Aside from modern poetry, the early 1900’s brought about innovative ideas along with new laws and traditions that reflected the development of the United States. Cultural change is evident in Lincoln’s initial appearance on the penny; technological advancements are prevalent when the Wright brothers make their first successful human-flight; social change is present in the founding of the NAACP; the Mann Act illustrated political improvements of the time, all of which took place between 1900 and 1912. These changed in the world are also reflected throughout literature as writers such as W. B. Yeats, Claude Mckay, T.E. Hulme and many others introduce new writings styles and techniques that present innovative ideas and different views of the world.
Art and Culture: U.S. penny changed to Lincoln 1909
1909 marked Abraham Lincoln’s initial appearance on the United States one-cent coin in celebration of his centennial. Lincoln is said to be the replacement of the Indian Head cent used in the years leading up to 1909. There was previously a strong feeling against portraits on coins in the United States but Lincoln’s celebration proved to be stronger than tradition. Today we still follow this same tradition; through all of its evolutions, Lincoln’s head remain the portrait depicted on the penny. Four different designs were released in 2009 to celebrate Lincoln’s bicentennial.
Science and Technology: Wright brother successful flight 1903
Orville and Wilbur Wright, also known as the Wright brothers, were inventors and aviator pioneers recognized for inventing the first successful airplane. Though they were not the first to fly experimental aircraft, they were the first to create controls that made fixed-wing powered flights possible. The brothers started their work in the 1890’s based on previous work of aviator pioneers. After many experiments and failed flights the brothers finally made their first successful, controlled, powered and sustained flight on December 17, 1903 with five witnesses present.
Social Change: NAACP 1909
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, known as NAACP, is an African American Civil Rights group founded on February 12,1909 by W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Archibald Grimké, and several others. At the Niagara Movement conference in New York City on May 30, 1909, the group chose the name National Negro Committee, it wasn’t until May 30, 1910 that The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was established as the official name. The mission of this organization was “to ensure political, educational, social, and economical equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination,” and is still in place today.
War and Politics: MANN act 1910
The Mann Act, also known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, is a federal law passed on June 5, 1910 to prevent human trafficking for prostitution purposes. This law deemed it a felony to engage in interstate or foreign commerce transport of females for immoral purposes. The law was primarily used to prosecute men for having sex with under-aged females but the ambiguous term “immoral purpose” allowed for many unfair prosecutions, including criminalizing consensual sexual behavior.
All of this information was found using links from Wikipedia Timeline of U.S. History page ranging from years 1900-29.
Great selection of events from these years–and thanks for the frequent linking and inclusion of images–that really makes the presentation stand out. The founding of the NAACP is a particularly important occurrence here. The political organization of African Americans in many ways contributes to the flowering of black poetry and art that we will see in the Harlem Renaissance, and for which we see evidence already in McKay, Johnson, and Dunbar.