Fergus Bordewich on Centennial and the Great Fair of 1876
About this episode
Fergus M. Bordewich discusses his book on the Great Fair of 1876 and its significance in American history.
In this episode, prize-winning author and historian Fergus M. Bordewich discusses his latest book, Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America’s Future, which explores the story of the nation’s 100th birthday and the first world’s fair. Bordewich traces the lives of President Rutherford B. Hayes, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, railroad magnate Tom Scott, and the African American sculptor Edmonia Lewis—revealing a country striving to live up to the promise of the founders while bracing for the tidal wave of the 20th century. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitutional Center, moderates. Resources Fergus M. Bordewich, Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America’s Future (2026) Fergus M. Bordewich, Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction (2023) Fergus M. Bordewich, Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America (2020) Fergus M…
More episodes of We the People
- Mary Sarah Bilder on the Origins of the Bill of Rights
- Chatrie and the Future of the Fourth Amendment
- Rosemarie Zagarri on The Declaration’s Grievances
- What the 2025-2026 Supreme Court Term Revealed About the Roberts Court
- Free Speech in a Changing World
- Does Article II of the Constitution Grant the President Power to Fire Anyone in the Executive Branch?
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the We the People podcast page.