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Book Reviews The Harding Era: Warren G. Harding and His Administration. By ROBERT K. MURRAY. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1969. ix + 626p.; illustrations, bibli- ographical essay, and index. $13.50.) In the dialectic of history, the hitherto almost unanimous judgment against Warren Harding--as expressed, for instance, by Wil- liam Allen White, Frederick Lewis Allen, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Arthur Schles- inger, Jr., and Allan Nevins--had to generate sooner or later a rebuttal. The opening of the Harding Papers to scholars in 1964 has begun to spawn Harding books, most notably Andrew Sinclair's The Available Man and this one by Murray. Sinclair's is closer to the traditional interpretation; Harding was available but unqualified. But Murray's is a comprehensive defense of the entire Harding administration. Nominated in 1920 not by the bosses or the Interests but by an almost leaderless Re- publican national convention, Harding was "under the circumstances the strongest pos- sible candidate," Professor Murray writes. Harding, rather than the Best Minds (or worst) surrounding him, was "the dominant figure" throughout the campaign, and after the election was on the whole successful in putting together an "independent-minded, first-class cabinet." As President, he was an innovator; many beginnings that Donald McCoy in The Quiet President attributes to Coolidge Murray credits rather to his prede- cessor. The Harding administration among other things sponsored most of the agricul- tural legislation usually attributed to the con- gressional Farm Bloc, experimented with "pump-priming" to meet the challenge of postwar unemployment, and promoted a Latin-American policy that was "a decided improvement over the past." (It also created the Bureau of the Budget; and Charles G. Dawes, the first Budget Director, amazingly testified that "on fiscal matters Harding's mind was 'quick as lightning.' ") Regressive in certain areas, notably toward labor, tariff, and war debts, the administration triumphant- ly solved the two major problems of its day --liquidating the war and restoring prosperity. Sometimes Murray's case is overstated. His |
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quotations from a presidential address at Birmingham, Alabama, in 1921 make Hard- ing sound far more enlightened on the race question than do the passages from the same speech cited in E. David Cronon's study of Marcus Garvey, for example. But the book is not a case of what Murray himself faults as "historical revisionism for revision's
sake," and many a reader is going to work through these pages in a mood that mingles incredu- lity with a growing respect. Indeed, this study exploits many of the his- torical guild's most cherished assumptions. Murray deals with the "Ohio gang," for ex- ample, in much the same way that historians have often dealt with Tammany, by sharply distinguishing between private internal cor- ruption and public constructive policy. Simi- larly, the author echoes the familiar treat- ment of "idealism" and
"self-interest" in for- eign policy by praising Harding and Hughes for turning from the doctrinaire moralism of Wilson to a view of the world that took sober account of the national interest. Finally, Mur- ray concludes that "by all standards of politi- cal compromise the Harding administration was a success," in that it got its program es- sentially intact through a recalcitrant Con- gress; and have not historians been inclined to test presidents--FDR as against Hoover, for instance--by their pragmatic ability to deliver the goods? PAUL A. CARTER Northern Illinois University Poles in American History and Tradition. By JOSEPH A. WYTRWAL. (Detroit: Endurance Press, 1969. x + 485p.; bibliography and
in- dex. $6.75.) The author of this work is a foremost student of the Poles and their institutions in the United States. His earlier book, America's Polish Heritage (Detroit, 1961), was discussed by the present reviewer in this journal, Vol- ume 71 (1962), p.68. The present study
sup- plements the earlier one, although there is some duplication as well as amplification; each volume contains a chapter on Polish immigrants, 1608-1776. The earlier work emphasized the retention by Poles in the United States of their distinctive ethnic char- acter and properly gave extensive attention |
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Book Reviews to the roles of the Polish National Alliance and the Polish Roman Catholic Union in this endeavor. The later volume gives far greater coverage to the role of Poles in the Ameri- can Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexi- can War, and both the Confederate and Union armies in the Civil War. Polish contri- butions to the Spanish-American War, World War II, and the Vietnam conflict receive thorough treatment. Especial attention is given to the activities of Poles in World War I and in their efforts to secure the establish- ment of an independent Poland. Poles did not exert an important influence in Ohio, although many came to Cleveland and northeastern Ohio with the rapid indus- trialization of that area after 1870. At times the author overstates Polish con- tributions, in spite of a determined effort to be objective. He asserts that Sandusky, Ohio, is named for a Polish frontiersman, Anthony Sadowski (p.27), although it is generally be- lieved the name comes from an Indian word meaning "at the cold water." There are questionable statements such as that Kosciuszko "always led a Spartan life. Money meant little to him and women less." (p.50) Scholars have pointed out that Kosci- uszko was the victim of an unfortunate love affair which almost cost him his life. The author, moreover, states that in 1860 most of the four million foreign-born in the United States were "imbued with the revolutionary spirit of 1848." (p.148) Actually most of the immigrants seem to have been primarily interested in a better economic life for them- selves and their children. It should be also noted that not George II (p.86), but George III was King of England during the Ameri- can Revolution. Wytrwal is very censorious of the failure of European powers to aid Poland in her times of stress, even though the realities of power politics made effective assistance well- nigh impossible. He is also understandably critical of Irish-American leaders of the Roman Catholic Church such as Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop John Ireland who resisted Polish-American attempts to assert greater leadership in the Church. The author has been tireless in his efforts to utilize a wide range of sources, including government documents, newspapers, schol- |
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69 arly publications, and unpublished disserta- tions. He has carefully analyzed the contri- butions of hundreds of Polish-Americans to literature, science, religion, music, drama, journalism, and sports. All scholars should rejoice at the basic success of the endeavor. FRANCIS P. WEISENBURGER The Ohio State University Freshwater Whales: A History of the Ameri- can Ship Building Company and Its Predeces- sors. By
RICHARD J. WRIGHT. (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1970. xiv + 299p.; illustrations, bibliography, and index. $9.00.) Freshwater Whales is a business history of Great Lakes shipbuilding. In particular, it is a book on the history of the American Ship Building Company and on the histories of the many smaller, independent companies which consolidated in 1899 to form the new giant company. Business histories do not, in general, arouse much reading interest among laymen and historians. This book, indeed, has its dull moments insofar as a significant portion is devoted to, and necessarily so, the documen- tation of the organizational structures and later changes in all the companies involved. Yet, there is something for everybody. To the serious historian, it is a solid book on Great Lakes shipbuilding. To the casual reader, it is interspersed with enough anecdotes to hold his attention. The location of the shipbuilding industry on the Great Lakes was predicated by two conditions: (1) the need for freight carriers of low valued (by weight) freight, such as grain and ore, which were able to offer lower transport costs than alternate forms of trans- portation, and (2) the limited access to the sea. The single most important reason for the growth of Great Lakes shipbuilding probably was the tremendous growth in demand for iron and steel during the latter part of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. The great surge in demand for iron ore implied a parallel rise in demand for ore carriers. However, the increase in demand was more than one of quantity alone. It was reflected in the switch from the primarily grain-carrying, wooden vessels which earlier |
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70 dominated the lake trade to the iron and steel-hulled vessels which were more efficient in the transport of the bulkier iron ore. The growth path of the shipbuilding indus- try, moreover, has not been consistent. Rather, it has been characterized by cyclical fluctuations reflecting prosperity or crises in the nation's economy. That is to say, demand for new ships and thus the growth of Great Lakes shipbuilding has been particularly sen- sitive to the overall movements in the nation's income. Periods of hyperactivity can be as- sociated either with expansions in the overall business activity or, in specific circumstance, with wars. Periods of stagnation can be asso- ciated with decline or slowdown such as that evidenced during the crises of 1857, 1873, and 1893 and the brief slowdowns between World Wars and the Korean War. Ultimately, the real worth of a business history must be measured in terms of the contribution it makes to the understanding of the industry to which the company belongs, and in turn how this industry fits into the larger economic picture of the nation. In gen- eral, this aspect of Professor Wright's study is adequate, but to the economic historian Freshwater Whales raises many interesting questions which are left unanswered. For one, it does not offer a very clear explanation as to why the numerous, independent compa- nies consolidated to form the American Ship Building Company. It is unclear, for instance, whether these companies consolidated in order to reduce the level of competition within the industry or whether they were faced with the necessity of raising increas- ingly larger amounts of capital. Any such clarification might aid greatly to our under- standing of the causes behind at least two surges in mergers and consolidations in the nation's manufacturing industries at the turn of the twentieth century. Also, at least in two instances in the book, mention was made of eastern financiers. Yet, Freshwater Whales gives practically no infor- mation on who financed the growth of the Great Lakes shipbuilding industry. Inclusion of such information would give us a greater understanding, for instance, of the contribu- tions made by financial tycoons to the expan- sion of industries and of the economy. Finally, the book does not assess the im- pact of the St. Lawrence Seaway on Great |
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OHIO HISTORY Lakes shipbuilding. Nevertheless, Freshwater Whales is an
extremely useful contribution to our understanding of the economic history of the United States. Its importance is even more evident when we note the paucity of published books on transportation on the Inland Seas. JAMES MAK Miami University (Ohio) Tar: A Midwest Childhood. By SHERWOOD ANDERSON, edited with an
introduction by RAY LEWIS WHITE. (Cleveland: Case
Western Reserve University Press, 1969. xx + 258p.; appendices, bibliography, and index. $7.50.) When Sherwood Anderson wrote Tar: A Midwest Childhood in 1926, he.was under- going what psychological jargoneers today would call an identity crisis; that is, he was uncertain of the meaning, values, and pur- pose of his life as a literary artist and as an individual. Consequently, in the book Ander- son wrote a thinly-disguised autobiographical account of his childhood in Clyde, Ohio, and a scattering of other Ohio towns in the years between 1876 and about 1890. He attempted to recreate his childhood in what was to be a continuing search for understanding of himself and that peculiar area of Mid- America that he called his own. In so doing Anderson wrote what is now recognized as one of his strongest, most skill- fully written, and intricate books. "It is, of course, autobiographical, as such a book would be bound to be," he wrote, "but it is not written as an autobiography." As he rec- ognized, the book goes far beyond autobiog- raphy; it recreates the classic human myth of the loss of innocence as the child con- fronts death and approaches manhood, and it parallels that same transition in the life of his country. Wisely Anderson does not go beyond the vision of maturity for either the boy or the nation, and what emerges, fixed permanently in time, is a portrayal of Ohio and America of the 1870's and 1880's defined as sharply as they remain in the mind of a man who remembers well. Just as the childhood he remembers is composed of that complex com- bination of innocence and brutality, wonder and belonging, so is the youthful town, state, and nation that he portrays. But the book is far more than a period piece or a nostalgic memoir; it is a solid lit- |
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Book Reviews erary achievement. Unfortunately, for almost forty years it has been out of print. The appearance of this first scholarly edi- tion of Tar: A Midwest Childhood, ably and definitively edited by Ray Lewis White, is long overdue, but the result is well worth the wait. Not only does it make the text of a good book once more available for those who want to relive the years of Ohio and America's youth, but it provides valuable editorial comment for scholars and laymen. Of most importance for scholars of the period and students of Sherwood Anderson as well as for the slowly growing core of Anderson aficionados, two significant documents ap- pear in the appendix for the first time in print. These are an essay, "The Diaries of Sherwood Anderson's Parents," by William Alfred Sutton, and an early manuscript ver- sion of "Death in the Woods," edited as "The Death in the Forest" by William V. Miller. Both documents parallel the time span of Tar. Just as Anderson's book stands as a re- markable memorial to a long-gone era, White's edition of it is a memorial to the durability of Anderson's work and his spirit. The combination is outstanding. DAVID D. ANDERSON Michigan State University Sherwood Anderson's Memoirs: A Critical Edition. Edited
by RAY LEWIS WHITE. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1969. xxxix + 579p.; illustrations, bibliog- raphy, and index. $15.00.) Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, pub- lished 1919, has been called a milestone in American literature. Anderson was born 1876 in Camden, Ohio, west of Dayton. About 1884 the family moved to Clyde, east of To- ledo, where his boyhood years were spent. He served in the Spanish-American War with the Clyde company. After the war, he worked in Chicago for a time before engaging in business in Cleveland, 1906 and 1907, and in Elyria, 1907-13. Elyria was the scene of his transition from businessman to writer. The Memoirs first appeared in 1942, the year after his death. He began work on the book soon after his fourth marriage, to Elea- nor Copenhaver in 1933. It was not a con- tinuous narrative but a collection of sketches and short stories. He writes, "I am going to |
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71 chuck what is called 'time sense.' I will not, cannot, to achieve what I want, tell things in chronological order." (p.29) To his longtime friend Paul Rosenfeld (1889-1946) fell the task of editing the man- uscript for publication. To achieve a more continuous narrative Rosenfeld did more than arrange the material, actually he rewrote it in part. The new edition, published last year on the fiftieth anniversary of Winesburg, on the other hand, is entirely in Anderson's own words. Its editing was aided by three outlines for arrangement Anderson had made and by the considerable research on his life and works done since 1942. "So, you see, such books as the one I have proposed to write will become historical doc- uments," he writes. (p.541) The recollections of his Ohio years, from the hand of an im- portant American author, are indeed a valu- able contribution to recorded Ohio history. Valuable too are those of his later years, filled with comments on the American scene and peopled with most of the literary per- sonages of the twenties and thirties. The book has a historical value that An- derson may not have realized. His formal education was limited, but he was deter- mined on a writing career in spite of it. He would use "the language of the streets of American towns and cities,... my own lan- guage, limited as it is." (p.338) This is the language of his earlier works; changes ap- peared later as he moved in literary circles and came under the influence of critics. In the Memoirs he returned to it again, carefully retained in this new edition. Critics often spoke of his style as "grop- ing." (p.161, 560) This comment puzzled him; so natural was his style, so much the language to which he had been born. I too grew up in Clyde, as did my father Herman Hurd (1877-1963). Dad and Sherwood, four months apart in age, were boyhood chums. Often as I read Sherwood's writings, I hear dad talking. Sherwood wrote like Clyde folks talked. So, not only is the content of the Memoirs of historical value, its form and style also make it an important historical document of the American language as it was spoken here in late nineteenth century Ohio. THADDEUS B. HURD Clyde, Ohio |