Through the #explore1918 tag, my classmates and I have been looking at different parts of what was going on in 1918. We've covered huge events like the Spanish flu and the end of WWI, to topics with huge legacies like the first Tarzan film, to parts of daily life like cooking and music.
But what would this project look like if we were living in 1918, and our assignment was instead to #explore1818?
First of all, we would probably look like this writing our posts today....
Image courtesy of giphy.
How did I do this?
To see what those living in 1918 were learning about 1818, I searched for mentions of "centennial" in national newspapers. However, this brought up a lot of news stories about organizations that simply have "centennial" in their name.
The Washington Post, September 4, 1918
In addition to the Washington Centennial Lodge, I also found Centennial Baptist churches, and even the Boston Centennial Mining Company.
So what were the actual centennials?
After filtering out the proper nouns, I was left with a large collection of what 100-year anniversaries people were celebrating:
- The statehood of Illinois in December 1818, which was being prepared for throughout the year, and had celebrations including the Illinois Centennial Exhibition and the unveiling of a statue of the first governor;
- The first diplomatic mission to Argentina on February 28, 1818, which was celebrated by American Ambassador Stimson and Foreign Minister Pueyrredon;
- The founding of the Protestant Episcopal Educational Society in Virginia, an early seminary, the centennial of which was celebrated by a speech by Reverend Randolph H. McKim on how seminarians supported "the Great War";
- The Battle of Maipú, a decisive victory by South American revolutionaries against Spanish forces during the Chilean War of Independence;
- The first steamship was launched from an American port, and in 1919, the ship sailed from Savannah to London in 25 days, 18 of which used steam power.
And in the Philadelphia area?
The Washington Post, Aug 23 1918
- The Frankford Arsenal had its centennial, and workers celebrated by... pledging their anti-union loyalties to the arsenal?
- The city of Lancaster turned 100 years old. A gigantic celebration had been in the works for several years, but with the Great War raging, the city opted instead for a single day of speeches and a choir performance;
- Similarly, the Cumberland County Medical Society, reporting out of Bridgeton, NJ, decided to postpone its centennial celebrations due to wartime conditions;
- Fall brought the centennial of public schools in Philadelphia, though this acknowledgment focused on the school system's shortcomings, as an influx of families looking for war work in Philadelphia worsened a previous shortage of teachers;
- The First Baptist Church in Haddonfield, NJ celebrated with a canceling of the church's debt and the publication of the church's history;
- James E. Erichson, a veteran of the Civil War now living in Sewell, NJ, turned 100 years old and said he hoped to celebrate his birthday with an American victory during WWI.
Many more important things happened in 1818, plus unimportant things that are still important to learn about. This exploration could be continued through alternative search methods, since centennial celebrations might use different terminology.
If you were living in 1918, what would you want to know about life in 1818? How are these questions different than our interests in 1918?
100% of the SBD rewards from this #explore1918 post will support the Philadelphia History Initiative @phillyhistory. This crypto-experiment conducted by graduate courses at Temple University's Center for Public History and MLA Program, is exploring history and empowering education. Click here to learn more.
I thought about asking these same questions, @charliehersh, but I found only one of the many stories you found! Good job!
Haha great minds think alike! :D
I wonder if people in 1918 thought about 1818 as much more distant than we think of 1918 or if they had a similar perception of time. It seems to me that people today think 1918 is very far away, but at the same time modern enough to comprehend. If I was in 1918 I would also probably think about health and wonder if people in 1818 had to contend with the flu.
That's a really interesting question! And it makes me wonder how much awareness/interaction people had with the past in general. With the internet it's easy for us to complete these assignments today and learn about 1918, but 100 years ago, I would guess that their awareness of 1818 was probably much more limited because it took so much effort to do this kind of research. I agree regarding health, and I also might be curious about how people in 1818 supported their country and displayed national identity/patriotism.
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Thank you! this blog is very useful for me to do the next #explore1918
Thanks for reading, glad you found this helpful! :)
Our interests in 1918 seems to be largely driven by the momentous events of that year. First off, I'd want to know if there was anything earthshaking about 1818. If not, I'd be curious what people in that time envisioned about the future. I mean, could they even guess about a little of it? Or were their heads still (sort of) in the 18th century?