mikaya Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
People at the Center of Women's Suffrage
by Deborah Kops
1st edition from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail
by Theodore Roosevelt
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$18.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Ranch under the Rimrock
by Dorothy Lawson McCall
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Rebuilding a Nation
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Reconstruction Era
by Cindy Barden
from Mark Twain Media
for 4th-7th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Reconstruction: Binding the Wounds
Perspectives on History Series
by Cheryl Edwards, ed.
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$7.95
Rough Riders
by Theodore Roosevelt
from Dover Publications
Historical non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$8.95
Rough Riders
by Theodore Roosevelt
from University of Nebraska
Historical non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Samantha Learns a Lesson
American Girls
by Susan S. Adler
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Shoes for Everyone
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.95 $6.00 (3 in stock)
Stampede for Gold
Sterling Point Books
by Pierre Berton
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-7th
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$6.95
Story of the Reconstruction
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by Brendan January
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Then Darkness Fled
Leaders in Action Series
by Stephen Mansfield
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$16.95
Theodore Roosevelt: Rallying a Free People
by Fred J. Cook, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Kingston House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Up From Slavery
Dover Thrift Editions
by Booker T. Washington
from Dover Publications
Autobiography for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00
Walter Reed: Vanquishing Yellow Fever
by Edward F. Dolan, illustrated by Dan Siculan
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
War Between the States
by John J. Dwyer and editors
1st edition from American Vision Press
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
War Between the States
by John J. Dwyer and editors
from Western Conservatory of the Arts & Sciences
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$49.95
What Is the Panama Canal? (What Was...?)
What Was?
by Janet Pascal
1st edition from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$5.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
What Makes the Light Bright, Thomas Edison
by Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99
Who Was Helen Keller?
Who Was?...Series
by Gare Thompson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Who Was Mark Twain?
Who Was?...Series
by April Jones Prince, John O'Brien
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.99