Historians have long argued that during the time period of 1896-1929, the development of the modern American State gave way to a new time period where American society was able to flourish, where independent thinking and innovations skyrocketed. This narrative of the development of the modern American state helped form the opinion that American society grew separately to the government, where social advancements among the masses influenced government rules. Contrary to popular belief, however, the development of the modern American state gave the government increased control and influence over American society. The evolution of American society was created on the back of government restrictions, censorship, and regulations, making it so the government could control and influence American society in their day-to-day lives more during 1896-1929 than ever before in American history.
Since the creation of the modern American state in 1896, the government worked to shape the very influential American society that was just evolving. Like a parent would their child, the government enforced policies and regulations that taught Americans what is “right” and “wrong” in their society. Influencing society at its very foundation, the scope and power of an interventionist national government transformed the way American society views what it means to be a citizen transcending: race, class, gender, and political affiliation. The most overt examples of methods used to create control are seen in enforcing set rules and regulations seen in military conscriptions and harsh immigration laws; however control was also used in not-so-obvious ways, where mass media was manipulated to influence society.
The process of US mobilization during WWI enforced the boundaries of what defines an American citizen. In 1917, under the control of President Woodrow Wilson, the US government enforced “The Selective Service Act,” where all male American citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 were mandated to join the US military to fight in WWI. Some historians follow the narrative that the act was created due to there not being enough volunteers to successfully conduct warfare. Although the idea may have been formulated out of a necessity to build a larger military, the enforcement of it was not, and had much deeper implications behind it: setting the standard for American citizenship. By imposing the act, the government created a divide between those who believed in war and those who did not, those who were “man enough” and those who were not, and most importantly: those who supported America and who were against America. Those who “supported America” were quickly linked to being a true American citizen, where any one who opposed the act was “against America” should not be considered an American citizen. The government helped demonstrate this link through imposing the Selective Service Act and the divide was deepend and cemented in American society as more Americans were picking sides. The explicit divide between being American and not American was made on the first day of registration as government officials announced that “the man who stands back now is lost; lost to the ranks of citizenship.” Through this statement, government officials were implying if they were to oppose the act they would no longer be classed as an American. Knowing this would deeply affect the public, especially when the sentiment of upholding democracy was heightened, the statement was made in attempts to convince people that mobilizing was what America needed, and it was the responsibility of the “American” to uphold it.
Furthermore cementing this into American society is seen through the divide between the masses. The act was met with a lot of backlash, where conscription opponents pursued their claims of not obliging to draft in court. Those supporting the government’s act would view those opposing and dodging the act as “slackers,” where they were a “man who would not do his duty to his country.” Over the period of WWI, this divide only became deeper where a sentiment for “slacker-haters,” became apparent, with the “slackers” being seen more like foreigners. In this example, it is clear that due to this act, a massive divide in American society was created. Through America developing as a modern state and having the ability to mobilize its population, it as a result was able to tighten their grip on society.
After the devastation of WWI, the US government had a taste of what the concept of being an American was and took to means of enforcing it through immigration laws. However, after the previous understanding of an American being someone who upholds the country’s values was solidified, the question about what an American should represent through their appearance, specifically their race and ethnicity. During the time period of 1896-1929, a line was drawn between racial origins and nationality, where a citizen’s eligibility was determined not on a person’s merit, but rather on their racial formation. This distinction was developed and enforced by the US government, illustrated in the Immigration Act of 1924, otherwise known as The Johnson-Reed Act. The act placed multiple restrictions on immigrants to the US with one being a national origins quota, and the most discriminatory one being based on whiteness. Prior to 1924, there were acts like the Chinese exclusion act of 1882 which excluded those from Chinese heritage from naturalizing, but The Johnson-Reed Act was the first to exclude solely on race alone. In effect, the act barred any immigrant who was not deemed as “white,” specifically those of European descent, from becoming an American citizen. By doing this, the government created another link between the status of citizenship and race.Through this link created by the policies imposed, the government was also able to control who they did and did not want in the country based on a socially constructed concept, like race. Furthermore, this link led to an increase of belief that those who were not white presenting, or of European descent, did not have the right to become a citizen, cementing the ties of xenophobia and racism within American society. The evolution of immigration regulations during the creation of the modern American state helps illustrate the extent the government had influence in controlling culture and diversity within American society, those of which patterns are still seen today.
Although not as blatant as policies and regulations forcing people to act, the US government found ways of influencing society through ways that spread across the whole country: mass media. As the innovation of mass media evolved, more Americans were able to receive news and information that they would have never had contact with elsewise. Seen through the “every-day” person gaining access to newspapers, TV, and radios, the media was connecting people from all around America together. Although seen as a benefit to society, this boom in innovation was taken advantage of by the US government. This can be exemplified through the use of radio and how the government used radio as an instrument of social and cultural reform. In 1920’s rural Wisconsin, radio shows people listened to were mostly catered to appeal to the farmers, where shows like “Country Life,” where they would discuss methodologies of farming and other topics related to life in rural America. However, as the air waves started to become busier, the government saw this as an opportunity to persuade those in rural areas to change their lifestyle. For instance, the government would select and privatize who they believed should be on the air, and thus what the population should be listening to. By selecting shows that aired educational lectures, shows that targeted women’s education, and shows that played music mostly listened to in cities, the government used the strengths of mass communication to serve their own self-serving purpose. By draining people into the city, there would be more jobs and more money made where most of the government revenue was made. This example of the evolution of the modern American state helps show that through government control of the media, not only did it allow demographics change, but it also changed the culture within different aspects of American society.
Overall, although the developments of the modern American state helped propel the US into being a superpower of the modern ages, it also made way for more government control over society. This control was done slowly and diversely, but changed society for the worse. By shaping American society into something that reflected the interests of the American lawmakers and politicians, it served beneficial to one specific group of people, not those who made up the majority of American society.
Sources
Christopher Capozzola, Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).
Mae M. Ngai, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014).
Derek Vaillant, “‘Your Voice Came in Last Night but It Seemed a Little Scared’: Rural Radio Listening and Talking Back during the Progressive Era in Wisconsin, 1920-1932.,” essay, in Radio Reader: Essays in the Cultural History of Radio. (New York: Routledge, 2002).
Katy Scott 