Tuesday, October 1, 2019
New York Times Essay
The newspaper serves as the first draft of history and is the most important source of primary documents in which historians use in order to better gauge exactly what were the concerns and motivations of a specific age. In 1900, America was celebrating a new century although there was little to celebrate. The Boar War in South Africa was taking far too long and costing far too many money and lives in what was perceived to be an invincible British Empire. A massive explosion in West Virginia killed dozens of miners and in China, the Boxer Rebellion; a Chinese nationalistic movement in which all foreigners were sought after and either expelled from the country or killed, was causing international headaches for America and President McKinley. The December 24, 1900 issue of the New York Times, the most prestigious newspaper in the country, detailed many of the aforementioned events as well as the smaller stories which never did make the history books but were vitally important for those who were involved. As 1900 was coming to a close and moving into what would be the bloodiest century in human history, the readers of that day, saw a world with no shortage of pessimistic news and depressing facts about the state of their world. In the backdrop of the Christmas season, the concern of the people of New York, as detailed in this issue of the New York Times, were detailing the hatred and strife which much of the world, and especially New York City had, in the day before Christmas.            The most important international issue of this day was the Boar War. America would remain neutral in this war but with British soldiers deep in the heart of South Africa and fighting a war, the details commanded a position on the front page. The headline in the top left corner of page 1, â€Å"Boars Take British town,†detailed the pursuits of the British army in relation to the Boar War, which was ending its second year with no sign of victory. The war would continue from 1899-1902 and cost more lives and money than would ever have been conceived and historians marked this as the beginning of the end of the British Empire.            There were other important issues of the day. One issue which the people of New York were talking about that day was the firing of District Attorney Garnier by then governor Theodore Roosevelt. This story was seen on page 1 of the Times as well as a detailed editorial on page 6 of the paper. Theodore Roosevelt was seen as a free thinking Progressive Reformer who had no use for patronage, nor public opinion dictating his actions. He was one of the most unique Presidents this country ever had served in the White House. These aspects came through when Governor Roosevelt, under the idea that Garnier: â€Å"that he did not acknowledge the telegram of the governor directing attention to these officers†¦ and allowed his assets to interfere with the prompt trial of election cases.†[1] In other words, Garnier’s association with Tammany, the political force of the Democratic Party in which graft and patronage ran rampant, could not be separated from the demands of this office. In the election of 1900, it was asserted that Garnier had done little or nothing to stop the election tampering which the Republicans asserted had occurred. Governor Roosevelt believed this to be the case and promptly fired Garnier. The New York Times, in their editorial, criticized this move, through the professed to be no friend of Garnier. â€Å"We think that the people’s rights and not Garnier’s are infringed by the action of Governor Roosevelt and are forced to condemn that action as a blunder in the nature of a crime.†[2] Tammany, since the days of Boss William Tweed, had been under a suspicion of grafting politicians and Roosevelt, always the reformer, sought to free New York City from the patronage which he felt was choking the lifeblood from the city. Tammany had been a source of patronage for decades and it sometimes served as the only source of employment for immigrants who were being ignored by the establishment. However, Tammany always ran under a cloud of suspicion for corruption and the reform candidates of that age, sought to starve Tammany of patronage. It is also interesting to note that since Governor Roosevelt was causing so much trouble, for both the Democrats as well as the Republicans, that he was placed on the Republican ticket as President McKinley’s Vice President in 1900 only a few months earlier as a way to silence him. Little did they know that the assassination of President McKinley in September 1901, propel Roosevelt onto the world political stage for the next 7  ½ years.            The newspaper also details the stories which never did make the history books. There are many one or two paragraph stories which served as life changing for those involved but which were quickly forgotten in a day or two by the rest of the public. One such story is of five year old Marie Horen who went into convulsions when she drank a bottle of whiskey as she copied what she had seen her father doing. She was rushed to the J. Hood Wright Hospital where her condition was deemed serious. Another story involves nine year old Nathan Roth who was shot in the head by one who the paper deemed crazy. He was shot in the head and the bullet exited the right eye of the boy. The boy was pronounced dead and the defendant, John Galletus, a father of three and one who had attempted to shoot others, was captured and sent away.            Another negative aspect of this day in New York History was the number of fires that were reported. There was listed, sixteen fires that had occurred. One of these fires ripped through a tenement in which it was reported that there presumed to be, a number of victims but as the records of those living in these tenements were sketchy at best, it seems as though the exact count will never be known. It has been suspected that a number of these fires, especially the ones in which barns were being set ablaze, was suspected of being done by a group of sixteen years from the many notorious gangs which New York City housed.            It was also reported that Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate, one who had originated from Scotland and had made his fortunes in steel, donated $20,000 for the assembly of a new library at the all black Tuskegee School in which Booker T. Washington founded and led. During these last years of his life, Carnegie sought o give away millions of dollars in the construction of libraries all across the country; from the large cities in America, to the small towns. He had earned his money through the ruthless exploitation of capitalism and now sought to right his wrongs and become a philanthropist and give money to support a new school at Tuskegee. This occurred at a time when only four years later, calls of treason arose from the South when President Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington, a leader in the African American community to lunch in order to discuss the issues of the day concerning African Americans. It was reported that the entire building would be built from the hard work of the students themselves; a practice which had been adhered to when the school was first built. This speaks to the social culture of the day and is in contrast to the arrest of Ed. Johnson, a â€Å"dark†man who was suspected of kidnapping a woman. The story states, on page 1, that Mr. Johnson had been identified by a child witness as not having been the suspect but which did little to dissuade the authorities to immediately free Mr. Johnson.            Since this issue was dated Christmas Eve, there is also a religious aspect to this day as millions of Christians in the city were set to celebrate the birth of Jesus. This aspect of loving one’s neighbor which is seen more often around Christmas time than any other, was seen in a large advertisement which detailed the Salvation Army’s feeding of the poor as well as the performance of a passion play. These plays were designed to detail the last hours of Jesus before he was hung on the cross. These plays have served as a popular and touching aspect of the Christmas Season but which have become more popular during the Easter season. In this spirit of alms giving, the New York Protestant Episcopal Society was also feeding Christmas dinner to the poor. However, with New York City containing a large Jewish population, it was stated by the prominent rabbis of the city, that the Jewish people can enjoy this Christmas season, the joy and fulfillment which their fellow New Yorkers are experiencing this Christmas season but that Jews should be careful not to blend their appreciation for the enjoyment of others, with their own sense of faith, which it was stated, â€Å"has fundamental and final differences between Judaism and Christianity.†[3]            1900 was an important and event-packed year. Reading the newspapers, specifically the New York Times, serves as a reminder that ever day, there occurs events, large and small, important and socially irrelevant, that occur every day and which are important to the people it affects. In a city as large as New York City, there still occurs individual interest stories like the death of nine year old Nathan Roth or the case of five year old Maggie Enloin who went into convulsions after drinking a bottle of whiskey after seeing her father do the same. These stories occur every day, in every part of the country, as well as the world. Many times, they are not reported but in this day, December 24, 1900, the editors of The New York Times, felt that the tragic death of a nine year old to street violence, or the burnings of tenements on the Lower East Side, as well as the involvements of the Boxer Rebellion, the Boar War or the issues of patronage and corruption within the Tammany machine, all fell under the definition: â€Å"All the news that is fit to print.†This day in American History as well as New York History, saw a wide array of human interest stories, coupled with heavy issues and the larger questions of: â€Å"What role will political patronage serve in the city and how much damage can Governor Roosevelt make before he assumes the Vice Presidency? Are the problems of the tenements to only being reported or sill any actions are made to help the poor and to help them rise above their circumstance? Can the deaths of innocent children be reconciled in a city who believes that it is on the cutting edge of the country’s reforms? Also, to what degree, if any, will America get involved in the issues overseas such as the Boar War and the Boxer Rebellion and how their outcomes will affect America’s relations with these countries. The December 24, 1900 issue of the New York Times, had contained within its twelve pages, a wide array of stories from all walks of life and on all levels of importance. Many of the above mentioned people are to be remembered, when they are remembered at all, in the pages of the newspaper: the first draft of history. WORKS CITED The New York Times. December 24, 1900 (Twelve Pages) [1] Governor Roosevelt’s Error The New York Times. December 24, 1900 pg. 6 [2] Governor Roosevelt’s Error. The New York Times. December 24, 1900 pg. 6 [3] The New York Times. December 24, 1900
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