In the history of public disturbances, food riots were a recurring form of collective action. Initially, most “bread riots” were non-violent demonstrations restricted to the marketplace as the production and supply of food were local matters. Participants argued with their bakers trying to force them to sell their products at a “just” price. [Read more…] about Womens’ War on Greed: Inflation & Food Riots
Populism
William Jennings Bryan: The Boy Orator & Great Commoner
William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) is best known today for his participation on the anti-evolution, pro-creationist side of the famous Scopes Trial in 1925. But that was only the final episode in a remarkable career. [Read more…] about William Jennings Bryan: The Boy Orator & Great Commoner
Forgotten Populists: When Farmers Turned Left to Save Democracy
In Forgotten Populists: When Farmers Turned Left to Save Democracy (Mission Point Press: April 25, 2023) author Steve Babson, Ph.D. tells the story of how the Populists of the 1890s transformed the nation’s political terrain — and in the quick-read 50-page illustrated book — shows how that history still resonates today. Perfect for the classroom or an adult reader looking for a refresher course in the history of populism, Forgotten Populists is an eye-opening read. [Read more…] about Forgotten Populists: When Farmers Turned Left to Save Democracy
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
During Prohibition – which ended on December 5, 1933 – my grandfather’s brother Denis Warren, a veteran of some of the bloodiest American battles of the First World War, was left for dead on the side of Route 9N south of Port Henry on Lake Champlain. He was in the second of two cars of friends returning from Montreal, both “heavily loaded with Canadian ale” according to a newspaper account.
Going through Port Henry, Essex County, local customs agents gave chase and the car he was in hit a rock cut and he was badly injured in the accident. Figuring his was dead, or nearly so, and worried he would go to prison, one of Denis’s best friends rolled him under the guardrail, climbed into the other car, and sped off. [Read more…] about Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
Social and Religious Movements in Central New York
Central New York communities that flourished with canal-related development and rail connections throughout the 19th century also became hotbeds for religious and social movements of the early 1800s as the area’s population rapidly grew.
Religious freedom granted by the United States Bill of Rights combined with rapid societal and technological changes experienced by Americans living through western expansion fueled an American spiritual movement that was exemplified in the newly opened frontier of New York. [Read more…] about Social and Religious Movements in Central New York
Trust Busting: William Jennings Bryan & Theodore Roosevelt
As control of the American economy became increasingly centralized in trusts located on Wall Street after the Civil War, and the wealth of men like J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller grew exponentially, there developed an increasing backlash against such concentrations of wealth. In the 1880s, through an investigation by a committee of the New York State Legislature, Americans became aware that Standard Oil secretly controlled a number of supposedly competing oil companies. By 1910 almost 90% of the world’s oil supply was controlled from the company’s headquarters at 26 Broadway in Manhattan. [Read more…] about Trust Busting: William Jennings Bryan & Theodore Roosevelt
Books: Madison County’s Frank L. Baum, Wizard of Oz
This summer the film “The Wizard of Oz” marked its 70th anniversary. Just in time comes The Real Wizard of Oz: The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum
by Rebecca Loncraine, the first full biography of L. Frank Baum – from his birth in 1856 and his youth in the Finger Lakes region, to the years following his death – that looks at the people, places, history, culture, and literature that influenced the renowned storyteller. From the Civil War to women’s suffrage, from amputation to modern medicine, from psychics to industrialization, Baum saw it all and it was reflected in his writings. Loncraine is an acknowledged expert on Oz and Baum who traveled the US to study him, his works and the impact they had on our culture for the book.
When The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written at the turn of the century, it quickly became an icon of American Culture. The public and the media were entranced by myths surrounding Baum’s creation, all covered in the book:
Was OZ really named from the O-Z on his file cabinet?
Was the book really a reaction to the Populist party?
What was Baum’s incredible connection to PT Barnum?