References: July 11, 2011 (aka the longest post of all time)

Definitions:

HARLEM PERSON: "This is still Harlem and this is still a private thoroughfare, cracker." (II-23)
Thoroughfare -- a road, passageway, or street

References at the end:

YOUNGER BROTHER: Emiliano Zapata 

Before Emilio Zapata was a peasant revolutionary, he was a young peasant in Morelos. His family was "well-off" in the sense that they owned land and were not slaves on a sugarcane plantation. In 1909, he was elected mayor of the small town of Anenecuilco and began defending his neighbors land. When the law system turned against him, he gathered armed peasants and vigilantly took the land back by force. During the Mexican Revolution he was instrumental in continuing for land and liberty and anyone who interfered with his Plan of Ayala, heading the Liberation Army of the South, and for bringing down the corrupt dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. On April 10, 1919, he was tricked into meeting with a general who wanted to "switch sides." The meeting was a trap and Zapata was killed upon arrival.

EMMA GOLDMAN: World War I, deportation of Emma Goldman

The first World War was a huge conflict between all non-polar continents between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918.  Over eight million people lost their lives.  The war was divided between two major power blocks: the Entente Powers (the "allies"-- Britain, France, Russia, later the US, and even later Italy) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austro-Hungary, Turkey, etc.).  Although many perceived "war" to "banished," European politics were at odds and nations found themselves in a fierce arms race, in which many believed war was inevitable.  At a peak of tension, the war began when the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian activist. Austria declared war on Serbia, Russia allied with Serbia, so Germany (allying with Austria) then declared war on Russia.. All on July 28. Within days, Germany swung through Belgium and both France and Britain also declared war on Germany. When the US got involved in 1915, women began taking over men's roles in the workplace.
World War I was remembered for its stagnant trench warfare and massive lost of lives in failed attacks. Russia grew to be militarily unstable, soon resulting in the Revolutions of 1917 and the emergence of the socialist party.  Germany attempted to redirect manpower, but with vast unrest at home and the impending threat of US forces, Germany resigned to the Armistice and were the last Central power to surrender. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which only later seemed to cause more problems. Germany was left in debt and despair and were blamed by the majority for the war.  Generally regarded as a "pointless tragedy," deadly innovations on the battlefield including machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and aerial warfare led World War I to be massive rather than "over by Christmas" as predicted.

"Though she was not a pacifist, Emma Goldman insisted on the anarchist principle that the state has no right to make war. She believed that most modern wars were fought on behalf of capitalists at the expense of the working class, and that the draft was a form of illegitimate coercion. Although Goldman knew federal government officials had been looking for grounds to deport her for years, she pressed on with her antiwar activities. Within weeks of America's entry into World War I, she helped launch the No-Conscription League to encourage conscientious objectors and spoke repeatedly against the draft, attracting eight thousand people to one meeting. Predictably, the government responded, arresting Emma Goldman and her comrade Alexander Berkman on June 15, 1917. Charged with conspiring against the draft, they were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison with the possibility of deportation at the end of their term. After an unsuccessful appeal to the Supreme Court, Goldman began serving her term at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. On September 27, 1919, Emma was released, only to be re-arrested shortly afterward by the young J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Justice Department's General Intelligence Division. Hoover advanced his career by implementing to the fullest extent possible the government's plan to deport all foreign-born radicals. Writing the briefs and presenting the case against Goldman himself, Hoover persuaded the courts to deny Goldman's citizenship claims and to deport her."

This mugshot was taken of Emma Goldman in 1901 when she was wrongly accused for the assassination of President William McKinley.  Click HERE to read Emma Goldman's Statement at the federal hearing in re-deportation. The previous exert was taken from the same website.

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON: his funeral, Tuskegee Institute

Photos from Booker T. Washington's funeral which President Wilson and the first lady attended.

Booker T. Washington was hired to teach in The Tuskegee Negro Normal institute in 1888. He was able to borrow money from the Hampton Agricultural Institute and bought an abandoned plantation to build his own school. He taught a broad education, emphasizing on practical skills including carpentry, farming, brickmaking, cabinetmaking, etc so that students were able to most literally help build the school, rising at five in the morning and finishing their work at nine-thirty at night. The Tuskegee Institute today is a National Historical Landmark known today to include Tuskegee University, Washington's home and grave, and monuments dedicated to Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver and their achievements.

HARRY HOUDINI: hanging over Times Square, Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination

This is Houdini, most literally hanging over a clock tower in Time Square.

The Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  At 1:15pm on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo, he and his wife were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a nineteen year old Slav nationalist and member associated with Young Bosnia and the Black Hand.  The couple survived a previous attempt when a grenade was thrown at his passing car; he was said to have shouted to local officials, "So you welcome your guests with bombs!"  They insisted on visiting a hospital but when their driver took a wrong turn, Princip spotted and shot at them. He first shot the Duke's wife Sophie in the abdomen and then Ferdinand in the jugular. He begged his wife to live for their children and by the time his men realized they would need scissors to open his jacket, it was too late. Austro-Hungary blamed Serbia, declared war, and thus began World War I.

FATHER: Lusitania torpedoed by a U-boat off the SW coast of Ireland; 1200 men, women, and children lost lives

The Lusitania sailed on May 1st 1915 from New York bound for Liverpool. The German Embassy publicized that any ship that sailed into the "European War Zone" was a potential target for German submarines. Some newspapers printed the warning directly next to the Cunard Liner’s list of departure dates. Regardless, the Lusitania was packed with passengers because many thought that a luxury liner was simply not a legitimate target as it had no military value. Off the Irish coast, at 1:40pm on May 7th, the Lusitania was spotted by U20. The first torpedo was fired at 2:09pm. The Lusitania took eighteen minutes to sink. The speed and the angle of sinking made it extremely difficult to launch life boats and the first one that did get into the water spilled its occupants into the sea. 1,153 passengers and crew drowned; 128 of them were Americans. There was understandable anger throughout America and Great Britain. The sinking of the Lusitania was thought to have made a major impact on America and World War One, but America did not join the war for another two years.

Context: Arts & Entertainment

BOOKS
Books from the early 1900's were Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Jack London's The Call of the Wild, and Edith Wharton's The Fruit of the Tree.

Books that made the bestseller's list from 1900 - 1914 included To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston, The Crisis by Winston Churchill, The Blue Flower by Henry van Dyke, Sandy by Alice Hegan Rice, The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, and Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter.

ENTERTAINMENT

Sources of entertainment between 1900 and 1914 seem limited compared to today.

• Baseball
• Barbershop quartets were one of the favorite types of music, "Sweet Adeline" was one of the most popular songs of the decade
• Nickelodeons were a favorite among men, where one could pay a nickel to see short moving pictures which were often racy.
• Radios and hand cranked victrolas became popular during this period
• Broadway musicals were very successful 
• Ballroom dancing, Vaudeville, and ragtime also became popular during this time period

MUSIC

In the 1900s sheet music became easier to print, bringing the cost gradually from $2.00 down to about $.25 as buying the music became more popular. Ragtime became a favorite with the popularity of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag." At the same time, jazz became popular in the red light district of New Orleans. At the same time, phonographs and gramophones were beginning to appear in homes across the US. Since electric recording hadn't yet replaced acoustic recording, the musicians had to record their music straight into the recording horn.

SONGS

• "In My Merry Oldsmobile"
• "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine"
• "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home"
• "The Darktown Strutters Ball," which shows racial prejudices of this time

FILM MAKING

The 1900's marked the beginning of the new century for movie production. In the 1900's there was a lack of creativity in movie production. The movies consisted of the same themes...people being watched through a keyhole, a man kissing a pretty woman only to wake up in bed next to his wife, and children doctoring a kitten. in the 1900's French films were the best to watch. France was the leading country in movie making, due to quality, and scenery. In 1906 animation was born, but did not grow until 1914 when technology was better. The first motion picture that was made was 15 minutes long. Movies such as "Stop Thief!", and "Fire!" were popular the 1900's. Books were being made into movies, and films. For instance Harriett Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". Ferdinand Zecca made many films in the 1900's, such as "Puss in boots", "Joan of Arc", and "Cinderella." Also in 1914 Hollywood was born, and many movie directors went to the west to produce movies due to the scenery...

ON SCREENS AND IN THEATERS

1903- "The Gay Shoe Clerk"
- A kiss on film
- shows an ankle
- flaunts Victorian Period
- "The Great Train Robbery"
- most commercially successful of the pre-Griffith era.
- realism on film
1905- Nickelodian (nickel theater) opens in Pittsburgh
1908- National Board of Censorship formed to establish uniform guidelines for stste and local sensors
1909- Motion Picture Patents Company pools patent on motion picture equipment and attempts to freeze out competitors


Jerome Kern- Between 1904 and 1909 had over 50 shows being performed including: "The Great White Way", "Fascinating Flora", "The Orchid", and "The Earl and the Girl"


Irvin Berlin- Shows included "The Boys and Betty", "The Girl and the Whiz", "The Jolly Bachelors", and "Ziegfield Follies".

E.L. Doctorow and Social Context for RAGTIME

E.L. Doctorow was the exception. While the rest of America was disillusioned and disheartened by the Vietnam war, Doctorow maintained an extremely liberal outlook for his time, insisting on writing about social awareness and, to put it plainly, compassion.  International and domestic affairs was a blur and America was sitting on the sidelines, tirelessly fighting in a war they could not win, otherwise blind to what Doctorow had to offer.

Publishing Ragtime in 1975 earned Doctorow several critical acclaims, including the Arts and Letters Award in 1975 and the first National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1976.  Despite it's popular and commercial success, critics viewed Ragtime as a prime example of Doctorow's "radical Jewish humanism."  As a minority in America, Doctorow identified with other oppressed populations, namely immigrants and African Americans.   

Ragtime does not paint a picture of America and its struggles in the 1970s; instead, it uses the framework of an earlier time to address the all too relevant issues of racism, classism, and controversial gender roles. Doctorow employs the turn-of-the-century to outline his own beliefs and express his liberal ideology. 

Ragtime follows the journey of three different families from three vastly different cultures as they attempt to tackle and conquer the American dream.  Each faces adversity in its own way, and all are forced to acknowledge and adapt to the changing times.  Through the eyes of a young boy, we are introduced to the three diverse factions: Harlem African Americans, Jewish Eastern European immigrants, and upper class white Americans.  Each is forced to learn how to live with each other in a merging society on the brink of the Industrial Revolution, the emergence of rag music, and a complete reevaluation of social norms and expectations.

The question isn't if they do or do not cope, but how.

 E.L. Doctorow attended Columbia University for graduate school. 

The New York native published several books before Ragtime, establishing himself as a major American writer.

"Controversial in content and original in style, Doctorow's work often involves serious philosophical probings and the placement of historical figures in unusual and unpredictable situations and settings and challenge the limits of the literary genres on which he draws."

What "The Crime of the Century" Would've Looked Like In Court

This first photograph is, I think, the most telling publication for our purposes. 

First a couple of givens: the people in the first photograph are all men, they are all sitting, which leads me to believe that this photo was not staged. However, there's no crowd, so it was either a private, unpopular trial or they are on break. There are several pitchers of what I'm assuming is water, and most of the men are relaxed and non aggressive.  

Now, looking at the picture from the left to right: there is a man sitting all my his lonesome. Why is he so far away? I don't know. He is sitting behind a desk which appears to have nothing on it (or it could be very thin, like paper) and his hand is raised, my guess holding a pen or a cigar; neither would be uncommon. The men at the left table are sitting around a row of books. The judge is clearly at the top center of the photograph with a gavel and something else that I can't make out.  

The only other men of interest are the two partially hidden. One is obviously behind the same barrier as the judge. He's interesting because one would assume that he's on the stand for questioning. However, unless someone took a picture while they were in the middle of trail (which I suppose is possible), why is he on the stand now? If you look to the other side of the judge, there is an empty chair, raised so that the whole court room can view it. This is where I assume the real questioning went on. So what does that make the man behind the banister? Perhaps he is the scribe (or we know this person now as the stenographer), but if so, his instrument is hidden. The man slightly downstage of him is the only one slightly hidden, and although he is facing the correct direction and at the correct position in the room to be the scribe, I'm assuming that since we cannot see an instrument in front of him (which we would if there were one), he is not. The question still remains... how did they record happenings in the court room? 

Facts

• My guess is the stenograph machine. Created by Ward Stone Ireland, this method of recording speech was commercially feasible circa 1906.
• The typewriter was invented in 1870; it was used by writers and businesses, however I haven't yet found any substantial evidence that proves that they were used in court rooms.
  *(Fun fact: According to the U.S. Census in 1910, 81% of typists were females, so it wasn't uncommon for them to be decorated in a floral pattern. OooOOoo)*
• At the turn of the century in the UK, trial proceedings were not consistently recorded. Often times, newspaper reporters would cover the trial in more detail than any scribe in the court and even then, the lower priority cases were not covered at all. Of the few that were in fact indexed, records were handwritten (often difficult to read and difficult to understand due to the use of unfamiliar legal terms).

 This photograph was taken in Richmond, Indiana in 1895. It was the longest jury trial in the U.S. to date, lasting from Jan 2 - May 10.

This next photograph is of the espionage trial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus at Rennes, France in 1899.

This in an engraving by D.H. Friston for Gilbert & Sullivan's "Trial by Jury," 1875.

 

Immigrant Rag Ships

These photos and drawings depict the journey that Tateh and The Little Girl take to America.