Identity
For many, expansion meant being forced into an identity that they did not choose. However, even within the homogeneity of and subjugation by white America, many groups were able to celebrate their stories and identities. From World’s Fairs to Wild West Shows to everyday shows of tradition and values, Americans worked to maintain and celebrate their cultural identities, and where necessary, to resist forces of assimilation.
Healthy Feet, short pants, and uniforms:
the effect of Western culture on early Chinese women's education in the early twentieth century
The American Christian missionaries brought in women’s education into China in the early nineteenth century and stimulated the development of domestic girls’ schools in the early twentieth century.
In this picture of Wu Pen volleyball team, the girls appear strikingly unusual for contemporary women – their healthy feet contrast with others’ bound feet; their short pants contrast with others’ conservative dressing; their dress code built a collective identity of girl students. These features separated them from Chinese women and unified them with the Western feminist movement. Inspired by the agency Western women earned through physical exercises, Chinese educators managed to use sports to foster the girls’ “courage, enthusiasm, and tenacity” and feminist awareness (Green; Wu Pen).
In addition, the spectacular nature of the volleyball game and the distribution of school yearbooks spread the feminist ideas further. These female students gained some degree of freedom from education, however, as the influential Chinese writer Lu Xun and many female students pointed out, the existing patricentric society gave them no space to independently earn a living after graduation (Lu; Wu Pen). Therefore, Chinese women’s destinies were far from changed.
Yuqin Wu
Chinese-American Representation in 19th Century America
The Chinese first came to America in the early 19th century in search of work because of the economic and political troubles they were facing in their home country. Most intended to work hard, earn some money and acquire a comfortable, sustainable and healthy lifestyle. The Americans were captivated by the Chinese’s appearance and attitude towards others. Their dressing was very different from the Western style of clothing. The Chinese also treated the Americans with dignity and regard (Haddad). However, the Americans questioned the Chinese’s morals and beliefs and treated them as an inferior race. They viewed the Chinese’s customs as primitive and old fashioned and believed that the Chinese had to become more Americanized (Haddad). All human beings are created equal and we should not discriminate against anyone based on race or ethnicity. There is no rationale for any one race to be superior to another, yet we observe blatant or subtle signs of racism across the world. All religions postulate that we are all equal. It is time for us to make amends and ensure everyone is treated equally.
Abhi Nallapareddy
Food Conservation during WWI: Staging Charity for Immigrants to Model
In molding a sense of patriotic duty of conserving food for the American troops in Europe, the poster portrays a man with one hand on the basket of food and the other giving a welcoming gesture to the immigrant. His action conveys warm greetings towards the immigrant at the price of abiding by American values. The glowing city of New York in the background creates an ethereal scene for immigrants seeking freedom. This background alludes to the late 19th century tableaux which staged heavenly scenes reachable via imagination (Dawson). The poster’s welcoming demonstration to immigrants of American values of sharing also stages pageantry. Chamber’s poster reflects the exclusivity of The Pilgrim Spirit, creating an appearance of being seen as an American to immigrants through donating food to the war (Arnold-Lourie). The exclusivity coupled with the bold text on the poster promotes the assimilation of American values on immigrants entering the United States. Through its patriotic illustrations and text, the poster imposes American values towards immigrants seeking freedom highlighting the division between foreigner and old-stock American.
Avi Patel
Geronimo led a violent resistance against the U.S. military until his surrender in 1886. He was then held as a prisoner of war until his death. At the time of the 1904 World’s Fair St. Louis, Geronimo was one of the three most “notorious” living Native Americans, (Swensen 444) having been depicted in American media as both a vicious warrior as well as genius tactician for decades prior to the fair. As a result of his status, Geronimo was brought to the event.
This image is likely intended to support the media depiction of Geronimo as a fearsome warrior because he is posed with a partially cocked bow and arrow. Instead, this image shows how Geronimo resisted the media depiction. This is evident in his choice to give a neutral expression and to wear western clothing instead of the stereotypical garments the organizers wanted him to don. Geronimo’s outfit contrasted him with many Native Americans at the St. Louis World’s Fair who were forced to wear exaggerated and inaccurate clothing to create the image of incivility in the fairgoers' minds (Swensen 461). This image captures both the exploitation of Native Americans during the time of the 1904 World’s Fair and the subtle ways Native Americans defied and resisted this exploitation.
Dueling Facades: Kwakiutl Representations at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
This image reveals several pivotal contradictions within the presence and performances of Native Americans at the 1893 Columbian World’s Fair. The two totem poles that stand at the center of this image, which were crafted and presented by the Kwakiutl tribe of British Columbia, commemorate tribal ancestry, perseverance, and history. In stark contrast to both the totem poles and their sentiments, several white buildings of Western style loom from the background. This visual of whiteness and Western culture provides an apt metaphor for how the creative expression of Native Americans was supervised by and held within the Western culture that dominated World’s Fairs and the United States. The Exposition was one of very few opportunities at the time for the Kwakiutl tribe to display and celebrate their art and culture after an 1884 ban was placed on most forms of Kwakiutl cultural expressions and art, including totem poles (Huang). The dichotomy of the white buildings and the two totem poles speaks to how Native American groups, even while under the subjugation of white America, still seized upon this opportunity to tell their own stories and honor their history.
Lena Muno
Ayer’s Cherry Pectoral and Nationalism
American Nationalism along with a will of unity rose ever high after the Civil War, but this nationalism was intertwined with western superiority and the exclusion of racial minorities.
In this card, Ayer’s Cherry Pectoral depicts friendly western colonists giving their medicines to native Americans in the Treaty of Shackamaxon in 1683. Ayer’s aimed to relate its origin to the origin of the nation, making the products appeal to the mass patriotic audience.
Unfortunately, the romantized scene deviated from history. It ignores the fact that the natives taught the westerners how to cure illness when they first arrived, and that before long the westerners broke their harmonious relationship and exploited the natives. These deviations disguised the complexity and cruelty of the western oppression and “reduced” the real living struggles of the natives (Waxman Collection).
From the general layout of different countries’ exhibitions to the smallest details on trade cards, many aspects of the world’s fair reflected western centrism which resonated with the audience’s racist national pride.
Yuqin Wu
Indigenous Workers at the 1893 World’s Fair
Shown in the photograph (chicagonow.com) is an Inuit Family and their shelter (Provided by the fair) who were an exhibit in the 1893 Columbian Exposition. According to Melissa Rinehart, “Native performers became iconic trophies of colonialism in Chicago.” (Rinehart 2012, 405). This colonialism extended to the horrific conditions these performers faced in all aspects of their day to lives as a living exhibit. No group felt this exploitation more than the Inuit tribe. The home pictured was built for them was not equipped to deal with the Chicago cold like a traditional Inuit Igloo, nor were the Inuit tribes exposed to severe heat of a Chicago summer prior to the fair. Also visible is the heavy fur that Inuit people were forced to wear no matter how sweltering the summer sun was, despite the initial deal being they would only have to wear it for half the day. The conditions were so bad that disease was rampant in their village, so much so a baby died (Rinehart 2012, 415). Workers’ rights weren’t granted. This is just one example in a long history of the United States exploiting workers who are marginalized. This tradition lives on today through treatment of illegal immigrant workers.
In the first picture, Sioux Native American Zitkala-Sa, aka Gertrude Simmons, wears a European-style dress and wields a violin, yet her very long hair portrays defiance of white civilization tactics. Born on a Reservation, young Zitkala-Sa was taken to an assimilation school, then studied at Earlham College and the Boston Conservatory of Music, eventually becoming an author, musician, composer, and staunch activist for Native American rights. Her well-known memoir of her experiences in the assimilation school includes a scene in which the teachers/caretakers cut her hair into a short, shingle style against her will.
While Zitkala-Sa rebelled by keeping her hair long, Antonio Apache (Rinehart 2012) was planning to have his performers wear wigs in an Indian Pageant he was directing, but after a humiliating incident in which he was called a savage by a rude group of onlookers, he angrily threw the wigs in the trash. The performers wore their hair short and “civilized.” These two Native Americans fought against white oppressors who would see their cultures stamped out in an effort to “save” them, and further, how the two navigated the space, or lack thereof, between white and Sioux or Apache culture.