Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast
Civics & Coffee delivers bite-sized U.S. history with clear, engaging storytelling — all in the time it takes to drink your morning cup of coffee. Host Alycia brings America’s past to life with well-researched episodes that are approachable, human, and impossible to forget.
In 2026, Civics & Coffee dives into the Gilded Age - a transformative era of booming industry, powerful presidents, labor uprisings, immigration waves, inequality, and social reformers. From national crises like the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 to personal stories of figures such as Rutherford B. Hayes, Lucy Webb Hayes, and the Exodusters, each episode uncovers the people, tensions, and turning points that shaped modern America.
Whether you’re a longtime history lover or just history-curious, Civics & Coffee offers context without the homework and storytelling without the fluff. Grab your mug and join the conversation, one cup at a time.
Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast
The Election of 1876: Bargain or Betrayal?
The presidential election of 1876 stands as one of the most contested and consequential turning points in American history. In this episode, I explore the dramatic showdown between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden, unfolding at a moment when the country was still grappling with the legacy of Reconstruction.
Join me as I highlight how a political crisis emerged when disputed returns from the South threw the nation into chaos without a constitutional remedy. What followed was an unprecedented political standoff: the creation of a federal election commission, intense negotiations between Hayes supporters and southern Democrats, and the controversial deal that ended Reconstruction in exchange for securing the presidency.
This episode unpacks the maneuvering, the stakes, and the lasting consequences of the 1876 election—all while setting the stage for the next era in the podcast timeline: the rise of the Gilded Age.