Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America's Future - Hardcover
Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America's Future - Hardcover
by Fergus M. Bordewich (Author)
The spectacular story of the Great Centennial Exhibition of 1876, a world's fair to mark America's hundredth birthday--and a moment of reckoning for a nation barrelling toward the Gilded Age
"Those who were there felt that the wheel of history itself had turned before their eyes." Held at Fairmount Park, in Philadelphia, the extravaganza attracted 10 million Americans--nearly 20 percent of the population, among them P. T. Barnum, Frederick Douglass, and Mark Twain--and visitors from around the world, including the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro (who couldn't get enough of the exhibition). On display were inventions that signaled the changing landscape of American life, from the typewriter to the telephone to Heinz Tomato Ketchup. This celebration of America's first century came at a moment when its future seemed more precarious than ever--as big money threatened to overwhelm the government, underpaid workers waged the first national labor strike, feminists demanded rights for women, Native tribes went to war to repel the advancing settlement in the West, and Black Americans struggled to exercise their hard-won freedom. Looming over the fair was the presidential race of 1876--a highly contested election that would determine the fate of Reconstruction and permanently shape the Republican party as we know it today. Fergus Bordewich animates these converging crises through the lives of four protagonists--Rutherford B. Hayes, Alexander Graham Bell, railroad magnate Tom Scott, and sculptor Edmonia Lewis--revealing a country striving to live up to the promise of its founders while bracing for the tidal wave of the twentieth century.Author Biography
FERGUS M. BORDEWICH is the author of nine previous nonfiction books, including Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction; The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government (winner of the 2019 D. B. Hardeman Prize in American History); America's Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise That Preserved the Union (named best history book of 2012 by the Los Angeles Times); and Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Jean Parvin Bordewich, who advises philanthropies on democratic governance.
Details
Each book is chosen to inspire, entertain, and expand your perspective. Whether you're relaxing or learning something new, it’s made to fit seamlessly into your everyday life.
Shipping & Returns
We strive to process and ship all orders in a timely manner, working diligently to ensure that your items are on their way to you as soon as possible.
We are committed to ensuring a positive shopping experience for all our customers. If for any reason you wish to return an item, we invite you to reach out to our team for assistance, and we will evaluate every return request with care and consideration.
