Historical Fiction: 3 - WWI and the Progressive Era

March 2, 1918

Hello, I am Henry Schmidt, and am writing in this very old journal that I found in the attic of my childhood house because my lovely wife used the last few sheets of paper we have to finish her report for the local paper. It is almost scary how much paper she has actually gone through in the past few years. 

Thinking back to it, I now truly regret loosing my job at our local bakery, thus forcing my wife into her current occupation. It wasn't my fault; one day it just closed down. I really didn't know why for a wile until I made the connection between its closing and the current German Immigrant mistreatment in the States. Not only a year ago did our German Breads store close, but manny other German institutions were closed as well. A month later, I was walking down Frankfort street to find work when I noticed its name was changed to Charleston on a street sign. Perplexed I walked around a few more blocks to find multiple other streets' names had been altered; all of them used to be German names. 

My wife has concluded that this quite sudden dislike of Germans is most likely due to the war, but even more so due to the war propaganda circling the U.S.. Starting in 1917, the new Comity on Public Information has been increasingly promoting the war. You can't go one day without coming across advertisements, newspaper articles, posters, or Four Minute Men giving speeches and drawing attention to the war. My wife says that there are close to 75,000 volunteers currently acting as Four Minute Men in the U.S. She also told me I should join sense I have so much free time and can't get a local job now due to my nationality, but I refuse to do so if the war is what started all this maddened sentiment towards Germans. 

The problem is, no one is able to say anything against the war or government right now. After the creation of the Espionage and Sedition Acts less than a year ago, people have been jailed for openly criticizing the U.S. and the draft. I can't believe the government would restrict civil liberties so severely, especially when the U.S. is characterized by the freedoms of its citizens and the peoples' power to manage the government. My wife believes the Acts are unconstitutional and violate our freedom of speech, but I'm not sure how they were passed if that's so. 

It's funny I keep paraphrasing my wife, who has not even made an entry in this journal yet. It makes me seem so inferior, which is true in knowledge of politics, but I don't think it will be the ruin of my reputation as I will never share this journal to keep the confidentiality of my anti-war views hidden. However it is late, and I am ending this entry tonight before my wife scolds me with more talk of current affairs.     

Progressive Era Interview: NAACP

Below is a link to our video:

https://vimeo.com/157245128

Slogan:
"Need justice? Call the NAACP- trust us."

Script:
What problems of the Gilded Age did the NAACP feel needed to be addressed and reformed?
There was inequality between whites and blacks socially and politically, and not all whites knew about racial inequality. Southern blacks were at a great disadvantage in politics, as many could not vote due to restricting voters' laws implemented to keep blacks from influencing the government. Socially, blacks were seen as inferior to whites, and with the introduction of Jim Crow laws, didn't receive equal public facilities as those of whites.

What solutions were developed to combat these problems?
The reformers of NAACP focused on bringing racial inequality to the public's eye. They did this by creating a program to publicize the issue. Through this program they also created public speeches and lobbied for equality.
They also started a magazine the Crisis to talk about inequality, which was for many years edited by W. E. B. Du Bois.
The NAACP also went to court a number of times to fight for equality on a political field. In 1915 they won the Supreme Court decision against the grandfather clause, and in 1927 they won the decision against all-white primary. In 1954 they also won the Supreme Court decision for segregated public schools being unconstitutional as they fought against the southern Jim Crow laws of the time.

How successful do you believe these solutions were?
When the NAACP won over the grandfather clause and white primaries they allowed blacks a greater chance to vote in the south. NAACP led to building stronger African American community by providing health care, housing and educational services. Magazines like the Crisis and other mainstream newspapers published articles and brought people’s attentions to this issue.

Do you feel that these changes were revolutionary or radically changed society?
The reformers of the NAACP in the Progressive Era marked a radical transformation of American society, economy, and politics. In bringing these issues out to public view, it encouraged more people to become activists and many of the attempted reforms were successful. The NAACP did not simply ‘maintain the status quo’ because it is responsible for great improvement in the lives of many people and is still improving underrepresented people today.

If the people in the Progressive Era of the NAACP were here today, who would you employ to solve problems in the contemporary United States?
W.E.B DuBois was one of the reformers who focused on social and political equality for African Americans. He went to Fisk University and also received phd at Harvard University. He earned fame when he published The Souls of Black Folk which consists of several essays on race and the African-American experience. In 1905, Dubois and other black leaders had a meeting at Niagara Falls, Canada, called the Niagara Movement. There, they gathered and drafted resolutions to the racial discrimination. Four years later, together they founded National Association For the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). W. E. B. DuBois also helped to promote civil rights and equality while he pursued social justice and challenged the society. In 1934, DuBois resigned from NAACP because his approach was to help African Americans to control institutions, schools, and economic cooperatives and opposed the NAACP’s commitment. He then started writing for the Crisis where he published essays on African American culture and accomplishments. He was also concerned with the conditions of African American descent. In 1900, he attended the First Pan-African Conference. The Niagara Movement which included a pan-african department. Some disparities still exist in today’s society. Unemployment rates for the black community is twice of the national employment rate, yet African Americans are only 14 percent of US population.

Work Cited: 

“NAACP History: W.E.B. Dubois.” NAACP. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016

“The Legacy: Then and Now.” NAACP. N.p., 20 Dec. 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2016

“W.E.B. DuBois.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. 

"NAACP." History.com. Ed. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty. A&E Television Networks. Web. 08

 Feb. 2016.

Jealous, Benjamin Todd. "We Are NAACP." Vital Speeches Of The Day 75.9 (2009): 426-431. 

 History Reference Center. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.

Colorado Resolution on Native American Genocide:

The definition of genocide, as presented in the document, is the purposeful murder or damage of members of a group or affiliation. It is for this reason that I believe the use of the word "genocide" is accurate for this resolution. There are multiple examples of intentional murder in the document. One example is that many Indians' deaths were intentionally caused by the breaking of treaties between themselves and the U.S. Government, as seen in the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864. Another example is that European immigrants created a myth to separate Native Indians from the idea of humanity, and thus alienate them. This is also an element of genocide. A third example is the forced removal of the vast majority of the Cherokee Nation from their homelands in the middle of winter, forcefully killing those 4,00 who didn't live through the harsh relocation. For all the tragedies to befall the Native American Indians, it is accurate to describe their suffering as genocide as much of it was caused by the American Government and was intentional.   

Gilded Age Résumé: Thorstein Veblen

Thorstein Bunde Veblen

Cato, Wisconsin

Born July 30, 1857

Statement of Qualifications:

I am the greatest American of the Gilded Age because I had a lasting impact on the literary culture of the Gilded Age with my social observations of the leisure class. Within my social and economic commentaries I coined the phrases "conspicuous consumption" and "pecuniary emulation", which are now widely used. I also introduced the idea of evolutionary economics into America with my 1898 essay ‘Why is economics not an evolutionary science?’ which has helped Americans understand how economy behaves.  

Summary:

I have been a leading figure in current social critique and study. While working as an instructor at the University of Chicago I wrote my first book, The Theory of the Leisure Class in 1899. In this novel I observed the modern affluent division of American society. My basis evaluation of how human characteristics such as greed, pride, selfishness, motivate modern society, economy, and business opened American's eyes to what is transpiring within society today. This was one of many enlightening novels that I have published throughout my years spent as a professor. In my essay, 'Why is economics not an evolutionary science?’, written in 1898, I brought the idea of evolutionary economics, with my pre-understanding of biological theory from my schooling, to Modern America in as a more humanistic way of looking at how the economy changes with the whims of the affluent and powerful. I am know for inventing the term “conspicuous consumption” to describe the class or prestige driven consumption seen in today's higher society. 

Professional Experience:

1896-1904: Instructor at University of Chicago

1906-1909: Worked as a associate professor at Standford University

1911-1918: Lectured at the University of Missouri

1918-1919: Worked in the editorial staff of The Dial, a literary and political magazine. During this time I wrote a series of articles, “The Modern Point of View and the New Order”, and later published these articles in book form as The Vested Interests and the State of the Industrial Arts.

Major Accomplishments:

1899: Wrote my first book, The Theory of the Leisure Class, that applied the concept of Darwin's evolutionism to our modern economics. 

1904: Published my second book, The Theory of Business Enterprise, in which I expanded upon the contrast between business, the making of profit, and industry, the making of goods. 

1917: Published An Inquiry into the Nature of Peace and the Terms of Its Perpetuation creating an international following of the ideas purposed in my novel, competitive demands in business stimulate modern war while peace brings an end to the rights of ownership.

References:

Herbert Spencer: Philosopher, evolutionist, and prominent author of numerous sociological novels

William Graham Sumner: One of my graduate professors at Yale University and one of the major founders of the science of sociology in America 

Edward L. Youmans: Scientific publications author and founder of the Popular Science magazine 

Addendum:

The following excerpt from my novel, The Theory of the Leisure Class, 1899, is taken from material that demonstrates the idea of conspicuous consumption in the leisure class:

Unproductive consumption of goods is honourable, primarily as a mark of prowess and a perquisite of human dignity; secondarily it becomes substantially honourable in itself, especially the consumption of the more desirable things. The consumption of choice articles of food, and frequently also of rare articles of adornment, becomes tabu to the women and children; and if there is a base (servile) class of men, the tabu holds also for them. With a further advance in culture this tabu may change into simple custom of a more or less rigorous character; but whatever be the theoretical basis of the distinction which is maintained, whether it be a tabu or a larger conventionality, the features of the conventional scheme of consumption do not change easily. When the quasi-peaceable stage of chattel slavery, the general principle, more or less rigorously applied, is that the base, industrious class should consume only what may be necessary to their subsistence. In the nature of things, luxuries and the comforts of life belong to the leisure class. Under the tabu, certain victuals, and more particularly certain beverages, are strictly reserved for the use of the superior class.

Bibliography:

Francis S., Pierce. "Veblen, Thorstein." Britannica Biographies (2012): 1. History Reference   

   Center. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

"The Theory Of The Leisure Class, Chap 7." Theory Of Leisure Class, Chap 7 (2009): 1. History Reference Center. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

"New Attitudes Toward Wealth." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

Historical Fiction: 2 - the Civil War and Reconstruction

April 6, 1873

          I couldn't believe it when John brought this dusty old journal home after returning from one of his business trips out to the Eastern Seaborg. But he has left again so I find myself sneakily writing an entry. 

          I am so happy that our family was spared during the civil war; living up in the North does have its advantages. However, even after the war I stay worried. As a mother of two I am often visiting our local market for food, and today I overheard the most troubling news. It has been all the rage in Harper's Weekly as seen in Thomas Nast's cartoons, but black suffrage is getting quite a beating from confederate southerners. They fight so hard to keep blacks from voting that in some states southerners have even created a poll tax, forcing people to pay to vote, and a literacy test, allowing only those who pass to vote. These two methods in my eyes are ludicrous attempts of not allowing change in power in the South. They have even established Jim Crow segregation of public facilities like churches and schools to keep blacks from gaining power. 

          Also concerning black suffrage, the Ku Klux Klan is something's I've heard much about. Killing blacks and those radical republicans that protect them, it's horrifying how such murderers can be the talk of early morning shoppers. I'll let you know that my cousin Henry was recently killed by those monsters, and I will never forgive them! Not that they are the only extremist group around, but they are most surely the one that scares me the most. 

          Because republicanism runs in my family's blood, I can say that the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments got me very exited. For the first time there is the possibility of equality among whites and blacks with the abolishment of slavery, and gaining of citizenship and voting rights for blacks in the eyes of the law. I personally believe, as I've recently seen, that equality between whites and blacks on a social level will be hard fought. Only yesterday did a large white woman threaten a black mother of being a muddy poor mark on society and demand that she move South to become a sharecropper. 

          I've heard that the southern sharecroppers are in deep debt to their landowners. They're like slaves, not able to move on, trapped in an endless cycle of work without almost any monetary reward. The numerous factories that are currently popping up in the South would be a much better place to work. 

          I'm sorry, my son Jeremy just came in the front door from school. I have to prepaid dinner, but perhaps I could ask him if he's heard anything new about current politics from his studies today. 

Letter to the Editor:

Dear Editor,

    I was astounded by the actions taken by slave owners in the South. Never before have I been so disgusted by the fact that such barbaric people would be allowed to continue their evil practices by the laws of the United States. 

    Out of the many descriptions written of a slave's punishments, the one concerning a house-slave known as Mary being beaten by her owner Mrs. Hamilton was gruesome enough to make me shed tears for the girl. I am disturbed by the injuries she had sustained from her mistress and can not imagine the pain that she would have to suffer through. I was ashamed to see how privileged white families would treat their slave so brutally. They treated Frederick Douglass worse than you would treat a dog.  It was sad to read the story and see the Auld’s family slowly get meaner and meaner towards the slave, till by the end of it, the mistress who started out the nicest was the meanest of all. Through all of this Frederick Douglass persevered and continued to teach himself and not give up. Frederick’s will to learn and push on was inspirational. I do not think it is morally acceptable to continue to treat and let others treat people in such a horrible fashion. The slave owner could be so kind and loving, and in a word from her husband, became so rude and cruel. Douglass says that “Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me. When I went there, she was a pious, warm, and tender-hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear . . . Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities . . . She finally became even more violent than her husband himself” (Excerpt 10). I found this incredibly powerful, because many of us do not think of the potential harm to everyone involved in this horrible subject, and it connects to many of us on many levels. 

    We can not stand by and watch our fellow man be treated so horribly, it is our duty under the lord to stop this injustice. I am calling upon all abolitionists to join me in the fight to end slavery. If you do nothing you are just as bad as the slaver owners engaging in these unspeakable actions. 

Your Friendly Abolitionist,

     Thomas Anderson.

Historical Fiction: 1 - settlers of the Americas

It is currently May 16, 1655: Brent Donaldson 

          It has been hard to find a book, but I found myself wanting to write about current events regarding my coming to the New World. Sentimental, I know. 

          Ever sense I was taken from Bristol England as, what my sorry mates called me, a quite worthless individual of no talent whatsoever, I served for five years as a tobacco harvester in the New World. They worked us to death they did. By us I'm referring to myself alongside the other indentured servants on the farm. Me and this other Englander, John Sanders, got along very well, always telling each other to run off into the woods as to get away from the work. A year into our stay John and I made friends with one of the new Africans, Nouko. He added to our banter of escape. 

          It's funny. I distinctly remember one afternoon on that farm more than any other with ol' Nouko and John. We were all out in the fields, plucking tobacco in this dreadful heat, when we see two of our guys streaking off into the woods behind the farm shed followed our owner, Mr. River, trailing behind them with his two bloodhounds barking away. It was the most enjoyable sight I've ever witnessed, seeing Mr. River work for a change, sweating the fat off him as he chased his two prized laborers off between the trees. They were back later that evening, the two runaways. The punishments weren't as serious as I'd thought, for runaways, but the odd thing was that the two were given different punishments. The white guy got a few more years added onto his time at the farm while the African got to stay for life. I told them at least they weren't killed or something, however much that helped. 

          Looking back on it, it was a good thing that we never tried to run from the farm. In the end me, Nouko, and John had paid our debts and went free as the birds from that place. Now, I was surprised that they didn't give us necessities as promised, like clothing and provisions, but I was fine with it. I was soon looking for a place to live, not that it was really a great place to start a family. The stagnant river nearby was quite a dirty thing leading to poor sanitation in the colony, and the food shortages were scary. I actually almost died from the river water once, and got sick from it on many other occasions. After a few years in Jamestown I started a family, which I thought I would most never be able to do. Susan Donaldson is my wife to this day, and is, as I can say, very pretty. We had our first child in the summer of 1647 and our second late in the year of 1652. It's now summer again three years from then, and I am amazed at how fast little boys grow. 

          Ed, now being eight and the eldest, is always asking of the founding of Jamestown and why we are living so far from England. This is mainly why I'm writing this journal. But it's more probable that I'm doing so because Susan won't stop talking about the founding of Jamestown in 1607, and why Captain John Smith is so great a dictator. He is the man who helped us establish good native relations with the Powhatan and practically rescued the whole colony from starvation. However, Susan, when you're reading this, I hope you understand that I truly don't want to hear any more about recent history.