Major Problems in the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era: Documents and Essays (Major Problems in American History Series)

Rating:
Summary: An Important Book for any Student of History
Review: Leon Fink brings together primary and secondary sources that all but force the reader to determine the actual goings on for himself. There is distinctly absent an editorial interpretation of events or topics covered in this work, which makes it an absolute necessity for future history text writers at the primary or secondary level. They may take an important lesson from the structure and function of this book, that being that students need to see and read things for themselves in order to form a relative and informed opinion about such events. Imagine students at the high school and university levels still believing that Columbus discovered America or George Washington chopped down a cherry tree. Fink's editorial style provides much evidence of the way things ought to be. Fink does not interfere or contradict any of the primary source documents he includes here, therefore the reader will not detect any personal or political bias.

The topics covered in this book range from 1875 and the Gilded Age to 1920 and the aftermath of World War I. A wide range of authors are included and various aspects of history, from poetry to stump speech are considered equal. Primary source documents, such as speeches given by big business proponents or political activists are supplemented by lengthier secondary source materials written by university scholars such as Arthur Link and David Kennedy among many others. In this format, students are able to distinguish between what we say happened and what really happened according to documented facts. Thus, students are able to sharpen critical reading and critical thinking skills exponentially by the end of this work. Naturally, the documents themselves will have a personal or political bias, as authors generally exhibit such, but the student's task will be to uncover evidence of such bias while simultaneously extruding facts.

This book acts as a perfect follow up to a general American history survey, perhaps even as the required text for a sectional history course having something to do with the Gilded Age and/or Progressive Era. I wholeheartedly recommend the entire Major Problems series as they all allow a reader to perform his job task correctly: read and think critically about the topic at hand.