Exercise 1

As you have read, the nineteenth century saw the rise of liberal democracy as a distinctive form of government in the modern West.  Let's consider an example of how one such democracy worked.  The U. S. presidential election of 1896 is particularly interesting, because it is one of the few in American history during which a third party—in this case the Populist Party—offered a truly significant challenge to the two established parties.  Learn more about the parties and platforms of this election.  When you finish, take a moment to examine the material on "Campaign Themes" included on the site.

Now choose one of the following questions:

1. How would you have voted in the 1896 election?  What platform and theme(s) did you find most persuasive? Why?
2. The First Amendment of the Constitution declares that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This clause prevents government from interfering with religion, but it has never prevented religious leaders from expressing their views concerning government. Why were "free silver," prohibition of liquor, and immigration considered religious issues during the election? By whom, and what were the opposing views?
3. What were the prevailing views in 1896 of: women; African-Americans; non-Christian religious minorities within the United States; non-Christians overseas (for example, in Turkey)?

With your question in mind, examine the cartoons that appeared in newspapers and magazines during the election.  Use the cartoons as evidence to support your answer.

Exercise 2

As the previous exercise suggests, nineteenth-century liberal democracy did manage to function, despite all the forces arrayed against it.  However, even American democracy was not immune to the irrationalism that, in various forms, assaulted Enlightenment values during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  During the first decades of the twentieth century, lynching became an all-too-frequent form of popular "justice" in the United States.  People—especially African-Americans—suspected of certain crimes could be taken out by mobs and hanged, sometimes after being beaten and tortured.  Take a look at Without Sanctuary, a Web site featuring photographs taken of lynchings and made into postcards. NOTE: the pictures on this site are very disturbing, so be prepared.  Keeping in mind, though, that they constitute an instructive example of the violent irrationalism that erupted throughout the West during this period.

When you arrive at the Web site, click on "gallery of photos."  Examine photos 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15, 18, 34, and 47.  What is most striking to you about these pictures? Who are the victims? Do their identities confirm or complicate your conception of lynching? Why do you think people at that time would have wanted to send each other postcards with such images?  Recall the theories of or responses to irrationalism about which you read in Chapter 23: do any of those help you to understand these photos and the actions behind them? If so, in what way? If not, what additional information or conceptual tools do you think you'd need to understand them?