Dramaturgy Packet

This is a reproduction of all the written information on

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Hello!
Welcome to the Dramaturgy packet for Carnegie Mellon's production
of Ragtime.
The aim of this packet and the website associated with it is to be a
collection of useful information about the show and the history
surrounding it. My hope is that everyone can use this information to
cultivate a further understanding of the show and our particular
production.
If you find anything related to the show that you think is interesting -- a
speech given by a historical character, an interesting fact about the
city, or maybe a photo from the period -- please send it to me! Feel
free to ask me questions as well; even if I don't know the answer I'd be
happy to help you find it out.
I'm really looking forward to creating this show with all of you!
Ruth Scherr, Dramaturg
rscherr@andrew.cmu.edu

Background
E.L. Doctorow
"I decided I was a writer about the age of nine, and I didn't feel it was
necessary to write anything, having made that decision, for some
time."
-- E.L. Doctorow, American Conversation with E.L. Doctorow
(2008)
E.L. Doctorow was born
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow in the
Bronx on January 6th, 1931. His
parents, Rose
and David Doctorow, loved music
and literature. David Doctorow
ran a small music store in the
Bronx, and Doctorow reports that
despite a lack of funds, his
childhood home was constantly
full of books. Doctorows parents
even named him after an author
though Allen Poe followed the
original Edgar.
Doctorow married Helen
Esther Setzer, who he met during
his studies at Columbia, in 1954.
The two had three children, and
remained married until Doctorow
passed away due to lung cancer
in July of 2015.

--

Education and Career

As a teenager, Doctorow attended the Bronx High School of
Science. In a writing class, Doctorow was given an assignment to, as
he puts it, interview a colorful person. His interview was a complex
and detailed
story of a Carnegie Hall doorman named Karl with a simplistically
beautiful life. Once the teacher wanted a picture to run with the
interview in the school newspaper, however, Doctorow was forced to
admit that Karl never existed and he made every word of it up. When
his teacher asked him what he was thinking, he simply said that he
"was just doing what journalists always do".
Doctorow earned his bachelor in philosophy from Kenyon College
in Ohio, and completed one year of graduate studies in English at

Columbia before being drafted into the United States Army to fight in
World War II. He was stationed in Germany, and served as a corporal in
the Signal Corps from 1954 to 1955.
After the war ended, Doctorow got a job as a book and play
reader for Columbia Pictures, at times working with writers such as Ian
Fleming (the author of the James Bond novels) and Ayn Rand (The
Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged). Most of what he was reading, however,
was "awful, terrible westerns", as the genre was incredibly popular at
the time. In order to cope with this drudgery, Doctorow started writing
a parody of the westerns he was reading a parody that would later
become his first novel, Welcome to Hard Times (1960). In 1964 he
began work as the editor-in-chief at Dial Press Publishing. Five years
later, Doctorow left his job in publishing to pursue his own writing
career. He was offered and accepted a position with the University of
California as a Visiting Writer, where he completed The Book of
Daniel (1971).
His next book written in his house in New Rochelle, New York -was Ragtime (1975). Considered one of the 100 best novels of the
20th century by the Modern Library editorial board, Ragtime headed off
a series of award winning novels by Doctorow including Worlds
Fair (1985), Billy Bathgate (1989), and The March (2005).
Doctorow went on to teach at the Yale School of Drama,
Princeton University, and Sarah Lawrence College, among others. In
2001, he donated his papers to the Fales Library of New York
University, a collection of 72 boxes containing over 13 drafts of a script
for the musical adaptation of Ragtime.
Notable Awards
National Book Critics Circle Award for Ragtime (1975)
PEN/Faulkner Award for Billy Bathgate (1990)
National Humanities Metal from the National Endowment of the
Humanities (1998)
PEN/Faulkner Award for The March (2005)
Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction (2014)

People
Harlem
It occurred to Father one day that Coalhouse Walker Jr. didn't know he
was a Negro. The more he thought about this the more true it seemed.
Walker didn't act or talk like a colored man. He seemed to be able to
transform the customary deferences practiced by his race so that they
reflected to his own dignity rather than the recipient's."
-- E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime (Chapter 21)

The end of Reconstruction

came only two decades before
the turn of the century. The
abolishment of slavery gave
certain legal rights to black
people, but neither those rights
nor their basic human rights were
always respected. This was
especially visible in the South, but
was in no way unusual in the
North, as many newly freed black
people would learn when they
migrated to the North searching for opportunity. In the North, even in
cities, there werent enough jobs for everyone to be employed, and
those that were available went to cheap immigrant labor. Whenever a
black person did acquire a job, they were usually paid half as much as
white workers, an already dismal amount. While explicit slavery was
abolished, many black people were being arrested on dubious claims
and then sent to prison, where they would be leased out to mine
owners, farms, logging companies, and others for no pay.
There were some positives, however. After forced 100 percent
illiteracy during slavery, and 95 percent illiteracy immediately after the
civil war, the turn of the century saw illiteracy rates in black people
down to 44.5 percent. A number of people were attending black-only
technical colleges, which would eventually allow them to find better
jobs and higher places in society. While black people faced severe
racism, persecution, and prejudice from
larger society, the culture, art, and music
within black society was flourishing.
Men
Even in Northern cities like New
York, black men faced extreme prejudice
and racism in their everyday lives. While
many black people moved north in an
attempt to find new economic and social
opportunities, what they usually found
were wealthy white people who looked
down on them and poor white people
who feared and hated them. There are
multiple recorded incidents of white
immigrant men degrading black men, usually out of fear for their jobs
and some relief that they were no longer the lowest rung on the social
ladder.
To combat this, many black men fashioned themselves as the
perfect black man. They dressed and spoke well, held down jobs, paid

deference to their social superiors, and never spoke of radicalization

or rebellion. Many white people outwardly commend those who abided
by respectability politics, but their internal prejudice and bigotry was
hard to remove, and still came through.
Women
Black women faced the same prejudice as
black men, along with the extra prejudice that
women dealt with. Jobs for black women were
incredibly scarce, and were usually as a maid or
washwoman for a wealthy white family. This did
not stop black women from becoming cultural
icons, or, in the case of Alberta Virginia Scott,
the first black woman to graduate from Radcliff
College, progressing to high levels of education.
While black men and women were being
lynched, black women found a great deal of
power in the church, and a black woman (Nannie
Helen Burroughs) founded the National Training School for Women and
Girls after gaining recognition through the First Baptist World Alliance.
Despite their large number of organizations and successful
reform efforts, black women were largely excluded from white womens
reform organizations. Black women and their clubs were excluded from
the General Federation of Womens Clubs and the National American
Woman Suffrage Association. Other organizations were segregated,
with black women forming their own local chapters. In addition, white
womens organizations largely ignored issues of racism, such as
lynching or the disenfranchisement of black voters. The white women
involved in progressive organizations were often culturally or racially
insensitive in their efforts, attempting to impose white middle class
cultural values on immigrant and black women.

Immigrants
They were despised by New Yorkers. They were filthy and illiterate.
They stank of fish and garlic. They had running sores... But somehow
piano lessons began to be heard. People stitched themselves to the
flag. They carved paving stones for the streets. They sang. They told
jokes."
-- E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime (Chapter Three)
The Third Wave of immigration was a period of increased
immigration from Europe to the United States between 1880 and 1920.
Most immigrants made the journey based on promises of a better life
in the U.S., though few would actually find it. As immigrants usually
lacked training or education (that employers would acknowledge, at

least) the majority of the work available for them was manufacturing or
hard labor jobs. There were no labor laws yet, and the industrialists in
charge usually decided that wages should be set according to the
market (which drove them lower and lower) so the amount of time at
work required to make anything close to a living wage usually meant
the working class worked for twelve hour days six days a week. In
addition to this, the vast majority of immigrants in New York City lived
in run-down tenements with barely any light, only occasional running
water, and never any heating in
winter. One-third of people living in
cities were thought to be close to
starvation regularly, and the terrible
living conditions and weakened
immune systems meant that typhus
and tuberculosis were rampant.
In response to these terrible
living and working conditions, many
immigrants worked and protested for
better safety measures and better
pay. A number of labor strikes and
protests were enacted, and while
many of them were violent and ended
poorly for the strikers, housing codes
and labor laws were eventually put.
This was made more difficult by the
fact that the prevailing upper class
attitude was that the working class
complained too much, and that anyone in America could raise
themselves up through hard work and determination. (The prevailing
working class attitude about that was that the upper class was greedy,
soft, and had far too much leisure time.)
Men
Male immigrants usually faced the longest and most physically
demanding workdays of anyone. While men were paid more than
women or children, they were still paid very little, and were more likely
to be working jobs that required hard labor. Most men took on as many
hours at theses demanding jobs as they could in order to feed their
families. The American dream, or the idea that anyone could succeed
if they just worked hard enough, was a double-edged sword in this
situation. Many immigrants came to the U.S. to follow that dream, and
when all the hard work they could do wasnt getting them anywhere,
that severely demoralized them. For men, this came with the additional
demoralization of not being able to provide for their family as they
were expected to.

Many men dealt with this perceived failing by turning to vices like
alcohol or gambling. Spending money on these habits would, of course,
make it even more difficult to feed ones family. There was also a social
element to these habits. Since everyone was working twelve-hour
days, there was not much time for socializing, so going out at night to
a bar provided an opportunity for human interaction. Gatherings like
these were one of the first places where protest movements would
gain momentum.
Women
Lower class women were much
more likely to die in childbirth than
wealthier women, largely due to lack
of resources, terrible living conditions,
and malnourishment. After childbirth,
women would need to go back to work
very quickly, as a new child meant
someone else to feed on an income
that was already stretched. If her
husband turned towards vice to cope
with their stressful situation,
stretching that income even further,
there was little that could be done
except keep working, as a womans
wages were automatically the
property of her husband in many
states.
On top of working twelve-hour days, women were also expected
to complete household chores. This was one area where the crowed,
multifamily apartments could be useful. Women from different families
living in the same tenement would work together to do the laundry,
clean the house, and cook for everyone. This type of community also
expanded to include people of similar origins or religions, as most
immigrants held on very strongly to their heritage to create a sense of
community and connection.
Children
Immigrant children had daily schedule that was very similar to
their parents. Children as young as seven would work in factories
alongside their parents, usually performing tasks that required small
hands or swiftness. Child workers were paid even less than the little
adults were paid, but most families needed the extra income to provide
basic needs for the family. Few poor children went to school, and those
that did usually left once they were old enough to start working. As a
result, there was little time for playing or having fun, and when there
was there were few safe places to go or toys to play with.

By 1900, half of the

states in the U.S. had passed
child labor laws that restricted
the number of hours children
could work down to ten a day.
Even this incredibly low bar
was only really enforced in ten
of those states. In general,
society had a mixed view on
child labor. While some people
did believe that children
should be in school instead of
working, they were often criticized for being unrealistic and optimistic.
Other people, especially devout Christians, claimed that working
children were good because of the idea of idle hands leading to
mischief and crime. The choice for poor families, however, was the
more serious one between an educated child and a fed family.

New Rochelle
There seemed to be no entertainment that did not involve great
swarms of people. Trains and steamers and trolleys moved them from
one place to another... Everyone wore white in the summer... There
were no Negros. There were no immigrants."
-- E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime (Chapter One)
The turn of the 20th century saw an emphasis of patriotism and
optimism among upper-middle class white people. The rising wealth of
the middle and upper classes and the invention of labor saving
technology allowed for an increase of leisure time such as picnicking,
listening to the radio, or going to a baseball game. The majority of
leisure entertainment was conceived and executed in the home, which
was, for those who had the money, more and more likely to be in the
suburbs surrounding major cities. The increasing prevalence of better
transportation (the train, and Fords Model T), faster communication
(through the telegram and telephone), and home delivery through
things like mail-order catalogs meant that suburbanites could conduct
most of their everyday lives away from the city.
This was, of course, what most of them wanted. The increase of
immigration from Europe, migration from the South, and the
manufacturing jobs available for the people that came with those
movements meant that cities were becoming the domain of poor
factory workers. These were exactly the kind of people upper class
whites wanted nothing to do with, unless they were doing their laundry
or making their appliances. A larger portion of the upper-class was
starting to focus on self-improvement through education and the

church, and the fact that the

working class had neither the time
nor the money to participate in
either area mean that people like
the Family wouldve viewed poor
immigrants as lazy, immoral, and
unintelligent. (The irony of the
working class immorality here is
that the poor had neither the
means nor the opportunity to
engage in many sins aside from
envy, while the upper class had
both the means and the time.)
Men
The best thing to be in the early 1900s was an upper or middle
class, white, Christian man. As the U.S. became a world power, the
power of industrialists and inventors within it increased. Men like
Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan were the
embodiment of the rags to riches story of the American dream. While
the turn of the century likely felt like a time of great change, it also felt
like a time of great possibility, as the country was more economically,
culturally, and politically powerful than ever before.
Men were expected to be the head of the household, and with
that came certain responsibilities. While it was not uncommon for
wives to handle the immediate household purchasing, men were
responsibly for the
familys finances and
could hinder the whole
family. One fairly
common reason for this
was alcoholism. The
Protestant Church
believed that men, as
the more aggressive
sex, were more likely
to fall to sin, and thus
has to be protected
from the evils of
showgirls and alcohol.
(This second line of thought would eventually lead to prohibition.)
Many people worried that the declining size of wealthy white
households, especially in light of the influx of immigrants, and blamed
sinful distractions for any familys failings.
Women

White, upper class women were expected to be perfect wives

who deferred to their husbands on everything. This perfect wife would
be expected to take care of the household as well as care for the
children until they went to school. For women with wealth, this usually
meant managing the household staff. At the turn of the century, more
women were pursuing education and work, though most of these
women were unmarried or middle class and lower. Though more
women were finding work outside the home, a third of states still had
laws saying that a womens wages belonged to her husband, and
three-quarters of them forbid women to have property in their own
name. (If a woman inherited property from her father, it would become
her husbands upon marriage.)
As part of being the perfect woman, women of the era were
held to high moral and societal standards. These standards were
strictest in eastern cities, as life in the frontier states required women
to eschew some propriety in order to survive. There was the typical
emphasis on virginity, with most wealthy women marrying around age
22, and even the unofficial law that a womans skirts as she would
not be wearing pants had to cover her ankles to be morally decent.
Birth control, and any discussion of it, was illegal, and unwanted
pregnancies were very common. For women with enough money and
freedom, abortions were quite common as well. This, in combination
with a measure of newfound freedom for women, meant the average
family size dropped from seven to four children by the early 1900s.
Children
While lower class children
spent most of their days working,
wealthy children led fairly
comfortable lives. Most of these
children attended school, though
boys and girls were in different
classes, and boys were much
more likely than anyone else to
continue their education past
high school. Whether or not a son
went on to college, they were
usually expected to take over whatever business their father ran. That
expectation only really started to affect boys once they were around
fourteen or fifteen before that, they usually lived without any
knowledge of adult concerns.
When well-off children were not in school, they were probably out
playing with the neighborhood children. It was quite safe for children to
walk around town with only other children, or by themselves, even
after dark. It wasnt even that unusual for a young boy to travel alone

to the city. Most wealthy children lived safe, stable lives free from most
ideas of danger.

Historical
Booker T. Washington
No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling
a field as in writing a poem."
-- Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery
Booker T. Washington was an educator, reformer, and one of the
most influential spokesmen for black Americans around the turn of the
20th century. Washington was born in Virginia as the child of a slave,
and thus a slave himself. After emancipation, he became determined to
get an education, enrolling in the
Hampton normal and Agricultural
institute and working as a janitor to
pay his way. After he graduated, and a
few years of teaching day and night
school, Washington joined the staff at
his alma mater. Eventually,
Washington would lead the Tuskegee
Institution from a new organization
with very little budget and equipment
to a renown institution with over 100
buildings and a $2 million endowment.
Washington believed that the
best way for black Americans to
become successful after reconstruction
was through education in industry and
business and the exhibition of
patience, enterprise, and thrift. He
encouraged his fellow black Americans
to work towards their own sufficiency
and enfranchisement by initially
abandoning the movement for civil rights, and ingratiating themselves
into the economy and society of the country. Essentially, Washington
believed that blacks could make themselves so essential to the
functioning of the U.S. that whites would eventually be forced to allow
civil rights. While prominent voices such as W.E.B. Dubois disagreed
with Washington, the backing of the majority of black Americans and
his authority among whites made him the most prominent back
American voice of his time.
Around Ragtime
In 1900, Washington published his first autobiography, The Story

of My of Life and Work, and founded the National Negro Business

League to promote the interests of African-American businesses. The
league operates to this day as the National Business League. The next
year, Washington published his second and more successful
autobiography Up From Slavery, and sparked controversy when he
dined at the White House after consulting with President Teddy
Roosevelt.
Washington continued to teach at the Tuskegee Institute for the early
20th century, as well as lecturing around the country to raise money
and awareness. In 1906 he gave a speech at Carnegie Hall along with
other great orators like Mark Twain to kickoff a campaign to raise
$1,800,000 for the Institute.
In March of 1915, Washington sponsored National Negro Health
Week to bring money and energy to the issues of sanitation, disease
prevention, and hygiene among the poor. In November of that year, he
passed away in his home in Tuskegee.
Born
April 5, 1856 in Hale's Ford, Virginia
Died
November 14, 1915 in Tuskegee, Alabama
Family
Jane (Mother), Fannie Smith (Wife 1882-1884), Olivia Davidson (Wife
1886-1889), Margaret Murray (Wife 1893-1915), Portia Washington
(Daughter), Booker T. Jr and Ernest Washington (Sons)
Education
Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute,
Wayland Seminary
Notable Facts
Was born a slave on a small farm. After emancipation, moved
with his family to West Virginia to work in coal and salt mines.
In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Gave a speech known as The Atlanta Compromise that offered
acceptance of disenfranchisement and segregation if whites
would work to create more economic and educational
opportunities for black Americans.
Related Reading
The Atlanta Compromise Speech (1895)
Up From Slavery (1901)
Emma Goldman

If I had not been born with a love of freedom and the intense hatred of
injustice, I do not believe that I would have become what I am."
-- Emma Goldman, Emma Goldman Papers
Emma Goldman was an international anarchist who promoted the ideas
of free speech, womens equality, and union organization. Goldman
was born in Lithuania in 1869. Though her formal education was
limited, she read as much as she could and, when her family moved to
St. Petersburg, associated with a radical students circle. Goldman
immigrated to the United States in 1885, where her dreams of a better
world turned into a more distressed reality working in clothing
factories. It was here that she came into contact with socialist and
anarchist groups among her fellow workers, which would greatly
influence her when she moved to New York City and began lecturing
publicly. Goldmans noteriety was such that, though the two had never
met, Leon Czolgosz cited
Goldmans influence in
why he assassinated
President McKinley,
though by that time
Goldman had revoked her
support of violence as a
means to social change.
Goldman continued to
lecture and publish in the
United States up until she
was deported, after which
she became much more
prominent in European
social movements. At the time of her death, Goldman was working for
the anti-fascist cause in the Spanish Civil War.
Goldmans life was spent advocating for anti-capitalist, anarchist,
and anti-government sentiment. She was a prominent proponent of
womens rights, birth control, and free love, by which she meant the
freedom of all people to participate in mutually agreed relationships
not sanctioned by the government or the church. Once World War One
broke out, Goldman also protested the military draft. This exercise of
public speech against the government, along with widespread anticommunist sentiment, would lead to Goldmans deportation in 1919.
Around Ragtime
Before the turn of the century, Goldman was giving lectures on
anarchism and feminism all over the country. In 1901 she was forced
into hiding by the anti-anarchist feelings following the assassination of
President McKinley. Leon Czolgosz, the assassin, made specific claims

that Goldman's lectures and idea had influenced his decision, though
no evidence has shown the two actually knew each other.
Goldman published the first issue of Mother Earth, her anarchist
journal, in 1906. She continued publishing the journal until she was
jailed for 'disloyalty' to the government in 1917. For the seven years
before her imprisonment, Goldman took up lecturing again, and
published Anarchism and Other Essays (1910) and The Social
Significance of Modern Drama (1914) outside of her journal.
Born
June 27, 1869 in Kaunas, Lithuania
Died
May 14, 1940 in Toronto, Canada
Family
Taube Bienowitch (Mother), Andrew Goldman (Father), two half-sisters,
three brothers, Jacob Kershner (Husband 1887-1888), James Colton
(Husband 1925-1936)
Political School of Thought
Anarchism
Notable Facts
Emigrated to the United States in 1885, where she worked in
clothing factories and came in contact with anarchist beliefs.
Arrested in New York City in 1890 for inciting a riot of
unemployed workers, and in 1916 for lecturing in support of birth
control.
Deported at the end on 1919 due to the 'Red Scare' that followed
the end of World War One.
Related Reading
Emma Goldman (1987) by Martha Solomon (Hunt, Amazon)
Much of Goldman's writing can be found here. The following are some
specific recommendations:
Mother Earth (1906)
'The Tragedy of Women's Emancipation', Anarchism and Other
Essays (1910)
The Social Significance of the Modern Drama (1914)
Evelyn Nesbit
Nobody can live in the past or the future without being something of a
nut."
-- Evelyn Nesbit, TIME 1955

Although Evelyn Nesbit was a

woman of considerable
accomplishments, including being
the first super-model, she is
primarily remembered for her
association with the revenge
murder of architect Stanford White,
who was shot to death by Harry K.
Thaw, the heir to a Pennsylvania
railroad fortune and Nesbit's
husband at the time. The murder
dominated newspapers for weeks
and resulted in two sensational
trials at which Nesbit was a star
witness. Thaw was eventually
incarcerated in a mental institution,
where he remained until 1922.
Nesbit, her reputation sullied,
struggled unsuccessfully to reignite
her career and get her life back on
track.
Nesbit arrived in New York while still a young teenager, but she
quickly gained attention for her beauty. Shortly after arriving, Nesbit
became a model for a number of well know artists and newspaper
advertisements. She would go one to be cast in multiple Broadway
musicals, and to become a focal point of society.
Around Ragtime
Nesbit arrived in New York in late 1900 to start her modeling career at
the age of fifteen. Within the next year, she would receive a role in the
show Florodora, meet Stanford White, and be sexually assaulted by
him while passed out in his apartment. The next year, she would get a
role in The Wild Rose, meet Harry Thaw, end her affair with White, and
develop a case of acute appendicitis.
In 1903, Thaw and Nesbit travelled to Europe where Nesbit told
Thaw of her encounters with White. Thaw, in a fit of drug-induced
depravity, kidnapped, whipped, and sexually assaulted Nesbit. Once
returned to New York, Nesbit went into hiding, as White's lawyers had
begun to sue Thaw for kidnapping her. While Thaw's lawyers counterattacked, he obsessively courted Nesbit, and the two married in 1905.
Thaw shot and killed White at a showing of Mam'zelle
Champagne in June of 1906. The trial for White' murder lasted from
1907 to early 1908, when Thaw took an insanity plea and was sent to a
mental institution. Nesbit began performing in the vaudeville circuit in
order to support herself and her son. Nesbit and Thaw divorced in
1915, and she married fellow dancer Jack Clifford in 1916.

Born
December 25, 1884 (or '86) in Tarentum, Pennsylvania
Died
January 14, 1967 in Santa Monica, California
Family
Winfield Nesbit (Father), Evelyn Florence McKenzie (Mother), Howard
Nesbit (Brother), Harry Thaw (Husband 1905-1915), Jack Clifford
(Husband 1916-1933), Russell Thaw (Son)
Notable Facts
Nesbit's birth name was Florence Evelyn Nesbit. It is unknown if
she was born in 1884 or '86, as Nesbit later confirmed that her
mother added years to her age to avoid child labor laws.
She modeled George Grey Barnards Innocence (1902) and
Charles Dana Gibsons Women: The Eternal Question(1905).
Nesbit was one of the earliest models for fashion photography,
as her popularity added excitement to the stylish outfits.
Related Reading/Videos
Nesbit's Testimony for 1903 suit against Thaw (Contains
description of abuse)
Nesbit and Thaw in 1915
Harry Houdini
I knew, as everyone knows, that the easiest way to attract a crowd is
to let it be known that at a given time and a given place some one is
going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean
sudden death. "
-- Harry Houdini, The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a magician known for his extravagant and
unbelievable escapes. Houdini was born to a rabbi and his wife in
Hungary, though shortly after the family would immigrate to Wisconsin.
At an early age, Houdini took to sports and physical activity, including
becoming a trapeze artist. He preformed in trapeze shows until 1882,
when he settled in New York City in an attempt to be a success in
vaudeville. Though Houdini had moderate success as a magician, his
fame took off when he began to garner recognition for his extravagant
escapes full of danger. Houdinis stunts brought him incredible fame
and success.

As he grew older, Houdini became

more and more interested in spiritualism
and the paranormal. Doctorow attributes
this shift to a want to communicate with
his much-beloved mother, but in any
case, Houdinis passionate want for
concrete evidence of an after life lead to
his campaign against many charlatans
that claimed paranormal power. He
arranged a secret phrase with his wife to
be communicated as proof should one of
them return after death, but his widow
declared the experiment a failure shortly
before she died in 1943.
Around Ragtime
Starting in 1900, the 'King of Handcuffs'
began to tour Europe for around five
years. Throughout this time, Houdini
pulled off impossible stunt after
impossible stunt, frequently clashing with people who believed he was
a fraud. In 1905, he bought a brownstone in Harlem and settled down
to continue his stunts in the United States. The more famous of these
include an escape from a prison in Washington D.C., the manacled
bridge jump, and the milk can escape, where Houdini was handcuffed
and sealed inside a milk can full of water. As the tagline of the show
said, "failure means drowning to death!"
Starting in 1906, Houdini also began creating and showing films
of his outdoor escapades as part of his act. Shortly after, he started
releasing feature films that were mostly just a loose story justifying
Houdini's numerous stunts.
In 1910, Houdini made three flights at a suburb of Melbourne,
Australia. At the time, this was reported as the aerial flight in Australia,
though this was later disproved. Houdini legally changed his name in
1913, and continued performing well into the 1920s.
Born
March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Died
October 31, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Family
Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiz (Father), Ceclia Stenier (Mother), six
brothers and sisters, Wilhelmina "Bess" Rahner (Wife)
Occupations
Illusionist, magician, escapologist, stunt performer, actor, historian,
film producer, pilot, debunker

Notable Facts
Houdini's birth name was Erik Weisz. He first changed it to Ehrich
Weiss (the German spelling) at Ellis Island, and later to Harry
Houdini when his career as a professional magician took off.
Claimed his birthplace was Appleton, Wisconsin.
Was accused of fraud by a German policeman, only to win in
court when he accused the police officer of slander and revealed
the method to selected tricks.
"The Master Mystery", Houdini's first film, premiered in 1918.
Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle, though initially friends, has a
falling out when Houdini's crusade against spiritualism went
against Conan Doyle's beliefs.
Related Reading/Videos
Houdini's Straight Jacket Escape
Rope Escape
Encyclopedia Britannica Article on Conjuring by Houdini
Henry Ford
History is more or less bunk."
-- Henry Ford, Chicago Tribune May 1916
Henry Ford was an automobile manufacturer who revolutionized
industry with his widespread application of the assembly line. Ford was
born on a farm in Michigan and showed an interest in mechanics from
an early age. He moved to Detroit and started manufacturing cars,
getting closer and closer to the famed Model T with each try. The Model
T quickly became the most manufactured model of car in the world,
until overtaken by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1972. The ubiquity of the
Model T was made possible by its affordability, a product of its quick
manufacturing times made possible by the factory-wide assembly line.
The huge market of the car was increased by the fact that Ford paid all
of his workers enough that they could actually afford a Model T, and
forced work hours limits so they would have free time to incentivize
having a car in the first place.
The ubiquity of the Model T and the rise of industrialism changed
the character of the United States. When Ford first moved to Detroit,
only two out of eight Americans lived in cities by the time he died,
the ratio was five to eight. The increasing population in cities moved an
agrarian American to an industrial one, cementing the importance of
technology and innovation in American culture.
Around Ragtime

In 1901, one of
Ford's pre-Model T cars
won a ten-mille race that
brought him to the
attention of the
automotive industry. Not
long after, Ford built
another racing car that
set an American speed
record of five miles in
five minutes and 28
seconds. Two years later,
Ford and his business
partner Alexander
Malcomson founded the
Ford Motor Company.
Between 1903 and
1908, the company
manufactured ten different cars; Models A, B, AC, C, F, K, N, R, S, and
finally T. The Model T, or 'Tin Lizzie', experienced such success that the
company has to put new orders on hiatus until production caught up. In
1913, the Ford factory in Highland Park began the operation of the first
moving automobile assembly line in the world. By the end of the year,
the factory employed around 13,000 men. Shortly after, Ford Motors
announced a wage raise to $5 a day, more than doubling the previous
rate. The next day, over 10,000 people arrived at the factory asking for
employment.
Born
July 30, 1863 in Wayne County, Michigan
Died
April 7, 1947 in Dearborn, Michigan
Family
William and Mary Ford (Parents), Clara Ala Bryant (Wife),
Edsel Ford (Son)
Education
Goldsmith, Bryant and Stratton Business College in Detroit
Notable Facts
Originally a farmer, Ford left his family at the age of 16 to pursue
his interest in machinery.
Paid his workers $5 a day ($110 today) and established the Ford
Foundation to provide ongoing grants to education, research, and
development.

Published and widely distributed a virulently anti-Semitic

newspaper. Every Model T was required to have a copy of the
paper in the car when it was sold.

Related Readings
Henry Ford by Vincent Curcio (CMU Online)
The Dearborn Independent, all issues
J.P. Morgan
Anyone can be a millionaire, but to become a billionaire you need an
astrologer."
-- J.P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan was an industrialist and key financial figure in the
late 1800s and early 1900s. Morgan consolidated a number of
corporations, including U.S. Steel and General Electric. In 1885, Morgan
started the internal reorganization of multiple major railroad networks,
creating stability and reducing competition, and became one of the
countrys foremost rail magnates. Morgan used his excessive wealth
from his successful business ventures to stabilize the government
multiple times. After the panic of 1893, Morgan and a coalition he
formed resupplied the governments gold reserves, and after the stock
market panic of 1907, Morgan and other bankers formed a group that
decided where federal financial relief would be spent. Morgans
importance in the U.S. financials frequently earned the distrust of the
government and some journalists.
One of Morgans noted passions was collecting significant
artworks and artifacts. He donated multiple pieces to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, but the best works were keep in a private building that
would become the Morgan Library. After Morgan died in 1913, the stock
markets were closed in respect for two hours as his body passed
through New York.

Around Ragtim
e
Morgan
consolidated
numerous steel
companies,
including the
Carnegie Steel
Company, into
the United
States Steel
Company in
1901. Morgan
also expanded his business into multiple other areas relating to steel,
creating a monolithic monopoly.
In 1907, the country was on the verge of a financial crisis. Multiple
major banks in New York were almost bankrupt, and there was no way
to save them until Morgan supplied the funds. Morgan then forced the
leading financiers of the nation to meet and devise a solution, which
would eventually lead to the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
Born
April 17, 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut
Died
March 31, 1913 in Rome, Italy
Family
Junius Spencer Morgan (Father), Juliet Pierpont (Mother),
Amelia Sturges (Wife 1861-1862), Frances Louise Tracy (Wife 18651913), Louisa, Juliet, and Anne Morgan (Daughters), John Pierpont
Morgan Jr. (Son)
Education
University of Gttingen in Gttingen, Germany
Notable Facts
JP Morgan & Co. assisted the U.S. government in the depression
of 1895 and in avoid a financial crisis in 1907.
Form the United States Steel Company in 1901, the first billiondollar company in history. The government followed this by
investigating him under suspicions of forming a monopoly.
Donated his significant art collection to the Metropolitan Museum
of Art.
Morgan was very physically imposing, and reportedly had a
purplish nose due to his suffering from rosacea.

Related Reading
J.P. Morgan by Stanley Jackson (Hunt, Amazon)