New Spirits Americans in the Gilded Age: 1865-1905

New Spirits: Americans in the "Gilded Age," 1865-1905, Third Edition, provides a fascinating look at one of the most crucial chapters in U.S. history. Rejecting the stereotype of a "Gilded Age" dominated by "robber barons," author Rebecca Edwards invites us to look more closely at the period when the United States became a modern industrial nation and asserted its place as a leader on the world stage.

In a concise, engaging narrative, Edwards recounts the contradictions of the era, including stories of tragedy and injustice alongside tales of humor, endurance, and triumph. She offers a balanced perspective that considers many viewpoints, including those of native-born whites, Native Americans, African Americans, and an array of Asian, Mexican, and European immigrants.

Rebecca Edwards is Professor of History on the Eloise Ellery Chair at Vassar College. She is the author of Angels in the Machinery: Gender in American Party Politics from the Civil War to the Progressive Era (OUP, 1997) and coauthor, with James A. Henretta and Robert O. Self, of America's History, Seventh Edition (2011).

Introduction: A "Gilded Age"?
PART I: THE WEDGE, 1865-1890
1. An Uneasy Peace: The Legacies of Civil War
2. Reach: Energy, Corporations, and People in the Global Economy
3. Work: Moving Up or Getting By
4. A State of War: The Violence of Incorporation
PART II: THE EXCHANGE
5. Money
6. Youth
7. Sex
8. Faith
9. Science
PART III: THE FIRES, 1890-1905
10. Cooperative Dreams: Populists and Progressives
11. Executive Powers: Presidents, Corporations, and American Empire
Epilogue: The Partridges and the Hippopotamus
Questions for Discussion
Index