The World in Time

Richard White

Friday, March 02, 2018

Lady with the Rose (Charlotte Louise Burckhardt), by John Singer Sargent, 1882. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Valerie B. Hadden, 1932.

The period of American history that extends from 1865 to 1896, Stanford historian Richard White writes in the introduction to The Republic for Which It Stands, “for a long time devolved into historical flyover country. Writers and scholars departed the Civil War, taxied through Reconstruction, and embarked on a flight to the twentieth century and the Progressives, while only rarely touching down in between. Such neglect has changed with recent scholarship that has revealed a country transformed by immigration, urbanization, environmental crisis, political stalemate, new technologies, the creation of powerful corporations, income inequality, failure of governance, mounting class conflict, and increasing social, cultural, and religious diversity.” In this episode of the podcast, Lewis H. Lapham and White try to dig into as many of these topics as they can, while discussing William Dean Howells’ role in capturing all these moments and whether it is fair to call the current moment the second Gilded Age.

 

Lewis H. Lapham talks with Richard White, author of The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896.

 

Thanks to our generous donors. Lead support for this podcast has been provided by Elizabeth “Lisette” Prince. Additional support was provided by James J. “Jimmy” Coleman Jr.

Discussed in this episode

More Podcasts

President Gerald Ford taking questions from reporters during a press conference at the White House, 1975. Photograph by Marion S. Trikosko.

January 01, 2021

The World in Time:

Harold Holzer

Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of The Presidents vs. the Press: The Endless Battle between the White House and the Media—from the Founding Fathers to Fake News. More

May 27, 2022

The World in Time:

Eric Jay Dolin

Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution. More

The 7th New York Militia Regiment marches down Broadway, an illustration from Harper’s Weekly, 1861.

August 18, 2017

The World in Time:

John Strausbaugh

Lewis H. Lapham talks with John Strausbaugh, author of City of Sedition: The History of New York City During the Civil War. More

November 09, 2018

The World in Time:

David Wootton

Lewis H. Lapham talks with David Wootton, author of Power, Pleasure, and Profit: Insatiable Appetites from Machiavelli to Madison. More

Lady in Colonial Dress Striking a Gentleman with Her Fan, by Thure de Thulstrup, 1895.

June 25, 2021

The World in Time:

Alan Taylor

Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783–1850. More

October 12, 2018

The World in Time:

Jill Lepore

Lewis H. Lapham talks with Jill Lepore, author of These Truths: A History of the United States. More