Introduction to Cultural Expression in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (History 426, San Francisco State University)

History 426, History of the United States, 1877-1916
An Introduction to American Cultural Expression during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
(from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War I)

Shortly after 1900, the director of the nation's most prominent art museum, the Metropolitan Museum of New York, observed that the creative arts were in "a state of unrest all over the world." "And," he added, "I dislike unrest." Unrest, like it or not, meant change and Americans at that time witnessed dramatic changes in literature, art, music, and architecture--many of them directly influenced by the new urban, industrial, multi-ethnic society. Changes in transportation and communication during those years also permitted the emergence of new forms of mass entertainment, notably the Chautauqua and professional baseball. Those years also saw a number of great expositions, from Philadelphia in 1876 to San Francisco in 1915, at which the accomplishments and values of the era were put on display.

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Parts of this text are adapted from Making America: A History of the United States, by Carol Berkin, Christopher L Miller, Robert W. Cherny, and James L. Gormly, © Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995 and 1999. All other parts © Robert W. Cherny. These pages are intended primarily to provide links to websites that present information on major patterns in cultural expression during the years from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War I. Each category begins with a brief and selective overview of developments, followed by links.

Music: James Reese Europe, "Castle House Rag" (1914), Warren Trachtman