Book excerpt: The Wonderful Century, 1800-1900: Its History and Progress is a comprehensive overview of the 19th century, written by American journalist and historian Charles Morris and first published in 1899. The book covers events and developments across every field, from science and politics to art and literature, and provides unique insight into the major changes that transformed the world during this period. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.