Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America's Future

by Fergus M. Bordewich

The spectacular story of the Great Centennial Exhibition of 1876—held in the shadow of a highly contested presidential election that triggered the collapse of Reconstruction and laid the foundations of the Republican Party we know today

“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% of the population, among them the likes of 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 past 100 years came at a moment when its future seemed more precarious than ever—as big money infiltrated government, Black Americans struggled to exercise their hard-won freedom, underpaid workers waged the first national labor strike, feminists demanded rights for women, and Native tribes went to war to repel the advancing settlement in the west. 

In this engrossing, kaleidoscopic history, Fergus Bordewich brings the reader down onto the fairgrounds, animating these converging crises through the lives of four protagonists—Rutherford B. Hayes, Alexander Graham Bell, railroad magnate Tom Scott, and sculptor Edmonia Lewis. Centennial reveals a country in metamorphosis, still striving to live up to the promise of its Founders while bracing for the tidal wave of the twentieth century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 9, 2026

About the author

FERGUS M. BORDEWICH is the author of eight non-fiction books: "Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America"; "The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government" (awarded the Hardeman Prize in American History, in 2019); "America's Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas and the Compromise that Preserved the Union" (winner of the Los Angeles Times award for best history book, in 2013); "Washington: The Making of the American Capital" (named by the Washington Post as one f the best books of 2008); "Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America (named by the American Booksellers' Association as one of the ten best books of 2005)"; "My Mother’s Ghost," a memoir; "Killing the White Man’s Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century"; and "Cathay: A Journey in Search of Old China." He has also published an illustrated children’s book, "Peach Blossom Spring" and has written the script for a PBS documentary about Thomas Jefferson, "Mr. Jefferson’s University." He also edited an photo-illustrated book of eyewitness accounts of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, "Children of the Dragon." He regularly reviews books for the Wall Street Journal. His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, American Heritage, Smithsonian Magazine, the Civil War Monitor, and many other publications. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Jean Parvin Bordewich.

BORDEWICH WAS BORN in New York City in 1947, and grew up in Yonkers, New York. While growing up, he often traveled to Indian reservations around the United States with his mother, LaVerne Madigan Bordewich, the executive director of the Association on American Indian Affairs, then the only independent advocacy organization for Native Americans. This early experience helped to shape his lifelong preoccupation with American history, the settlement of the continent, and issues of race, poverty, and political power. He holds degrees from the City College of New York and Columbia University. In the late 1960s, he did voter registration for the NAACP in the still-segregated South; he also worked as a roustabout in Alaska’s Arctic oil fields, a taxi driver in New York City, and a deckhand on a Norwegian freighter.

He has been an independent writer and historian since the early 1970s. As a journalist, he traveled extensively in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, writing on politics, economic issues, culture, and history, on subjects including Islamic fundamentalism, the plight of the Kurds in northern Iraq, civil war in Burma, religious repression in China, Kenya’s population crisis, German Reunification, the peace settlement in Ireland, and other issues. He also served for brief periods as an editor and writer for the Tehran Journal in Iran, in 1972-1973, a press officer for the United Nations, and an advisor to the New China News Agency in Beijing, in 1982-1983, when that agency was embarking on its effort to move from a propaganda model toward a western-style journalistic one.

Reviews

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Centennial; the great fair of 1876 and the invention of the American future by Fergus .M Bordewich, I have read mini books about great world fairs in our history and the history of other countries and I must say this one was the shortest with the biggest list of what they don’t have as opposed to what they did have and it just left me wanting. they really had no great explanations of any grand exhibits except for the ones that they would point to to show how inferior it was as to how it could’ve been. They had an exhibit for notable females but as the author said it was mostly educated well to do women and not those who work in industrial parks factories sewing houses etc I get it I really do but it seems he would only tell you things so you could see how in comparison it could’ve been that they did ABC. They initially wanted Frederick Douglas to be one of the opening day speakers but in the end got a black pastor to say a prayer instead so as not to offend southern gentlemen and Frederick Douglas was supposed to sit on the Centennial board when he approached the fair he wasn’t allowed in that was notable I get why he put that but in other books they talk about how grand it was like the one about the 1892 fair when the man describes the lights coming on I could feel the awe of the crowd sing electricity for the first time, but this was just like a gossip rag from 1876 he hit all the main players they had many notable things but Mr. Bordewich instead of letting you see it through the eyes of the modern day viewer he make sure you look at it through 21st century lens en I think any good writer would have that expose notes put everything from the Native American exhibit to the exhibit of the black culturist he made certain you saw it through a racist lens with no benefit of credibility for anyone. now let me say this this was a well research book but I think when someone is reading a book like this however problematic we want to see it the way the person of the day saw it and I get it they were racist and did a lot of racist things and the patriarchy was strong and so women just had a small exhibit in the back I get all that but to beat me on the head with so much stuff they should’ve done just really it was only an OK read I love nonfiction but this was just I don’t know I know I’m coming off as a racist and I’m totally not oh so glad we are where we’re at and hopefully getting better I believe everyone has the right to be happy but I just after reading great books about world fairs I was expecting something different, I guess. I mean the worlds fair in 1892 had a hole famous serial killer attached to it and they mention it in the book but we also got to see exhibits through the eyes of the modern day viewer and they do have news papers from modern day but most of them agree with Mr. Bordewich. maybe I’m stating it wrong and not explaining myself the right way I am glad he put those things in the book I just wish we could’ve heard more about Alexander Gram Bell‘s recording machine which he does make one or two comments about that but it’s isn’t made a big deal Love despite it was a big deal back then. That’s what I’m trying to say the things he should’ve expanded on he didn’t show us to tell us all the things that could’ve been but wasn’t. Sorry this is so long #NetGalley,#TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview,

[Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader 2.0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Centennial Exposition of 1876 brought nearly 20% of the nation's. population to Philadelphia, neatly delivered by convenient rail transportation. There were more than 200 buildings of displays, the majority focused on the most up-to-date inventions, agricultural techniques, art and just about anything else you can think of. Some people complained that many of the exhibits resembled jumbled piles of stuff, but most attendees were delighted to see what their country had achieved in its first 100 years.

But Fergus Bordewich tells us that things were actually pretty shaky. The Gilded Age had already begin and big money was wheedling its way into government--or even just charging in, full tilt--weakening the Founders' promises. Following the death of Abraham Lincoln reconstruction was a mess, leaving Black Americans fighting for their place, as Native tribes battled to keep US soldiers out of their places. Labor exploitation was brutal and widespread. Bordewich uses four historical figures to animate the issues--railroad tycoon Tom Scott, inventor Alexander Graham Bell, Presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes, and Edmonia Lewis, a sculptor of Black and Native heritage.

If you know anything about fashion history, the 1870s were extraordinarily decorated with fringe, tassels, ruffles, patterns, colors, beading, bustles and you name it. Rooms were crammed with frilly pouffy decorative furniture. From the descriptions it sounds like much of the Exposition followed the same design esthetic.

And so does this book. Fergus Bordewich tries to cover the history, the politics, the Zeitgeist of the time through the event itself as well as by notable attendees and it is overwhelming. Centennial is enjoyable but overstuffed with so much that was going on during this crucial period. Perhaps a longer book is called for.

With the 250th anniversary of the US approaching, there is a lot to learn from this book, some warnings and a few kudos. Timely, readable, and full of period detail, Centennial is an excellent look at the US during the first centennial celebration. Bordewich is a writer to explore.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for a DRC of this book in exchange of an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1974 we moved to the Philadelphia area. We have fond memories of the excitement and activities surrounding the Bicentennial. We also learned about the Centennial Fair and told Memorial Hall was all that remained. Since then, I have read how exhibits at the fair influenced culture and art. Bordewich’s book took me deep into the political and social turmoil behind the event meant to unite the country.

This book began as the story of the greatest event of America’s Gilded Age, the spectacular Centennial Exhibition of 1876, an extravaganza concocted to celebrate the nation’s first century. It quickly grew beyond the fair’s confines to become a book about America itself. from Centennial by Fergus M. Bordewich

It is a story of “winners and losers in the great American struggle for survival and success” in politics and society. It was a time of technological innovations that would soon change the world.

This history reminds that our country has always been a work in progress, with all the turmoil and conflict that entails.

Thanks to Knopf for a free book.