Document 18.1 Elephant Ride at Coney Island (1911)
Document 18.2 International Contest for the Heavyweight Championship (1907)
Document 18.3 JOSEPH RUMSHINSKY, The Living Orphan (1914)
Document 18.4 HUTCHINS HAPGOOD, Types from City Streets (1910)
Document 18.5 THORSTEIN VEBLEN, The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899)
INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
What are the various amusements you can see in the photo of Coney Island (Document 18.1)? What can you tell about the audiences Coney Island is hoping to attract with these rides? Why would riding an elephant be interesting to early twentieth-century Americans?
What kind of crowd attended the heavyweight boxing fight (Document 18.2)? How is it different from the Coney Island crowd? How does the still portray the fight? What does the audience reveal about the popularity of boxing?
What is the subject of Joseph Rumshinsky’s song “The Living Orphan” (Document 18.3)? How would you describe Rumshinsky’s lyrical approach?
How does Hutchins Hapgood describe the nightlife of East Side shop girls (Document 18.4)? What role did dancing play in these women’s lives? Why might stories like this have been controversial?
According to Thorstein Veblen, what is the value of leisure and consumption for the wealthy (Document 18.5)? Do you think he is critical of consumerism? Why or why not?
PUT IT IN CONTEXT
How did urban leisure, commerce, and entertainment differ depending on a person’s gender, economic class, and ethnicity?
How did urbanization make changes in consumerism and leisure possible?
Thinking through Sources forExploring American Histories, Volume 2Printed Page 144