1922

Articles from 1922

Fascism’s Triumph Explained by Italian-American Journalists (Literary Digest, 1922)

At the request of The Literary Digest editors, a number of Italian-language journalists working in North America were asked to explain the great success that the Italian Fascists were experiencing in 1922 Italy. This article lists an enormous number of Italian language newspapers that existed in the United States at that time; virtually every medium-sized to large American city had one. We were surprised to find that the most pro-Mussolini Italian-American newspaper operating in the U.S. was located in New York City.


In the late Thirties, early Forties the FBI began to monitor the Italian-Americans who adored Mussolini – Click here to read about it

Fascism’s Triumph Explained by Italian-American Journalists (Literary Digest, 1922) Read More »

Confederate Doctors and their Many Problems (Confederate Veteran Magazine, 1922)

A few paragraphs on the difficulties faced by the medical establishment of the Confederacy as a result of the Union naval blockade of Southern ports. We were surprised to learn that the scarcity of quinine and other medicinal aids forced the doctors of the South to embrace herbalism.


Click here to read about the heavy influence religion had in the Rebel states during the American Civil War.

Confederate Doctors and their Many Problems (Confederate Veteran Magazine, 1922) Read More »

Nancy Langhorne Astor, M.P. (Literary Digest, 1922)

Lady Nancy Astor (1879 – 1964) is remembered as the first woman to take a seat in the British House of Commons (she was not the first woman to be elected, but she was the first woman to serve in the House of Commons). Born in Virginia, she was the daughter of a former Confederate officer who refused to send her to college, thereby sparking her interests in the Suffrage movement. Following the divorce from her first husband in 1903, she set sail for Britain and met Waldorf Astor (1879 – 1952) while on board ship. The two were wed in 1906 and soon developed and interest in British politics. She became a Member of Parliament in 1919 and served in the House of Commons until 1945.

Nancy Langhorne Astor, M.P. (Literary Digest, 1922) Read More »

Social Differences Among the Lighter Skinned and Darker Skinned Blacks (Literary Digest, 1922)

The varying degrees of color found among American Blacks has been, and still is, a sensitive topic and it was addressed in 1922 with some wit by an African-American journalist whose work is attached. Its a good read and speaks of a social structure that, we like to think, is gone with the wind; words appear in this article that seem queer in our era – there is much talk of


yellow gals
golden-skinned slave girls
tawny-skinned maids
midnight
stove-pipe

-all originating from African-American verse and popular song.


During the Second World War, hair dye was not simply used by women;
click here to read about the men who needed it, too.


Click here to read about black women who pass for white.


Click here to read a history of African-Americans between the years 1619 through 1939.

Social Differences Among the Lighter Skinned and Darker Skinned Blacks (Literary Digest, 1922) Read More »

‘Don’t Listen to Europe” (The New Republic, 1922)

During his seven month-stay in New Mexico, D.H. Lawrence (1885 – 1930), pen-pushing British rhapsodist and highly lauded versifier in the 20th century’s republic of letters, was baffled to find that the Natives of America were held in total contempt and largely confined to isolated swaths of land. Arriving in Taos in September of 1922, it didn’t take him long to recognize the admirable qualities inherit within their culture and the injustices that had been done to them. His restrained response was expressed in these three brief paragraphs that appeared in The New Republic toward the middle of December of that year.

‘Don’t Listen to Europe” (The New Republic, 1922) Read More »

How Many Americans Had Cars in the 1920s? (Current Opinion, 1922)

The post-World War I American economy was humming along quite nicely when an inquisitive journalist took notice as to how many more cars there were on the streets (all told, there were 7.5 million). Perhaps there were no written studies documenting what we now call ‘the order of durable goods’ – that dependable yardstick we use to measure American opulence, and so this investigative journalist came up with a different way of figuring out just how many cars Americans could purchase -and we’re mighty glad he did!

How Many Americans Had Cars in the 1920s? (Current Opinion, 1922) Read More »

The Steel Tennis Racket Makes It’s Appearance (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1922)

Although the steel tennis racket would not know true glory until Jimmy Connors used his Wilson T2000 in the 1970s, a big splash was made by William A. Larned (1872 – 1926; seven times champion of the U.S. Open) when he designed the Dayton Steel Racket in 1922. It wasn’t the first steel racket, but it was an improvement on the existing ones.

The Steel Tennis Racket Makes It’s Appearance (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1922) Read More »