A Case for Americanization... (The American Legion Weekly, 1920)When it came to the issue of assimilating immigrants on American shores and deporting "Alien Slackers" (and other assorted foreign ingrates), few groups yelled louder than the editors at The American Legion Weekly. In this anonymous opinion piece, one writer gently advocates for the recognition of American english. Converted Film Haters (Photoplay Magazine, 1920)Tin Pan Alley songster (and later Hollywood musical composer) Howard Dietz (1896-1983) penned this verse for Vanity Fair in celebration of the persuasive charm of film:
"We used to sneer at movies; they were vulgar To our aesthetic, cultured sort of mind; Amusement for the lowbrows or people who had no brows..."
Click here to read magazine articles about D.W. Griffith. In Defense of Literary Rebels (Vanity Fair, 1920)Literary critic Edmund Wilson (1895 – 1972) was a big part of the intellectual world that existed in New York throughout much of the Twenties through the Fifties. His reviews could be found in a number of magazines such as VANITY FAIR, THE DIAL and THE NEW REPUBLIC. Wilson is remembered for championing many of the younger poets that we still read to this day and in this review, "Bunny" Wilson celebrated the new poetic form that the modern era had created: free verse. Good words can be read on behalf of the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Amy Lowell.
The Advantages of Silent Movies Over Theater (Photoplay Magazine, 1920)Strong arguments were put to verse by the popular song writer Howard Dietz (1896 - 1983) as to why the up-town theater crowd had it all wrong.
"The picture theater is always dark
So things you throw won't hit the mark.
The actor in the movie play
Can't hear the things you often say.
The spoken drama's always longer;
The movie hero's always stronger."
Click here to read more comparisons between film and stage. Illiterate Immigrant Soldiers (Current Opinion, 1920)So deep were the ranks of khaki-clad immigrants who filled the U.S. military's divisions throughout the course the First World War that our British ally would often refer to the U.S. Army as the "American Foreign Legion"; yet as grateful as the services were to have so many additional strong arms to deploy during a time of national emergency, it was not without a cost. This article is all about how the army addressed the issue regarding the high number of illiterate immigrants who broadened their phalanx spanning the years 1917 through 1920.
The Scenario Formula EXPOSED (Photplay Magazine, 1920)Cartoonist Ralph Barton and funny man Howard Dietz put together this nifty six-panel comic strip in order to ridicule the Hollywood screen writers and expose that crowd to be the tiresome dullards that they were (they've since reformed) and they also had the odd vision that the gag would be posted on a web page some eighty-six years in the future.
Prohibition in England? (The Pathfinder Magazine, 1920) The Bad War Poets (Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)"On came the foe, rushing foe,
As down they fell by hundreds.
'Twas bravery held our men;
They knew they were outnumbered."
"'Hundreds' and 'outnumbered'; Tennyson could hardly have done better than that. But even Tennyson would not have tried to rhyme 'steam and 'submarine', as the author of the following succeded in doing:
"Brave boys, put on steam;
Be ready at the guns, boys;
'Tis a German submarine."
etc., etc.,
A Civil Libertarian Rants About Prohibition (Judge Magazine, 1920)An outraged editorial writer opines that the prohibition of alcohol will serve to corrupt the morality of more Americans than it could possibly save. Additionally, the writer alludes to the fact that, at the time, the U.S. Congress was discussing the prohibition of tobacco, as well:
"It is coming time to write the obituary of Joy. Less than a year ago
the Cheering Cup was removed from American life. Now we are told that just as soon as enough Congressmen can be intimidated, not a difficult job, the Soothing Weed is also to be extinguished."
The writer places blame more upon the apathetic American voter rather than the "grafters" in Congress. A Love Letter to Lenin (Soviet Russia Magazine, 1920)Sweet, sweet words from British socialist George Lansbury (1859 – 1940) concerning his first encounter with the Soviet dictator Vladimir Lenin:
"He is about 50 years old, of medium height and carries himself with a slight stoop. He has fine eyes, which look you straight in the face, sometimes with a whimsical expression, as if he were trying to discover if anything unexpressed lay behind your words. They have, too, an expression of careful kindness; and you put him down as a man who musty love children." ''The American Foreign Legion'' (Current Opinion, 1920)So numerous were the khaki-clad immigrants who filled the ranks of the U.S. Army during the First World War that our British allies would often refer to the A.E.F. as the "American Foreign Legion"; yet as grateful as the services were to have so many additional strong backs to deploy during a time of national emergency, it was not without a cost. The attached article was all about how the army addressed this issue regarding the high number of illiterate immigrants who filled their divisions spanning the years 1917 through 1920.
For further reading about the American immigrants who fought in the U.S. Military during the First World War, we recommend: Americans All!: Foreign-Born Soldiers in World War I .
Get Used to Drinking Water (The New York World, 1920)One year into "the noble experiment", cartoonist Rollin Kirby (1875 - 1952) penned this editorial gag which clearly indicated that the nation was being lorded-over by a bunch of prudes.
In the August, 1932, issue of VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE the Conde Nast editors sang high praise for Rollin Kirby while writing their 'Hall of Fame' nomination:
"Because he is considered the finest political cartoonist in America; because he has thrice won the Pulitzer Prize; because he was once a successful magazine illustrator; because he invented the high-hatted Prohibition figure..."
1920s Prohibition created a criminal climate that appealed to more women than you ever might have suspected...
The Vote Obtained (The Independent, 1920) Erich von Stroheim: an Immigrant's Story (Motion Picture Magazine, 1920)Silent movie legend Erich von Stroheim (1885 – 1957) gave an account of his life and career in this 1920 interview printed in Motion Picture Magazine. The article touches upon von Stroheim's roll as producer for the movie "Blind Husbands" (1919), but primarily concentrates on his pre-Hollywood life and his disappointment with the "provincial" nature of American films. Recalling Two of the War's Blunders (The English Review, 1920)Added to the growing pile of reviews that attempted to sort out all the various explanations as to why the war went so badly for practically all the nations involved was this 1920 article that presented a clear description of the 1914 drive on Paris as well as the disaster that was the Gallipoli campaign.
The books reviewed were penned by two of the war's principal players: The March on Paris by General Alexander Von Kluck (1846-1934) and Gallipoli Diary by General Sir Ian Hamilton (1853-1957).
"The story of the German onrush and it's memorable check can now be pieced together with accuracy. It tallies with the account of General Sir Frederick Maurice. We now know that the Germans failed through want of General Staff control, through inadequate "intelligence", above all, through striking at two fronts at the same time." The Political Landscape (Pathfinder Magazine, 1920) Weeks after the Prohibition Amendment came into effect, there was much scurrying about by all politicians on both the state and Federal levels - all looking for allies they could rely upon to either defend or overturn the legislation, depending upon their respective constituencies. The first question put to each representative was, "Are you wet or dry?" Shortly before this article went to press, Congress held a vote to repeal the Volstead Act: the repeal was rejected by a vote of 254 to 85. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (NY Times, 1920)"A remarkable book is this latest by Sinclair Lewis. A novel, yes, but so unusual as not to fall easily into a class. There is practically no plot, yet the book is absorbing. It is so much like life itself, so extraordinarily real. These people are actual folk, and there was never better dialogue written than their revealing talk." Mary Pickford Considers Her Rolls (Vanity Fair, 1920)This article was written by the silent film star herself for a fashionable American magazine concerning "a few of the difficulties in the way of dress, make-up, manners and technique" an actress might consider before portraying a child on stage or screen.
Ludendorff's Apology (The Nation, 1920)A second and far more thorough book review of My Story, by German General Erich von Ludendorff (1865 - 1937).
"When the bitterness of these days has passed, historians will very likely classify Ludendorff as first among the military geniuses of his time. But his 'own story' will have importance principally because of certain sidelights it casts upon his motives and psychology."
A shorter review of Ludendorff's memoir can be read here.
Click here to read about Ludendorff's association with Hitler.
Post-W.W. I Society and the New Spirit of the Twenties (The Independent, 1920)In 1920 there were many articles celebrating the three-hundredth anniversary of the Puritan's arrival on Cape Cod. This one writer decried the lack of enthusiasm that marked the modern age following the end of the Great War - a world that stood in contrast to the Pilgrim spirit. Religious faith, patriotism, and the belief in human progress had all been called into question by the mass carnage experienced during the war. Shell shocked and traumatized, the world seemed different: the old order had collapsed, replaced by an age of machines. The author of this column, Preston Slosson, was one of the observant souls to realize that the legacy of the First World War was disillusionment and cynicism.
"Our stock of idealism has temporarily run low and a mood of cynicism has replaced the devoted enthusiasm of 1918..."
Click here to read a 1916 article about life on the German home front. ''Father Duffy Tells What Happened'' (The Home Sector, 1920)In this article, the famous chaplain of the 165th Infantry (formerly the NY Fighting 69th) Father Francis Duffy (1874 - 1932) describes how the regiment was ripped to shreds in two offensives - hinting all the while that "somebody blundered":
"Since 1915 no commanders in the older armies would dream of opposing too strongly wired and entrenched positions [with] the naked breast of their infantry. They take care that the wire, or part of it at least, is knocked down by artillery or laid flat by tanks before they ask unprotected riflemen to [breach the line]. When the wire is deep and still intact and strongly defended, the infantry can do little but hang their bodies upon it."
More about Father Duffy can be read here...
''Some Aspects of War Poetry by Siegfried Sassoon (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1920)The following five page article was written by the World War One poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886 - 1967), in an "attempt to give a rough outline of what the British poets did in the Great War, making every allowance for the fact that they were writing under great difficulty...". The Books Lincoln Read (Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)"Examine Lincoln's prose and the fruitage of his reading will appear... The easy quickening of Lincoln's mind came from books like Aesop's Fables, Robinson Caruso and Pilgrim's Progress... To a man who knew intimately so many creatures, both wild and domestic, the fables seemed natural." Gluyas Williams vs. The U.S. Senate (Liberty, 1920)Cartoonist Gluyas Williams (1888 - 1982) would in no way be shocked to learn that the U.S. Senate is still occupied by pompous, old, wind-bags. Odd Post-War Thinking from H.L. Mencken (The Smart Set Magazine, 1920)Perhaps in his haste to be the reliable cynic, H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956) decided to ignore the haphazard nature of industrial warfare and indulged in some Darwinian thinking. There is no doubt that this column must have infuriated the Gold Star Mothers of W.W. I, who were still very much a presence at the time this opinion piece appeared, and it can also be assumed that the veterans of The American Legion were also shocked to read Mencken's words declaring that: "The American Army came home substantially as it went abroad. Some of the weaklings were left behind, true enough, but surely not all of them. But the French and German Armies probably left them all behind. The Frenchman who got through those bitter four years was certainly a Frenchman far above the average in vigor and intelligence..."
The Armistice Day Offensive (The Home Sector, 1920)"A Congressional committee of investigation has recently been treated to a scathing arraignment of the General Staff because military operations on the front of the Second Army were continued up to the hour of the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918. Members of the operations Section of the Staff, particularly the chief, Brigadier General Fox Conner, have been accused of slaughtering men on the last day of the war in order to satisfy their personal ambitions." The Fear of the 'Nipponification' (The Independent, 1920)Interesting figures revealed by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1920 served to relieve much of the race-conscious anxiety among some of the members of the Anglo-Saxon majority: "The report of the Census Bureau on the number of Japanese residents in the United States shows that the number has been much exaggerated by those panic-stricken persons who affect to dread the rise of a new Japan in America...the Japanese population of the three states on the Pacific coast increased more slowly from 1910 to 1920than it did in the previous decade. There are 70,196 Japanese in California, which has a total population of 3,426,861; in other words about one Californian in every fifty is a Japanese."
The U.S. Census figures for 2011 indicated that the Asian-American population numbered over 17 million, with the lion's share still residing in the West and the vast majority having arrived after 1965.
British Snipers on the Western Front (The English Review, 1920)Written by Major E. Penberthy, former Commandant of the British Third Army Sniping School, this is an account of the training and organization of snipers as they functioned within the British Army at the time of the Great War. "In the early days of the war, when reports of German 'sniping' began to be published, it was commonly considered a 'dirty' method of fighting and as not 'playing the game'."
Upholstery in the Finest Luxury Cars of 1920 (Vogue Magazine, 1920)A magazine article which examines the automotive upholstery styles of cars that were made for the general public ("stock cars") and those other cars that were custom made and likely to be furnished with Dictaphones and vanity cases. "As for materials, it may be said that most of the custom-built cars are upholstered in broadcloth or whipcord, whereas the stock cars show prevailingly velours, mohair velvet and the textile known as automobile cloth."
A Review of Grand Admiral Von Tirpitz Memoir (The Dial Magazine, 1920)The well respected arts journal, THE DIAL, published a very brief notice reviewing the post-war memoir, My Memoirs, by Admiral Alfred Von Tirpitz (1849-1930). The Dial reviewer found the Von Tirpitz' memoir interesting as a psychological study: "My Memoirs, by Grand Admiral von Tirpitz is one of those elaborate vindications which carry the authentic conviction of guilt...If Germany was really, as the Grand Admiral estimates, a sheep in wolf's clothing, a few more memoirs like this will leave no regret about her fate."
Read an article about the many faults of the German Navy during the Second World War...
A Few Days With Lenin and Trotsky (Liberty Magazine, 1920)Often published by the editors of "Liberty", "Life" and "Judge", was the American cartoonist Ellison Hoover (d. 1966) who poked some fun at the instability and blood-lusting thirst of the still-born Soviet Union in 1920.
Click here to read an article about the NKVD agent who murdered Trotsky. Nietzsche and World War One (Sewanee Review, 1920)In this 1920 article the theologian George Burman Foster (1858 - 1918), examined the writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900) and surmised how that philosopher might have understood the First World War, with all of it's scientific and industrial power.
"War constitutes one of of those dangerous 'experiments' undertaken by the wise man to further the progress of life, to test the value of an idea, of life. Hence, war is beneficial, good in itself; and thus Nietzsche predicts without dismay or regret that Europe is not far from entering into a period of great wars when nations will fight with one another for the mastery of the world."
Click here to read about the Nazi interpretation of Nietzsche.
A Doughboy Remembers (The Independent, 1920)On the second anniversary of the Armistice, an American veteran of the war looked back on his days in military training. In this article, he walked the grounds of his old cantonment wistfully recalling how each plot of ground was put to use:
"...the K.P.'s peeling potatoes at the doors of the mess hall, the prisoners digging ditches or working on the coal pile, the guards walking their posts, the officers with their ladies under the trees... Here, under these trees, were the tents of the medical staff... There were the horse-stalls... That thrill, that enthusiasm, that lofty notion that the country was greater than the man..." A Glossary of Terms for Movie Fans (Vanity Fair, 1920)During the summer of 1920, Photoplay Magazine ran this glossary of movie terms with cartoons by Ralph Barton and doggerel verses by Howard Dietz.
With new technology came new terms that seemed odd to the ear (it should be remembered that this new technology did not involve the use of one's ear at all); words to be added to the nation's vocabulary were "fade-out", "shooting", "box-office" and "location".
"To "shoot" a scene is nothing new-
Directors should be shot at, too" When The Doughboys Returned To France (Home Sector, 1920)"Despite its almost unanimous vows testified to by countless rounded phrases in trenches and billets, a good share of the A.E.F. is returning to France. It is almost chasing its own tail in the effort to get back, for it was only a few weeks ago that newspapers everywhere said that the last of the A.E.F. was home. And before the rear guard of the A.E.F. was aboard boats headed westward, the vanguard of the returning A.E.F. was pouring back into France through every port."
The U.S. Occupation of Turkey (Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)"There aren't many Yanks in Turkey but an American naval force of eight destroyers is being kept in Turkish waters to protect American interests and to assist the British, French and Italian navies before Constantinople to induce compliance by Turkey with the terms of the peace treaty and to serve as a warning to cease her practices against the Armenians in Asia Minor." The Fear of the "Nipponification" (The Independent, 1920)Interesting figures revealed by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1920 served to relieve much of the race-conscious anxiety among some of the members of the Anglo-Saxon majority. KEY WORDS: Xenophobia, U.S. Census Bureau, Figures of the U.S. Census Bureau, Yellow Peril, Asian American, Asian American History, Asian American Studies. Claude Monet at the Age of Eighty (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1920)The editors of VANITY FAIR saluted the eighty year-old painter Claude Monet, praising him as "the only remaining member of a little group of painters - Degas, Manet, Renoir and several others - known as the Master Impressionists." Salty Opinions from a Frenchman (Literary Digest, 1920)Attached are the rantings of one Frenchman on the matter of American gullibility, solipsism and naive stupidity. While recognizing an innate sense of optimism that seemed natural to Americans, the Gaul also believed that within the American culture the seed of tyranny had been planted and would one day bloom. "And in this new and vigorous country they are going to make nationalism a great religion, the supreme intellectual and social motive. This means Prussianizing, pure and simple." U.S. Cemeteries: A Flag for Every Grave (American Legion Weekly, 1920)An article that appeared in an American veterans magazine concerning the pageantry that would mark the Memorial Day of 1920 at each of the primary A.E.F. cemeteries in France. "More than 127,000 American soldiers, sailors and Marines gave up their lives during the war...Total battle deaths in the A.E.F. killed in action and died of wounds were 50,329 including casualties in the Siberian force. Deaths from disease including the A.E.F. and men in the home cantonments, were 58,837...No American field of honor will be without it's Memorial Day ceremony, no American grave without its flag and its flowers..." An interesting article that was written at a time it was believed that the A.E.F. cemeteries were going to be closed and the interred repatriated. There is a photograph of an early prototype headstone that was later rejected in favor of a stone cross; references are made to Suresnes Cemetery in Paris. Promoting Citizenship (Touchstone Magazine, 1920)"To encourage the making and distributing of films that will promote faith in America, the Americanism Committee of the Motion Picture Industry was organized."
A Visit to the Grave of Rupert Brooke (The London Mercury, 1920)Attached is an account by a learned traveler who journeyed to that one piece of ground on the isle of Skyros that will forever be England - the grave of the English poet Rupert Brooke (1887 - 1915). The literati who wrote the attached article went to great lengths imparting the significance of Skyros throughout all antiquity and it's meaning to the world of letters - credited only as "S. Casson", he informed his readers that he arrived on the island five years after the 1915 internment in order to erect the headstone that is currently in place, describing the shepherds and other assorted rustics in some detail while alluding tirelessly to the works of Homer.
The Grave of War Poet Rupert Brooke (London Mercury, 1920)An account by one learned traveler who journeyed to that one isolated piece of ground on the isle of Skyros that will forever be England - the grave of the English poet Rupert Brooke (1887 - 1915).
The literati who wrote the attached article went to great lengths imparting the significance of Skyros throughout all antiquity and it's meaning to the world of letters; credited only as S. Casson, he informed his readers that he arrived on the island five years after the original burial in order to erect the headstone that is currently in place and describes the shepherds and other assorted rustics in some detail while alluding religiously to the works of Homer. "I wonder how many people will visit this remote island to see the grave? It means long and weary journeying, and will be a real pilgrimage. From the sea, just off Tris Boukes Bay, the monument can just be seen, with it's white Pentelic marble showing clear through the olive trees, the only visible sign of man or his works at this end of the island."
To see a color photograph of the grave, click here.. The Verville Packard Battle Plane: 178 Miles Per Hour (The Independent, 1920)A short notice reporting on the one pride and joy of the U.S. Army Air Service, the Verville Packard, and how this one aircraft performed at the Pulitzer Trophy Airplane Race of 1920. The article is illustrated with a photo of the plane and the aviator, Lt. C.C. Mosley, who piloted the craft at the impressive speed of 156.5 mph. Girl's Tennis Blouse (Magazine Advertisement, 1920)Pictured in this file is Sis Hopkin's "Middy Blouse" for tennis. Cut to resemble a sailor's jumper, a popular look for girl's upper-class leisure attire, the ad ran in VOGUE and TOWN & COUNTRY:
"A chic and charming blouse for the charming summer girlie at the paddle, in the tennis court or in the school room". American English and American Identity (American Legion Weekly, 1920)When it came to the issue of assimilating immigrants on American shores and deporting "Alien Slackers", few groups yelled louder than the editors at The American Legion Weekly. In this anonymous editorial the author "gently" advocates for the recognition of American English in all schools with heavy immigrant numbers.
"Why not inform these aliens they are about to be taught the American language... [and] announce to the world that there is a new language? Why, even in Mexico they do not stand for calling their language the Spanish language. They insist it is the Mexican language... why not quit press-agenting John Bull and have our own language - the American language."
- from Amazon: A Decade-by-Decade Guide to the Vanishing Vocabulary of the Twentieth Century
American Negros in the Great War (Leslie's Weekly, 1920)This is a World War I article listing many of the patriotic commitments that the African-American community devoted to the 1917 - 1918 war efforts:
"The war has transformed the American Negro into the Negro American. Because he has been doing big things for his country his sense of national unity grown; his citizenship became a living reality."
"They have contributed 300,000 of their young men to the American Army. Of these 1,000 are commissioned officers of the line...One entire regiment was decorated for bravery and several individual soldiers have been cited for deeds of great valor." Post-War French Opinions About Their American Allies (Literary Digest, 1920)Here are a few French thoughts regarding America's late arrival in the war and some additional opinions on the matter of Uncle Sam's inflated ego.
Click here to read an article by a grateful Frenchman who was full of praise for the bold and forward-thinking manner in which America entered the First World War. Siegfried Sassoon Reviewed (Touchstone Magazine, 1920)American poet Marguerite Wilkinson(1883 — 1928) was very impressed with the World War I poetry of Sigfried Sassoon, MC (1886 – 1967); in this three page review she lucidly explained why Sassoon's voice was different from all the other wartime versifiers and illustrated her point by quoting liberally from his two earlier volumes, "The Old Huntsman" (1917) and "Counter Attack" (1918): "Such wisdom is the shining power of Sigfried Sassoon. To read it is to come face to face with indelible memories of unspeakable anguish. No palliatives are offered. The truth about warfare is told, as Mr. Sassoon understands it, with vigor and in sight...It is told by a man, a soldier, who will never forget this Calvary of the youth of our generation." Soviet Prisoner Exchanges (Soviet Russia Monthly, 1920)Here is a brief notice that appeared in a small, semi-monthly magazine concerning a PoW exchange that took place between the Soviets and the Germans some three years after the Russian Army made their uneasy peace with Imperial Germany.
Click here to read an article about the American POW experience during the Korean War. Crack of Doom for the Draft Dodgers (American Legion Weekly, 1920)"Doomsday looms just over the horizon for the draft deserters. That wily gentleman who hid behind a tree and chuckled as his neighbor shouldered a gun and marched off to battle is soon to have that chuckle mopped off his face. He will find that no tree vegetates enough to cover from shame the miserable carcass of his manhood...According to the latest reports, 173,911 is the maximum number of draft registrants chargeable with willful desertion." Timeless Advice Regarding Skin Care (McCall's Magazine, 1920)Some tend to think that 1920s concepts concerning skin care are very different from our own - and in many cases they would be absolutely right; that is why we were so charmed to stumble upon this 1920 article written by the Broadway actress Suzanne Sheldon. The actress emphasizes 6 to 8 glasses of water each day, a sensible exercise regimen and washing the face each evening.
Anti-Immigration Legislation (The Independent, 1920)"The measure is not intended as a basis for permanent immigration policy, but simply as an emergency" injunction" to halt immigration until Congress... can determine the policy it wishes to adopt" Post-World War I France (The North American Review, 1920)In the later years of the First World War, the American journalist Alexander Woollcott (1887 - 1943) served as a writer for the Doughboy newspaper The Stars & Stripes. In this roll he was able to travel far afield all over the American sectors of the front where he saw a great deal of the war: flattened villages, ravaged farmland, factories reduced to ruble. In the attached article from 1920, Woollcott reported that the war-torn provinces of France looked much the same, even two years after the Armistice. He was surprised at the glacial speed with which France was making the urgent repairs, and in this article he presented a sort-of Doughboy's-eye-view of post-war France.
More on this topic can be read here
James Montgomery Flagg and Six Other W.W. I Poster Artists (The Poster, 1920)Photographic portraits and brief interviews with seven artists who made important contributions to the
poster campaign of
1917 - 1918.
Included in this illustrious group:
• James Montgomery Flagg,
• Clyde Forsythe,
• Gerrit Baker,
• J. Scott Williams,
• L.A. Shafer and
• Euginie De Land Saugstad. Americanizing the Immigrants (American Legion Weekly, 1920)"Why are tens of thousands of foreigners in ignorance of the privileges and obligations of American citizenship?... Where they are isolated in groups, left entirely to their own devices and not brought into contact with the life of the country, there is little opportunity for the melting pot to reach them." Movies will Promote Americanism (Touchstone Magazine, 1920)The attached article, "The Immigrant and the Movies: A New Kind of Education", is about Hollywood filmmakers with the dream of instilling among the newcomers a sense of pride in being American, the Americanism Committee of the Motion Picture Industry was formed in 1920 in order to create films that would impart this sensation.
In 1941, the WPA was given the task of instilling patriotism in the new immigrants - click here to read about it. Eastern European Jews Slaughtered (Current Opinion, 1920)"One of the most sinister results of the war has been a new wave of anti-Semitism in Europe. Recent dispatches from Berlin describe street demonstrations against Jews and speak of "a veritable pogrom atmosphere" in Munich and Budapest. In Poland, Jewish blood has flown freely, amid scenes of horror described by Herman Bernstein and other writers in American newspapers. In Ukrainia the number of Jews massacred during the early part of the present year is estimated anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000." The Popularly-Elected Senate (American Legion Weekly, 1920)In 1913 a very strong, anti-Federalist step was taken to amend the Constitution and alter the manner in which U.S. Senators were to be selected and replaced in the event of vacancies. The 17th Amendment was passed: it guaranteed that senators would no longer be elected from within the legislative bodies of the state governments, but would be elected directly by the citizens of their respective states, just as the representatives are. Historian Everett Kimball pointed out in this article how the 17th Amendment altered the very nature of the U.S. Senate.
The Invention of the Car was Revolutionary (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1920)As early as 1920, the number of automobiles was quickly growing throughout the Western world. In this very brief article, a journalist lays out how rapidly life was changing in the United States as a result of the "horseless carriage".
"The village smithy is no more. In the place of that interesting relic of a bygone day, there stands a substantial concrete building marked 'Garage'..." The Gun Barrel Fence on P Street (Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)When compared to the historic events that took place on numerous other street corners in Washington D.C, the intersection of 28th and P streets barely makes the list, but the residence that stands on the north-east corner there is a twofer. The attached article explains just why the front and side fence is so unique to Washington history - and in later years the house would be purchased by Cold War diplomat Dean Acheson. Father Francis Duffy of the Fighting 69th (The Bookman, 1920)Father Francis P. Duffy (1874 - 1932) was the well-loved regimental chaplain for the illustrious, old New York infantry regiment known as "the Fighting 69th".
Next time you find yourself walking near Times Square in New York City, you'll see a statue erected in his memory situated behind a statue of the popular songster who composed Over There - George M. Cohan (1878 - 1942). These memorials will be found at Broadway and 7th Avenue (between 46th & 47th streets). Both men knew the neighborhood well - to Cohan it was known as the "Theater District" while Duffy knew it as "Hell's Kitchen", and it was his parish.
The Bookman reviewed Duffy's memoir as "a book which carries A.E.F. readers back to lousy, old French barns, to chilly, soupy Argonne mud and, at last, to a wintry Rhineland...".
You can can read more about Father Duffy's war here...
Click here to read articles about W.W. I poetry. A Salute to Susan B. Anthony (Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)Five and a half months before the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting all female citizens over the age of 21 the right to vote, the editors of THE PATHFINDER MAGAZINE saw fit to pay tribute to Susan B. Anthony (1820 - 1906) - the woman who got the ball rolling so long ago:
"She drafted the pending amendment to the constitution in 1875." Where Did the Doughboys Board? Where Did They Land? (Pictures of The World War, 1920)A black and white map indicating the Atlantic ports up and down North America where the A.E.F. boarded troop ships, their trans-Atlantic routes and their French and British points of arrival. The map is also accompanied by a few facts concerning this remarkable trip across U-boat infested waters.
Click here to read an article about the sexually-transmitted diseases among the American Army of W.W. I...
When the Doughboys complained, they complained heavily about their uniforms; read about it here. General Von Ludendorff Defends Himself (The Dial Magazine, 1920)Attached is a review of Von Ludendorff's memoir entitled My Own Story" as it appeared in a much admired journal of the arts.
"'Ludendorff's Own Story' by Erich Friedrich Von Ludendorff gives a G.H.Q. view of the war from August 1914 to November 1918. It has a certain quality of forthrightness which makes its fallacies and mistakes apparent to the reader even when they escape the author. Ludendorff's thesis is that the war was lost because the the army at home had not another Ludendorff to direct it..."
In 1920 the representatives from the victorious nations who convened at Versailles demanded that Kaiser Wilhelm, General Ludendorff and an assortment of various other big shots be handed over for trial - click here to read about it.
A longer review of Ludendorff's memoir from The Nation can be read here.
Click here to read about Ludendorff's association with Hitler.
Composer Leo Ornstein (Vanity Fair, 1920)A profile of Futurist composer Leo Ornstein (1893 – 2002). Ornstein appeared on the New York music scene at a very young age; hailed as a genius by many, he performed to packed houses. In 1917, music critic James Huneker(1860-1921) remarked:
"I never thought I should live to hear Arnold Schoenberg sound tame, yet tame he sounds—almost timid and halting—after Ornstein who is, most emphatically, the only true-blue, genuine, Futurist composer alive."
Leo Ornstein left the public eye by 1925 and was soon forgotten until the 1970s. This Vanity Fair article was written by James L. Buchanan, who had written a number of pieces on Ornstein and his music throughout his career. Lord, Deliver Us from Prohibition (The Smart Set, 1920)For some unexplained reason, H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956) wrote this essay under the pseudonym "Major Owen Hatteras". The one page article is written in typical Menkenese and catalogs example after example of how prohibition is creating a worse society, not a better one; citizens of all stripes who would otherwise be judged as honest souls, are instead committing illegal acts and there seemed to be no end in sight to such behavior.
A W.W. I Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Poem (The English Review, 1920) There can be no doubt that as a term "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" is clearly lacking the needed musical quality that would add to the pleasing rhythm of a poem, however the melancholy that is generated by the malady has launched a million poems throughout the course of the last century, which was to date, the bloodiest yet. Most often remembered for her anti-war verses, Lady Margaret Sackville (1881 – 1963) penned this diddly about that legion of crushed and broken men returned to their wives after World War One and how entirely unrecognizable they seemed:
"You cannot speak to us nor we reply:
You learnt a different language where men die..."
W.W. II: Where were the war poets?
Remembering the Golden Age of the Dandy (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1920)This is a fun read covering the all too short reign of the dandy . It touches upon those who were the great practitioners of the art (Beau Brummell, Sir Phillip Dormer Chesterfield, "Beau" Nash, Sir Robert Fielding, Count Alfred d'Orsay) and those who came later, but deserving of honorable mention (King Alphonso XIII and Oscar Wilde), as well as the "wannabe" bucks who wished they were dandies but simply came away "well-tailored" (George IV and Edward VII).
An article about Beau Brummell can be read HERE
Harsh Words for Eugene O'Neill (Theatre Arts Magazine, 1920)In celebration of being awarded a Pulitzer Prize for having written the best American play of 1920 (Beyond the Horizon), theater critic Walter Prichard Eaton (1878 – 1957) saw fit to slip playwright Eugene O'Neill his back hand with a double-dose of venomous criticism: "...O'Neill's work to date remains intellectually and spiritually thin."
Deporting the Reds (American Legion Weekly, 1920)In this 1920 American Legion Weekly article the mojo of the Red Scare (1917 to 1920) is fully intact and beautifully encapsulated by W.L. Whittlesey who condemned the U.S. Government for ever having allowed large numbers of socialist immigrants to enter the country and spread their discontent throughout the fruited plane. On the other hand, the writer was grateful that the government was finally tending to the matter of deporting them in large numbers and doing so with every means available.
In Search of the W.W. I Draft Dodgers (American Legion Weekly, 1920)This is a fiery editorial from a U.S. veteran's magazine covering American law enforcement's search for the 487,003 young men who resisted the draft of 1917-1918.
"The War Department will take care of the actual deserters, the men who went into camp and then deserted. Such men are liable to prosecution at any time in their lives. The Department of Justice will get after the draft dodgers, who never answered the summons..." Siegfried Sassoon on the Soldier Poets (Vanity Fair, 1920)The following five page article was written by the World War I poet, Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967), in an "attempt to give a rough outline of what the British poets did in the Great War, making every allowance for the fact that they were writing under great difficulty...".
Sassoon gave a thorough going-over of every war poet that he admired, naming at least twenty. It is a wonderful and revealing read for all those who have come to admire the poets of the First World War and Sigfried Sassoon in particular.
Click here to read additional articles about W.W. I poetry. E.E. Cummings on T.S. Eliot (The Dial Magazine, 1920)A review of T.S. Eliot's (1888 – 1965) second collection, Poems (1919), as reviewed by E.E. Cummings (1894 – 1962) in the well respected magazine of the arts, THE DIAL. It was in this volume that Eliot's well remembered series of quatrains first appeared: "Sweeney Among the Nightingales", "Sweeney Erect" "The Hippopotamus" and "Mr. Eliot's Sunday Morning Service". Cummings at that time was living in Paris and writing his first book, The Enormous Room , which would be published in 1922. The review of that work can be read here. ''Troublesome Mesopotamia'' (Literary Digest, 1920)This is a very interesting magazine article concerning the 1920s British experience in Iraq (Mesopotamia); regardless as to where the reader stands concerning the 2003 Iraq War, you will find a striking similarity in the language used in this piece and the articles printed prior to the U.S. infantry surge of 2008: "Unless there is a complete change of policy, Mesopotamia, which has been the grave of empires, is now likely to be the grave of the Coalition".
Click here to read more articles about the British struggle for 1920s Mesopotamia.
The Women Lincoln Loved (McCall's Magazine, 1920)This brief article, "The Women Lincoln Loved", illustrates the strong influences that four remarkable women made in the important process of molding the character of young Abraham Lincoln. "All four of these women share in and are a part of Lincoln's greatness. They were the most powerful influences in the molding and shaping of the man and his career. Their valuation of life and their aspirations were the secret and noble forces that guided his heart and mind... Out of them was born a great and tender spirit with 'malice toward none, charity for all.'"
The American Marine in France (Leslie's Weekly, 1920)Attached are a smattering of photos of the U.S. Marines as they appeared shortly after their arrival in France.
Click here to read about the first Black Marines.
November 11, 1918: Paris, France (The American Legion Weekly, 1920)Much has been written on the unique relationship that has existed between African-Americans and the city of Paris . The following is one of those anecdotes that illustrates that cultural fellowship, a fellowship that began with the First World War. Quite predictability, it is written in the disrespectful manner that was all-too common of that era. George Creel and His Posters (How We Advertised America, 1920)This essay was written by President Wilson's Director of the Committee on Public Information, George Creel (1876-1953). It first appeared in Creel's post-war memoir, How we advertised America
and gives a thorough rundown of the planning and the creativity that went into the mass-production of what is today a highly-prized collectible; the American World War I poster.
Twenty years later Creel wrote an article in which he explained his belief that America cannot be censored. Click here to read it.
Click here to read about how the mass-marketing techniques of the W.W. I era was used to promote KKK membership...
Eastern European Jews Slaughtered (Current Opinion, 1920)"One of the most sinister results of the war has been a new wave of anti-Semitism in Europe. Recent dispatches from Berlin describe street demonstrations against Jews and speak of "a veritable pogrom atmosphere" in Munich and Budapest. In Poland, Jewish blood has flown freely, amid scenes of horror described by Herman Bernstein and other writers in American newspapers. In Ukraine the number of Jews massacred during the early part of the present year is estimated anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000."
H.L. Mencken: Not Impressed with Lincoln (The Smart Set, 1920)As far as culture critic and all-around nay-sayer H.L. Mencken was concerned, Abraham Lincoln was simply another opportunist who fed at the federal trough and he found himself at a loss when it came to understanding the American deification of the man. It seemed that even Jefferson Davis might have had an easier time uttering a few sweet words to describe Lincoln then did the "Bard of Baltimore". Yet, there was one contribution Lincoln made that Mencken applauded, the Gettysburg Address:
"It is eloquence brought to a pellucid and almost gem-like perfection --the highest emotion reduced to a few poetical phrases. Nothing else precisely like it is to be found in the whole range of oratory. Lincoln himself never even remotely approached it [in other speeches]. It is genuinely stupendous."
(Although, like any unreconstructed Confederates, he thought the argument was all a bunch of rot.) | 
