A Mencken Chronology – Marie-Madeleine Cloup-Speer
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Mencken’s life and work |
Relevant current events |
1873-1877 |
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Serious economic depression |
1880 |
Birth of H.L Mencken in Baltimore |
1877 – 1900: Gilded Age (marked by industrialization, urbanization, tycoons, great monopolies & aristocracy) |
1886 |
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Formation of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) |
1890 |
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Sherman Anti-Trust Act |
1893 |
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Depression that lasted 4 years, due in part to enormous increase in gov’t expenditure, while income remained stationary |
1899 |
Reporter at Baltimore Morning Herald (until 1906) |
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1900 |
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- Dreiser publishes Sister Carrie |
1901 |
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- on McKinley’s death, Th. Roosevelt (R) becomes president (1901-1908) ? progressive wing of Republican Party; “Square Deal” |
1905 |
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Managing editor of BMH |
1906 |
BMH ceases publication |
- The Pure Food and Drug Act. (forbade the adulteration or fraudulent
labeling of foods and drugs sold in interstate commerce. |
1908 |
Book editor at The Smart Set, a magazine with a literary line (until 1923) |
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- William H. Taft (R) becomes President (1909-1912) |
1910 |
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- Mann Act, making illegal the interstate transportation of women for “illegal purposes” |
1911 |
Free Lance Column at BES (suspended 1915) |
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1912 |
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- Clayton Anti-trust Act, as part of Theodore Roosevelt’s
“Square Deal” (passed in 1914) |
1913 |
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- W.Wilson President (D) (elected 1912, 1916) (until 1921)? “New Freedom”; Wilson is Progressive wing of Democratic Party |
1914 |
Co-editor of The Smart Set with George Jean Nathan |
- WWI breaks out in Europe |
1915. |
End of Free Lance Column, and of all work for the Sun publications until the war is over |
- Recreation of the KKK, a white supremacist organization, by
William J. Simmons, a former Methodist preacher and teacher, in
Atlanta, GA |
1917 |
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- April 6 : The US enters WWI (Wilson: “This is the war
that will make the world safe for democracy”) |
1918 |
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- Nov 11 The Armistice |
1919 |
The American Language |
- A strike wave, involving 4 million workers: Seattle general
strike, Boston police strike, Steel strike, rent strikes. Bombings
and disturbances. Chicago race riots, and in other big cities. |
1920 |
Resumes working for the Baltimore Evening Sun |
- The 19th Amendment on the extension of the right to vote to
women |
1921 |
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- The first Emergency Quota Law (or Johnson Act) restricting
immigration. |
1922 |
Prejudices: 3rd series |
- Sinclair Lewis publishes Babbit, thereby creating the model of the civic booster and the most famous member of the emerging “booboisie” |
1923 |
End of Smart Set venture |
- Aug 2: Harding dies in San Francisco, Coolidge (R) (1923-1929)
takes over. |
1924 |
H L Mencken founds the American Mercury with Nathan, a magazine
with a political line (editor until 1933) |
- The Johnson-Reed Immigration and National Origins Act restricting
immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe even further with strict
quotas. (Amended 1927) |
1925 - |
Mencken reports on the Scopes trial. He viciously attacks his arch enemy fundamentalist William Jennings Brian; |
the KKK reaches its peak: 4 million members (only 200, 000 in
1929) |
1926 |
The American Mercury is banned in Boston (Hatrack article). Mencken
sells it himself on the street. He is arrested, then freed on a
technicality. |
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1927 |
Prejudices: 6th series |
- Sacco and Vanzetti electrocuted |
1928 |
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- Hoover (R) (1929-1933) elected president over Al Smith, the first Catholic nominee. |
1929 |
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- Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago (Al Capone) |
1930 |
Marriage to Sara Powell Haardt |
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1932 |
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- F.D. Roosevelt elected president for the first of two terms. |
1933 |
Stops editing The American Mercury |
- 21st Amendment: end of Prohibition |
1934 |
Treatise on Right and Wrong |
|
1935 |
Death of Sara Haardt Powell |
- Social Security Act and Revenue Act, as part of the “New Deal” |
1941 |
Withdraws from all the Sun papers |
December: Pearl Harbor, triggers US entry into WWI |
1947 |
Suffers a serious stroke that leaves him disabled |
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1948 |
A Mencken Chestomathy |
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1956 |
Death of H. L. Mencken |
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ABC of MENCKEN’S ERA
By Jérôme Quintana (aka Jerry)
Sources:
- Marie-Madeleine Cloup-Speer’s chronology
- Anne Ollivier’s class on Mencken (Villetaneuse)
- United States Since 1865 (by John Krout, Arnold S. Rice / Barnes
& Noble Books, 1977)
- A People’s History of the United States (by Howard Zinn / Harper,
1980 / 1990)
- Mencken’s Chrestomathy (Chrest.)
AFL:
The increasing dissatisfaction of skilled craftsmen with the objectives and
methods of the Knights of Labor resulted in the formation in 1881 of the Federation
of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of America and Canada, reorganized in 1886
as the American Federation of Labor (AFL). League of separate & autonomous
craft unions, each with strong local powers. Authority of the central body was
limited. Specific objectives of AFL quite similar to those of the Knights of
Labor, and for a time the two organizations cooperated, but soon the AFL concentrated
its efforts on a campaign for the “bread and butter” issues: higher
wages, shorter hours, safer & more sanitary conditions of employment within
the various crafts. The organization also vigorously advocated the restriction
of immigrants, who competed with native Americans for jobs.
? cf. Knights of Labor
America
MK: “In no other country known to me is life as safe and agreeable, taking
one day with another, as it is in the States.” (Chrest., p vii)
MK chose to stay in the US and not move to Europe like the last generation.
He acknowledged that a system that accepted such scathing attacks couldn’t
be so bad, after all.
American Mercury
1924-1933; political line. MK: “The aim of the Am. Mercury will be to
offer a comprehensive picture, critically presented, of the entire American
scene. It will not confine itself to the fine arts…, there will be constant
consideration of U.S. politics, U.S. governmental problems, U.S. industrial
& social relations, & U.S. science.” (cf. Criticism)
Anarchism, Right-Wing
With Tucker as one of its leading figures, this movement sharply criticized
democracy & the gov’t, was in staunch defense of the individual (cornerstone
of society) and freedom of speech
A lot of these ideas were favored by MK, so it would be tempting to regard MK
as a rightwing anarchist, but he never read Tucker, so perhaps just an “unwitting”
rightwing anarchist? ( cf. also Thoreau, Henry)
Babbit (1922)
By Sinclair Lewis : created the model of the civic booster and the most famous
member of the emerging “booboisie”. The character Babbit is a business
or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to the prevailing middle-class
standards. Book also showed false sense of prosperity, shallow pleasure of the
new gadgets for the middle class
Baltimore Evening Sun
MK was editor from 1910 to 1916. Withdrew from all Sun papers in 1941
Baltimore Morning Herald
MK held various jobs there until he became editor in 1905, at age 25. But Morning
Herald ceased publication in 1906
Baptist
A member of a Protestant denomination holding that baptism should be given only
to believers after confession of faith & by immersion rather than by sprinkling.
Bill of Rights & US Constitution
-
Bill of Rights: first 10 amendments to the US Constitution. Guarantees individual rights.
-
US Constitution was adopted in 1787, some 10 years after US independence. Some thought it didn't provide enough protection against federal power (cf. idea of the 'encroachment' of fed'l gov't on state gov't), hence the Bill of Rights, which was added to the Constitution in 1791 and basically guarantees the rights of individuals. Mencken refers to it several times in his Chrestomathy, and especially in the chapter on “Justice Holmes” (pp 258 - 265)
1st Amendment : freedom of speech & the press (we all know about this one, don't we?)
5th : guarantees major individual liberties before the law --> double jeopardy: "No person shall be put twice in jeopardy of life or limb" [can't be judged twice for the same offense]
due process of law: proceedings carried out in accordance with the law (cf. also 14th amndt)
6th : also important for court proceedings. guarantees the right of the accused to be tried publicly, lawfully and impartially
7th : underlines importance of "common law" and a person's right to a "jury trial"
10th: reserves to the states and people any powers not delegated to the national government
-------------------------------------
Subsequent amendments:
13th: (1865) abolishes slavery
14th (1867) : requires due process and equal protection under the law
15th: (1870) (strengthens 13th & 14th amndts) guarantees the right to vote regardless of race ("all males", but women still out of the picture, thank you very much)
17th : (1913) provides for direct election of senators
18th: (1919) institutes Prohibition (implemented through Volstead Act) --> repealed in 1933 with 21st amndt
19th: (1920) institutes women's suffrage (at last)
Brooks, Van Luyck:
cf. Culture
Bryan, W. Jennings
Leader of the Populist movement. Joined with Democratic party in 1896 election,
and ran for the presidency but was defeated by Republican William McKinley,
for whom the corporations & the press mobilized, in the first massive use
of money in an election campaign.
Bryan was State Secretary (1913-1915) under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson
(1913- 1921).
MK detested Bryan whose populism had led him to grant more power to the people.
Read in Chrestomathy pp 243-247 “In Memoriam: WJB”, and also p 353.
(cf. also Populism and Scopes Trial)
Carpetbaggers
Northerners who went to the South after the Civil War for political or financial
advantage (cf. also Scalawag)
Chatauqua
An institution that flourished in the 19th century, providing popular education
combined with entertainment in the form of lectures, concerts & plays often
presented outdoors or in a tent. By 1924, 40 million Americans attended Chatauqua
meetings in rural camps, where they were “educated” and “entertained”.
Several mentions in MK’s Chrest., one of them on p 214
Checks and balances (“freins et contrepoids”)
The aim is to ensure harmony between the 3 branches of power (executive, legislative,
judicial), so that one may not overpower the other two
Christian Science
The church and the religious system founded by Mary Baker Eddy, emphasizing
healing through spiritual means as an important element of Christianity &
teaching pure divine goodness as underlying the scientific reality of existence.
Christian Science practitioners had a huge success in the USA & in Europe.
Their newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, created in 1908, is still in
existence today. (cf. Chrest. p 343)
Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)
Complemented Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890.
Designed to regulate the nation’s monopolies, declared illegal certain
trade practices.
Comstock (cf. p 351 of Chrest.: “The Fruits of Comstockery”)
US moral reformist and Congressman, at the end of the 19th century. Founder
of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Strict moral code: Comstock
Law (1883): forbade lascivious literature. Hence the coinage “Comstockery”
= Victorian morality, Puritanism (cf. Morality)
Coolidge, Calvin
Rep. President (1923-29) Thrust into office by Harding’s sudden death,
Coolidge insisted that his associates should help in the investigation of corrupt
political acts committed during his predecessor’s administration; he thus
quickly won the confidence of the American people, who admired his courage and
personal integrity.
See MK’s portrait of him in Chrest. pp251-254
Criticism
When Upton Sinclair once asked him why the American Mercury contained no constructive
criticism, MK replied that he was “not engaged in therapeutics, but in
diagnosis”.
MK’s criticism was against: democracy, leveling down of society, mediocrity
of men and rulers, cult of the second best, herd instinct, tyranny of the majority,
Baptists & Methodists, farmers, big captains of industry, monopolies, educators,
women… A real iconoclast! (cf. also Culture)
Culture
MK asked: Is ‘mass culture’ still culture?
-
Cultural critics: H. Stearns, Lewis Mumford, Van Luyck Brooks ? wanted to create “true viable US culture” as they were disappointed & pessimistic about US society. Thought writers should distance themselves from Comstockery, conformity & commercialism.
Although an elitist, MK was determined to address middle-brow America: bridged the gap between low-brow and high-brow culture. He was interested in a whole range of US culture, from top to bottom (Harvard and Oklahoma High School), and he constantly tried to solve the question of culture. Thought however that the development of large institutions of learning (higher access to education) was detrimental to culture: when culture is spread to the masses, it becomes vulgar.
MK wanted to contribute to an American culture that didn’t always have to look to Europe (cf. George Santanaya, Van Wyck Brooks, Walt Whitman) -
Transcendentalists: high-brow
-
Inventors: low-brow, active
Tension between high and low-brow culture
MK’s aim was to convince middle-brows to join him in the camp of the skeptics, to be critical of America. MK despised both high-brows (cf. article on university professors) and low-brows (cf. farmers, evangelists, Baptists & Methodists)
Darrow, Clarence
Attorney General at Scopes’ Trial (cf. Scopes Trial)
Darwin, Charles
On the Origin of Species (1859). Biological thesis: life is a struggle, only
the fittest elements survive (by means of natural selection) (cf. Social Darwinism)
Debs, Eugene V.
President of the American Railway Union; Led major strike (Pullman strike) &
was sentenced and convicted to 6 months in prison; Was later head of the US
Socialist Party; (cf. also Socialist Party; Labor movement; IWW)
Declaration of Independence, US 1776
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among them are life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
MK, in Chrest. “Buffooneries” p 584: “Nobody ain’t no
right to take away none of our rights”
Democracy
MK didn’t believe in it. Democracy promised “equal rights &
equal power”. MK didn’t believe in equality of individuals (except
before the law). Intrinsically unequal people couldn’t be given the same
powers. Only an elite – enlightened, disinterested, property-owning, &
working for the “common good” – could rule a country. According
to MK, the problem in US democracy was that the average American ruled, had
power at all levels (local / state / fed’l) ? mediocre men, leveling down
of society
MK: “I enjoy democracy immensely; it is incomparably idiotic, hence
incomparably amusing” (Teachout, 2002, p230)
“I do not believe in democracy, but I am perfectly willing to admit
that it provides the only really amusing form ever endured by mankind.”
(Chrest., p viii)
“How can any man be a democrat who is sincerely a democrat?”
(Chrest. P 168, from Notes on Democracy) (cf. also Republic; Founding Fathers)
Depression, Great
(1929) Oct 24, Oct 29: “The day the bubble burst”. The Stock Market
crash in Wall Street, unleashing the Great Depression
Dewey, John
University professor often quoted and made fun of by Mencken
Elk
A member of a major benevolent & fraternal order. Intensely patriotic, family-oriented.
“Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love, and Fidelity”
See in Chrest. p 280 (cf. also Shriner)
Emergency Quota Law
1921 (Immigration Laws)
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
(1803 – 1882) US poet and philosopher
Espionage Act (1917)
Restricting freedom of expression on National Security grounds (cf. also Sedition
Act)
Eugenics
A science that deals with the improvement (as by control of human mating –
who should become parents?) of hereditary qualities of a race or breed
Ford (automobile)
1920: Ford introduces the moving assembly line producing one car every 60 seconds
1925: Ford produces one Model T every 10 seconds
1927: Ford introduces the more sophisticated Model A, which can be bought on
credit
Founding Fathers
G. Washington, Th. Jefferson, etc…
G. Washington was in favor of res-publica and feared the mob. He had slaves,
and so did Jefferson. He defended the ‘common good’, and did not
favor democracy per se. (cf. Republic; Democracy)
Free Lance
Column in Baltimore Evening Sun (1911 – 1915)
Free Silver
End of 19th century: farmers wanted silver to be a standard, just as gold or
the greenback were.(cf. Chrest. p 361, and also Greenback Party)
Gettysburg Address
1863 speech made by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War: “… and
that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish
from the earth.” (epistrophe) - cf. Chrest. p 222-223
Gilded Age
1877-1900; marked by industrialization, urbanization, tycoons, great monopolies
& aristocracy
Gitlow vs. New York (1925)
The Supreme Court had to look into the constitutionality of a New York State
Law. Addressed the issue of the “incorporation of the Federal Bill of
Rights” and the “compelling state interest doctrine”
Greenback Party
Political organization formed in the years 1874-76 to promote currency expansion.
The members were principally farmers of the West prairie states and the South.
Stricjen by the panic of 1873, they saw the salvation in an inflated currency
(= cheap paper money or greenbacks) that would wipe out the farm debts contracted
in times of high prices. (cf. Chrest. p 361, and Free Silver)
Harding, William G.
Rep. President (Jan 1921 – 1923), from Ohio, elected president, the first
of three successive Republican administrations. Credited with the slogan “back
to normalcy “. cf. Normalcy, Return to
Hatrack case (1926)
Hatrack: name of a prostitute. In the American Mercury, MK published an article
about the Hatrack case which was banned in Boston. MK went and sold copies himself
in order to challenge the “prevailing Puritanism of New England”.
A judge decided no offense had been committed, so MK was freed. The war against
the Comstocks was over.
Holden vs. Hardy
1898 – Utah law establishing maximum working hours for miners
Homestead Act (1862)
Gave cheap land to farmers who agreed to settle west for at least 5 years. Large
farms and lands. Farmers had to invest in machinery and equipment. Had to borrow
money from banks. Got indebted for the 1st time. Dependence on banks (high interest
rates) and railroads (imposed high rates for shipping goods).
Hoover, Herbert C.
Rep. President (1929 – 1933) elected over Al Smith, the first Catholic
nominee. The platform, adopted amid much accord, declared against American entry
into the League of Nations and demanded full enforcement of the 18th Amendment
(Prohibition). Hoover was an extremely conscientious and scrupulous man, but
became very stiff and rigid in dealing with others during the difficult days
of his presidency (Depression)
Hours of Service Act 1907 –
Congress passed this act limiting, in the interest of public safety, the number
of consecutive hours that railroad employees could work
Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-95)
English biologist & educator. He gave up his own biological research to
become an influential publicist & was the principal exponent of Darwinism
in England. An agnostic, he doubted all things not immediately open to logical
analysis & scientific verification.
Immigration Laws
In the 1920’s, Congress put an end to the flood of immigrants (14 million
between 1900 & 1920). Laws setting immigration quotas (ex. Emergency Quota
Law or Johnson Act [1921] ) favored Anglo-Saxons and Europeans. Nationalities
/ (numbers): Africans (100), Chinese (100), Bulgarians, Palestinians (100),
United Kingdom (34,000), Italians (3,845), Germans (51,227), Irish (28,567),
Russians (2,248)
Initiative
10% of voters submit a petition with the proposal of a new law
IWW
Industrial Workers of the World union, created in 1905 because other unions
did not sufficiently take into consideration workers’ plight. Wanted radical
change. Union composed of socialists, anarchists and radical trade unionists
from all over USA. Aim was to confederate workers into a working-class movement
to “emancipate the working-class from the slave bondage of capitalism”.
IWW members came to be known as “Wobblies”. Their idea was to organize
all workers in any industry into “One Big Union”, undivided by sex,
race or skills. Believed in “Direct Action”: “A strike that
is initiated, controlled, and settled by the workers directly affected is direct
action.. Direct action is industrial democracy” Saw strikes as “mere
incidents in the class war” cf. Socialist Party and Debs, Eugene V.
James, William
University professor often quoted and made fun of by Mencken
Johnson Act = Emergency Quota Law (1921)
Johnson, Samuel
(known as Dr Johnson) (1709-1784) British critic & dictionary writer, famous
for his Dictionary of the English Language (1755)
Jungle, The (cf. Sinclair, Upton)
KKK cf. Simmons, William J
Knights of Labor
Founded in 1869 under the leadership of Uriah S. Stephens. Stressed 1) industrial
unionism 2) inclusion of all workers 3) formation of local assemblies on basis
of residency (and not occupational affiliation) 4) highly centralized control
of local assemblies by national body. Program included 8-hour workday, equal
pay for equal work for men and women, abolition of child labor (under 14), abolition
of contract foreign labor, arbitration of labor disputes, safety & sanitary
codes for industry, gov’t ownership of railroad & telegraph lines.
cf. AFL
La Follette, Robert M. (cf. Third Party movement)
Labor movements
1877: railroad strikes (crushed by troops sent by President Hayes)
1886: Haymarket incident (7 policemen killed when trying to disperse a mass
meeting organized by anarchists in Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest
police tactics against strikers at McCormick Harvester Company plant)
1892: Homestead strike (Homestead, Pennsylvania, plant of the Carnegie Steel
Company – union members struck to protest reduction in wages)
1894: Pullman strike (Pullman Palace Car Company, following depression year
of 1893, sought to prevent loss of dividends to its stockholders by reducing
workers’ wages and dismissing employees; massive strike leading to general
boycott over Middle & Far West) ? cf. Debs, Eugene V.
1919: A strike wave, involving 4 million workers: Seattle general strike, Boston
police strike, Steel strike, rent strikes. Bombings and disturbances. Chicago
race riots, and in other big cities.
1929: great textile strike
Not until the 1920’s did the labor movement enjoy a favorable climate
of public opinion cf. also Holden vs. Hardy; Muller vs. Oregon
Labor unions
cf.Knights of Labor; AFL; IWW
Liberals
From 1920 replaced Progressives.
Read chapter on Justice Holmes for MK’s definition of what a Liberal ought
to be (pp 258 – 265)
Lippmann, Walter
Young progressive intellectual with whom MK shared a lot of ideas. Lippmann
started out as a journalist before going into politics (was a political adviser).
Wrote A Preface to Politics in 1913 (his 1st book). His idea was that maybe
reforming had more to do with American culture (than politics, economics &
big business, etc.)
Literacy Test (1917)
Made compulsory for new emigrants, over Wilson’s Veto
Mann Act (1910)
Made illegal the interstate transportation of women for “illegal purposes”
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
On this occasion, the US Supreme Court declared a section from the 1789 Judiciary
Act unconstitutional, thereby laying the foundations of the Judicial Review
doctrine. Since then, the Supreme Court has acquired the power to cancel any
law it deems unconstitutional.
Meat Inspection Act (1906)
See chronology (1906)
Methodist
A member of a Protestant denomination that developed from the evangelistic teachings
and works of John and Charles Wesley in the 18th c. ? emphasis on personal and
social responsibility and John Wesley’s ideal of Christian perfection
Morality
MK: “No moral man – that is moral in the YMCA sense of the word
– has ever produced a picture worth looking at” (Chrest. P
61)
“Puritanism – The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may
be happy” (Chrest. P 624)
read pp279-281 in MK’s Chrest.: “Odd Fish” on morality / crime
& punishment / sin & puritanism cf. Comstock
Muckrakers
Group of journalists who ‘raked the muck’ and exposed corruption
scandals; MK was critical of them, saw them as ‘armchair do-gooders’,
but criticism not always so obvious. Upton Sinclair, who worked as a journalist,
did some muckraking on the meat-packing industry. Th. Roosevelt also criticized
the muckrakers’ focus on sensationalism.
Muller vs. Oregon 1908 –
Oregon law setting maximum working hours for women
New Deal
F.D. Roosevelt’s program: elaborate spending programs to bring about relief,
granting extensive loans to private enterprise to promote recovery ? huge burden
on fed’l gov’t.. But New Deal is considered by some as a vital agency
in providing economic security for all the people. Reform program interrupted
in 1939 with outbreak of war. MK was highly critical of the New Deal. Thought
the burden was too heavy on taxpayers. cf. Social Security Act (1935); Revenue
Act (1935). Cf. Also Chrest. p 209 (comparison between France in 1848 and FDR’s
New Deal)
New Freedom
Dem Pres W. Wilson’s program: in essence it sought to curb any business
that enjoyed a monopoly and to restore an earlier condition of competition.
To the American people Wilson conveyed a determination to bring much-needed
reforms
Nineteen twenties / 1920’s -
prosperity Prosperity in the 1920’s was concentrated at the top of the
social ladder (the upper 10% of the population enjoyed a sharp increase in real
income). So the image of the 1920’s as a time of prosperity and fun –
the Jazz Age, the Roaring Twenties, lower unemployment, higher wages, consumption,
etc… - gives only a partial view of reality. cf. Babbit / cf.Strikes
Normalcy, Return to
Harding’s slogan (Harding, Rep. Pres.: 1921 – 1923): a desire to
return to peace, traditional US isolationism, non involvement in war & European
affairs, laissez-faire (Gilded Age), non-progressivism, no more social experimenting
Palmer, Mitchell
Wilson’s Attorney general, started the Red Scare cf. Red Scare
Plutocracy
Rule or government by the wealthy
MK, Chrest. P 158: “(plutocracy) in a democracy, tends inevitably
(…) to take the place of a missing aristocracy: a clean tradition, culture,
public spirit, honesty, honor, courage – above all, courage”
Politics
A mirror of US life and the “root of the trouble”, which is why
MK was himself so interested in it
Populism / Populist Party or People’s Party
People’s party or Populist Party
Western & Southern farmers, Eastern laborers. Populist platform advocated
a variety of reforms to help the farmers & laborers. cf. also Bryan, W.
Jennings
Progressivism
Started in 1901 and ended in 1914 with WWI (or 1920?). Progressive mov’t
found in both Rep. (Th Roosevelt) and Dem. (W. Wilson) parties. Mov’t
gathered people who criticized the social and economic order, corruption in
politics, etc… Wanted to bring about reforms. Urban, middle-class mov’t.
Progressive people thought power had been confiscated by the big monopolies
and the captains of industry and also thought the role played by Fed’l
gov’t had to be changed ? gov’t should intervene in social &
economic affairs (instead of the ‘laissez-faire’ doctrine)
Advocated abolition of child labor, fixed minimum wage, maximum number of working
hours, fought corruption in politics, wanted more efficient gov’t, more
reform, & fought against “social evils” (alcoholism, prostitution,
etc.). The ‘moral’ dimension was too dominant according to MK, the
underlying principle was to reform the mob, their morals, and make a ‘better
society’, hence the “Uplifters”, often mentioned by MK (those
who tried to elevate – uplift – morals)
In 1912, split in Republican Party led to creation of Progressive Party (led
by La Foyette). The split was favorable to Democratic Party and Wilson won.
cf. also Socialist Party and Third Party Movement
Prohibition
18th Amendment (1919), implemented through Volstead Act (1919); repealed in
1933 (21st Amend)
Pure Food and Drug Act
(1906= See chronology (1906)
Puritanism
Cf. Morality
Recall
Impeach an official during his term of mandate, occurred only twice in history,
the latest example being the recall of the California governor leading to the
election of Schwarzenegger in October 2003
Red Scare
Started by Mitchell Palmer in 1920. From 1919 radicals, communists, & anarchists
(cf. also IWW) were arrested then tried & convicted for expressing their
thoughts, papers were censored. 215 people were deported to Russia (including
Emma Goldman). MK supported Goldman’s plea to get back to the US cf. Palmer,
Mitchell; Espionage Act; Sedition Act
Referendum
10% of voters submit a petition for the acceptance or rejection of a law passed
by the legislature
Reform
cf. recall, initiative, referendum
In MK’s Chrestomathy, read p 238
Republic
To MK, the ideal system, and that of Washington & Jefferson. Enlightened
people give their lives to the res-publica. G. Washington was an enlightened
man, disinterested, not self-serving. In a republic, the main value is liberty
/ freedom, and not equality. cf. Founding Fathers; Democracy
Revenue Act (1935)
As part of the New Deal: to increase annual tax revenues. But taxation not enough.
National debt doubled in 6 years (1933-1939). cf. New Deal
Rockefeller, John D.
Oil tycoon, founder of the Standard Oil Company and of the Standard Oil Trust.
The companies under the Standard Oil trust represented 90% of the oil refineries
and pipelines in the nation.
See MK’s portrait of him in Chrest. pp 276-278 cf. also Trust
Roosevelt, F.D.
Dem President (1933 – 1945). “New Deal” cf. New Deal
Roosevelt, Theodore
Rep President 1901 – 1908. A Progressive. More of a ‘property-owning
Tory’ (conservative) than a ‘romantic Liberal’ (progressive),
though. Cf. p 239 of Chrestomathy. cf. Square Deal; in Chrestomathy, read pp
229-242 (scathing portrait)
Sacco & Vanzetti
Italian anarchists arrested in 1921, tried twice & executed in August 1927
? MK consistently defended them & thought their trial was a “mockery
of justice”.
Scalawag / Scallywag
A white Southerner acting in support of the Recontruction government after the
US Civil War often for private gain. cf. also Carpetbaggers
Scopes trial (1925)
July: also colloquially known as the “Monkey trial”? on the teaching
of evolution in public schools. John T. Scopes, a young teacher in Dayton, Tennessee,
was indicted in a test case for presenting the evolutionary theory in his high-school
biology class. It was feared that the theory might weaken traditional religious
beliefs and was fought against by the more conservative Protestants, among whom
was W. J. Bryan who was on the witness stand for the prosecution. Bryan died
a few days later. Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney. The judge began
the trial by reading the first 27 verses of Genesis! MK was a reporter at the
trial.
Sedition Act (1918)
Amending the Espionage Act
Shenk vs. US
on freedom of speech (1st amendment; restricted in wartime under Espionage Act
of 1917), the crafting of the “clear and present danger doctrine”
(Justice Holmes)
Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)
Following strong popular sentiment against the trusts, this act, using a principle
of the English common law, declared illegal “every contract, combination
in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce
among the several states, or with foreign nations.” Aimed at fighting
against proliferation of trusts and sought to encourage competitiveness. cf.
Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)
Shriner
A member of a secret fraternal society that is non-Masonic but admits only Knights
Templars & 32nd degree Masons to membership
See Chrest. p 280 cf. also Elk
Simmons, William J.
Recreated the KKK, a white supremacist organization, in 1915. William J. Simmons
was a former Methodist preacher and teacher, in Atlanta, GA
Sinclair, Upton
US writer (1878-1968) born in Baltimore
Worked as a journalist and a muckraker on the meat-packing industry.
In his novel The Jungle (1906), he exposed corruption in Chicago’s meat-packing
industry and the city’s politics as well as making clear his belief in
socialism.
Smart Set
1908-1923; literary line; provided comments and analyses on the “state
of American culture”
Social Darwinism
Advocated by Herbert Spencer (GB) (adapting Darwin’s biological thesis
to society) and adapted by Graham Sumner in the USA. Theory was much praised
by US tycoons. cf. Darwin, Charles & Sumner, Graham
Social Security Act (1935)
As part of the New Deal: provided for 1) a fed’l program of benefits to
retired workers beginning at age 65; 2) a program of unemployment compensation
administered by the state with grants from the fed’l gov’t and financed
by a similar payroll tax; 3) fed’l aid to the states for various projects,
such as maternity & infant care services & assistance to crippled children
& the blind
Was an embryo of the ‘welfare state’ in the US - cf. New Deal
Socialist Party
The Socialist Labor Party, established in 1876, and the Socialist Democratic
Party, founded in 1897, united in 1901 to form the Socialist Party of America,
headed by Eugene V. Debs. The party set for its ultimate goal the establishment
of public ownership and operation of the means of production and distribution,
according to the principles of the German social philosopher Karl Marx. Advocated:
1) reduction of workday hours; 2) enactment of unemployment insurance; 3) government
ownership of railroad lines, telegraph companies, telephone firms, and other
public utilities; 4) nationwide adoption of proportional representation. The
Socialist denounced the programs of the progressives as the futile “tinkering”
of the bourgeoisie (the middle class engrossed in material interests). The 1st
substantial vote received by a Socialist Party of America candidate in a presidential
election was in 1912, when Debs polled 897,000 ballots. cf. also Debs, Eugene
V.; Labor movement; IWW; progressivism; Sinclair, Upton
Square Deal
Theodore Roosevelt’s program. Main objective: revival of Sherman Anti-Trust
Act (1890), introduction of railroad regulation & social legislation to
protect workers, women, children & consumers. MK’s thoughts on Square
Deal in Chrestomathy p 232
Strikes
cf. labor movements
Sumner, Graham
US Yale University teacher, taught Social Science & Theology. Adapted Spencer’s
Social Darwinism to the US.
- you shouldn’t be ashamed of making money if you worked hard for it (God’s
reward / a very Puritanical approach)
- progress of civilization depends on the selection process
- competition is good
- people are not endowed with the same qualities
- belief in the Republic: people are equal before the law cf. also Darwin, Charles
and Social Darwinism
Taft, William
Rep President 1909 – 1912
Implemented political reforms for more local democracy cf. recall, initiative,
referendum
Teapot Dome (1922)
Political scandal during Harding presidency. Secretary of the Interior, Albert
Fall, secretly leased US gov’t land and oil reserves to private companies.
He accepted cash gifts in return. Symbol of gov’t corruption. cf. Chrest.
p 225
Third Party Movement
1924 election: the dissatisfaction of the eastern laborers and the western farmers
with the two major parties resulted in the formation of a new Progressive party.
The third party nominated for president the reform-minded Republican Senator
Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin. The platform was largely an expression of
labor unrest and agrarian discontent. But Coolidge won a landslide victory and
La Follette only won his home state. That was the end of the Third Party movement.
Thoreau, Henry US writer (1817 – 1862)
Advocated civil disobedience and resistance to Civil Government. Belief in the
individual and in a moral law superior to statutes & constitutions
Trust
This form of combination was first tested by John D. Rockefeller, founder of
the Standard Oil Company.Rockefeller organized the Oil Trust in 1879.
Plan: a group of corporations that engaged in the refining & transportations
of petroleum entrusted their stocks to a small board of trustees, which was
authorized to control the new combination. The original stockholders of the
various corporations received in return for their stock “trust certificates”
on which they were entitled to dividends from the earning of the trust. cf.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)
Tucker
cf. Anarchism, Right-Wing
Tycoons
Cf. Carnegie (steel), Rockefeller (oil), Vanderbilt (steamships & railroads),
Morgan & Cooke (banking), Hearst (press)
Key words: self-made men; Gospel of Wealth; self-reliance; fierce competition
cf. also Rockefeller, John
Uplifter
One who tries to elevate moral standards & make a better society cf. Progressivism
Veblen, Thorstein
University professor often quoted and made fun of by Mencken
Read his portrait in MK’s Chrest. pp 265-275
Wesley, John
Founder of Methodism cf. Methodist
Wilson, Woodrow
Dem President (1913-1921). Progressive wing of Democratic Party. In 1916 elections
Wilson campaigned saying he’d kept Americans out of the war & therefore
should be re-elected. 6 months later, US entry into WWII and Wilson famously
said: “This is the war that will make the world safe for democracy”
cf. New Freedom
Wobblies
Members of the IWW