A free lecture series about America's Gilded Age will started Monday at the Rancho Mirage Public Library.
William Gudelunas, who recently retired as professor of American history at College of the Desert and Cal State San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus, will give the lectures, which are at 2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. There is a reception at 2 p.m. Friday, according to library spokeswoman Susan Cook.
Topics:
Monday: "Who are the Mugwumps? Politics in the Gilded Age." The lecture will cover the role of women and minorities, Jim Crow laws and immigration.
Tuesday: "Robber Barons or Captains of Industry? Labor and Business in the Gilded Age." The lecture will cover the "original" populist movement; farming, late 19th Century imperialism, and Hearst, Pulitzer and the "yellow press."
Thursday: "The Rise of Roosevelt 'The First."' The lecture will cover the westward movement and the Turner Thesis, the Spanish-American War of 1898 and monopolistic capitalism.
Seating is first-come, first-served. The library is at 71-100 Highway 111. For information, call (760) 341-7323.
