Vassar College
Vasser College: 1896: Popular Amusements
This 1896, A Website of Political Cartoons site lists concerts, lectures, travelling shows, opera houses, circuses, and more as popular amusements during the Gilded Age
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: Technological Innovation
A quick comprehension check of technological innovation in the Gilded Age.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: Quiz 2
A five-question quiz over the rise of industrial capitalism and the Gilded Age.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Sports and Leisure
Read about the options for leisure time in the Gilded Age for the typical American. Baseball, vaudeville, and bicycling all came into their own in the 1890s.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: Period 6: 1865 1898
This Khan Academy resource provides a table of contents with notes for several sections of AP US History: Period 6: 1865-1898.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Artistic and Literary Trends
The arts blossomed in the Gilded Age, aided by the wealth of the business tycoons. Read about the artists who flourished at the time, along with the realism in literature that ranged from poetry to novels.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Labor vs. Management
As Big Business grew in the Gilded Age, so did conflict between the workers and management. Read about the techniques used by both groups to try to press their points and get the upper hand in negotiations.
The White House
The White House: Presidents: Benjamin Harrison
Read a short biography of Benjamin Harrison, one of the Republican presidents during the Gilded Age. A black and white photo is provided.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1890 1945: Introduction to the Age of Empire
Discusses the transition of the United States in the late 19th century from an isolationist country into an imperial power with colonies of its own and the reasons for this abrupt change in foreign policy. Includes questions for students...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Lee Chew, "The Biography of a Chinaman"
A story of the rise, the challenges, and the alienation experienced by one Chinese immigrant in America. Questions for discussion included.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Power: Taming the Octopus: The Image of the Octopus
Six versions of the octopus, a pervasive image in late-nineteenth-century America, that illustrate the extensive and corrosive power held by corporations over American political and economic life. Reading guide with discussion questions.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Roots of the Movement
Progressivism got a push from the Populist movement, a reaction to the forgettable presidents and laissez-faire government in the Gilded Age. Find a listing of authors who wrote about progressive ideas, and see what influence populism...
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,...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: Ap Us History Study Guide, Period 6: 1865 1898
[Free Registration/Login Required] AP U.S. History study guide on the social, cultural, economic and political changes that occurred during the period of American expansion, industrialization, and urban migration, 1865-1898. Learning...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Urbanization 1870 1900: Change Reflected in Thought and Writing
American writers and intellectuals played an important role in articulating the changes taking place in Industrial America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Learn about some of the prominent writers, scientists, and philosophers at that...
Other
Kingwood Library: American Cultural History: 1880 1889
The 1880's in America were chock full of new architecture, technologies, businesses, modern conveniences such as gas and electric, operas, fashions, and much more as featured in this resource.
Vassar College
1896: Popular Medicine
A very interesting look at popular medicine in the late 19th century. Read about home remedies, door-to-door patent-medicine salesmen, painkillers, and advertisements for such remedies. Find links to political cartoons related to popular...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Industrialization 1870 1900: A New American Consumer Culture
Learn about the development of the consumer mindset at the end of the 19th century.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New Attitutdes Toward Wealth
The accumulation of wealth went beyond inheritance in the late 19th century. Read about three different ideas for the ordinary person to become wealthy.
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)
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.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Norwegian Immigration in the Nineteenth Century
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson plan about Norwegian immigrantion to the United States.
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.
University of Houston
University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: No. 1391: The Johnstown Flood
The explanation of why the South Fork Creek dam broke causing the famous disaster. This is a transcript of an accompanying radio broadcast.