91: The Gilded Age, Industrialization, and Assassination of President James Garfield
History That Doesn't Suck
Prof. Greg Jackson
4.7 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 7 June 2021
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“What is the chief end of man? A: To get rich.”
This is the story of the Gilded Age and its first three presidents: Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur.
Mark Twain calls this era a “Gilded Age”–that is, a time of great greed covered with a thin veneer hiding the nation’s decadence. Is it? We’ll assess and define this oft-forgotten time. In doing so, we’ll meet three oft-forgotten presidents. Rutherford (or Rutherfraud?) Hayes, who receives the presidency through a Reconstruction-ending compromise, is fighting for reform in the civil service. His successor James Garfield doesn’t want to be president but holds great promise. Sadly, an assassin will end his life before this last log-cabin president can even put his agenda into play. Can his compromised, spoils-system-created VP Chester “Chet” Arthur rise to the occasion?
Strikes, assassination, reform, unlikely presidents: welcome to the Gilded Age.
____
Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and
- go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations
- join discussions in our Facebook community
- get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette
- come see a live show
- get HTDS merch
- or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You know what's better than listening to history that doesn't suck? |
| 0:02.5 | Experiencing it live from New York City. |
| 0:04.8 | Join me, Professor Jackson, under the lights for storytelling with video and live musicians. |
| 0:09.3 | This show won't be recorded for the podcast and can only the experienced live-in person |
| 0:13.9 | or view live stream. |
| 0:15.1 | Shows are January 14th, 15th and 16th. |
| 0:17.6 | Go to htdspodcast.com and click the live-in NYC link for more info and tickets. |
| 0:23.0 | That's htdspodcast.com to experience history live. |
| 0:27.0 | History that of course doesn't suck. |
| 0:30.4 | History that doesn't suck is a bi-weekly podcast delivering a legit, seriously researched |
| 0:34.3 | hard-hitting survey of American history through entertaining stories. |
| 0:37.6 | If you'd like to support htds or enjoy some perks, like add free early releases or patron |
| 0:42.7 | exclusive mini episodes, please consider giving at patreon.com forward slash history that |
| 0:48.3 | doesn't suck. |
| 0:49.3 | To keep up with htds news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. |
| 1:00.7 | It's about 8.30 in the morning, Thursday, July 19th, 1877. |
| 1:05.1 | We're at a Pennsylvania railroad roundhouse in Pittsburgh where the railroad's workers, |
| 1:10.8 | aka trainmen, are coupling cars and otherwise preparing to head out on freight trains. |
| 1:16.2 | But make no mistake. |
| 1:17.7 | Today, these trainmen are upset. |
| 1:20.9 | Let me give you a little background. |
| 1:22.9 | The United States is currently experiencing its worst economic recession to date. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Prof. Greg Jackson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Prof. Greg Jackson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.