All the World’s a Fair
Visions of Empire at American International Expositions, 1876-1916
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All the World’s a Fair
Visions of Empire at American International Expositions, 1876-1916
Robert W. Rydell contends that America’s early world’s fairs actually served to legitimate racial exploitation at home and the creation of an empire abroad. He looks in particular to the "ethnological" displays of nonwhites—set up by showmen but endorsed by prominent anthropologists—which lent scientific credibility to popular racial attitudes and helped build public support for domestic and foreign policies. Rydell’s lively and thought-provoking study draws on archival records, newspaper and magazine articles, guidebooks, popular novels, and oral histories.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876
The Exposition as a "Moral Influence"
2. The Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
"And Was Jerusalem Builded Here?"
3. The New Orleans, Atlanta, and Nashville Expositions
New Markets, "New Negroes," and a New South
4. The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, Omaha, 1898: "Concomitant to Empire"
5. The Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo
"Pax 1901"
6. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Saint Louis, 1904
"The Coronation of Civilization"
7. The Expositions in Portland and Seattle
"To Celebrate the Past and to Exploit the Future"
8. The Expositions in San Francisco and San Diego
Toward the World of Tomorrow
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
1. The Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876
The Exposition as a "Moral Influence"
2. The Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
"And Was Jerusalem Builded Here?"
3. The New Orleans, Atlanta, and Nashville Expositions
New Markets, "New Negroes," and a New South
4. The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, Omaha, 1898: "Concomitant to Empire"
5. The Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo
"Pax 1901"
6. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Saint Louis, 1904
"The Coronation of Civilization"
7. The Expositions in Portland and Seattle
"To Celebrate the Past and to Exploit the Future"
8. The Expositions in San Francisco and San Diego
Toward the World of Tomorrow
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index