Stephanie M. Riley

Thesis Adviser: Peter Shapinsky, May 2014

 

On July 24, 1915, the S.S. Eastland capsized in the Chicago River, killing 844 of its 2,500 passengers, which made it one of the worst naval catastrophes in American history. Scholarship on this disaster focus solely on the reasons for the sinking. However, disasters such as these also imprint themselves on regional and national psyches in the form of public memory narratives. Through the perspective of collective memory, I argued the Eastland disaster evolved from the newspapers’ coverage of the catastrophe into debates over the commemoration of victims and rescue efforts, and lastly, into narratives that employed the Eastland as a mutable symbol, what Pierre Nora calls realms of memory (lieux de mémoire).

 

In chapter one, “The Day Book, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Examiner: Eastland Catastrophe’s Memory Emerges,” I explored the role Chicago newspapers played in forming the initial public discourse on the disaster. By closely examining each author’s political ideology and source content, intended audience, and reason for its creation, I argue the debates between capitalists and socialists, which took place in various media outlets, including newspapers, company newsletters, and journals, created the memory narratives of the Eastland disaster. The socialist newspaper the Day Book covered the disaster from the working class standpoint, the Chicago Tribune provided a comprehensive coverage of the disaster but focused more on the court cases who supported local jurisdiction over federal jurisdiction, and the Chicago Examiner used sensationalized journalism to cover their disaster. The newspapers served as the central hub of information of the disaster and housed the data that was synthesized and debated in the memory narratives; therefore, the memory of the disaster first emerged in the newspapers. Since the newspapers were the primary source of information and wrote articles that appealed to its readers, the newspapers composed subjective pieces on the coverage of the disaster. In addition, since the same people and corporations who owned other newspapers across the United States and the world also owned newspapers in Chicago, the coverage of the disaster provided a cyclical churning of the same information, thereby influencing both public opinion and the memory creation of the disaster.

 

In chapter two, “Dominant and Counter Memory Narratives: Western Electric News vs. Catastrophe: Eastland,” I demonstrated that public memory of the Eastland disaster evolved as a series of conversations between dominant memory and counter memory narratives. Those who have the ability to control and distribute information create the dominant memory narratives and those who seek to challenge the dominant narratives form the counter memory narratives. I explored the perspectives of the company that sponsored the ill-fated voyage of the Eastland, Western Electric Company, and representatives of the victims—largely Polish immigrants. Western Electric Company’s position as a world leader in the telephone/telegraph manufacturing industry meant the company had the ability to control the flow of information. Its chief vehicle for promoting its position, company newsletter, Western Electric News, articulated pro-capitalist sentiments, expressed gratitude for the companies who aided in the rescue and relief efforts, and shifted the blame for the disaster off Western Electric. In order to commemorate the victims, representatives of their families penned Katastrofa Okrętu Eastland: W Chicago, Dnia 24go Lipca, 1915 in Polish (the English translation is Catastrophe Eastland: In Chicago July 24, 1915, hereafter referred to as Catastrophe: Eastland). However, because the authors wrote this book in Polish, promoted a socialist agenda, and blamed Western Electric, Catastrophe: Eastland had a limited audience, and had little, if any, chance to displace Western Electric’s narrative, thus, cementing its position as the counter memory narrative of the Eastland disaster.

 

In chapter three, “Eastland Catastrophe, Carl Sandburg, and Les Lieux de Mémoire,” I argue that public memory of the Eastland disaster evolved from debates over the commemoration of victims and rescue efforts into narratives that employed the Eastland as a lieux de mémoire. To chart this development, I explored how Carl Sandburg utilized the ill-fated voyage of the Eastland to criticize capitalism, corruption, greed, and sensationalized journalism. He developed these ideas in columns for two socialist periodicals, the Day Book and the International Socialist Review, as well as the poem, “The Eastland.” Once he used the Eastland catastrophe as a platform to discuss what he perceived as larger and more important issues, Sandburg separated the event from its historical context, thus making it a realm of memory. Sandburg’s pro-socialist literature on the Eastland disaster not only challenged the pro-capitalist narratives, which made it the counter memory narrative, but also emphasized a broader political debate between capitalists and socialists. Furthermore, an examination of Sandburg’s counter narratives also suggest that he himself has been the victim of dominant narratives that remember Sandburg not for his role as a left-wing political activist, but for his less controversial works and as an American literary giant.

 

By studying the Eastland disaster through dominant and counter memory narratives, we can uncover the social, political, and cultural values held by early twentieth century Chicago citizens and how those beliefs impact us today. The fight for better working and living conditions through wage, labor, health, and sanitation reforms of the Progressive era continues to the present day. Western Electric Company’s implementation of welfare capitalism began to incorporate benefits of health insurance, sick and vacation days, and death benefit plans, which many companies today offer when hiring new employees. The newspaper articles, Western Electric News, Catastrophe: Eastland, and Sandburg’s journalism and literary works highlighted debates capitalists and socialists regarding those Progressive era reforms. Overall, the debates between capitalists and socialists, employers and employees, and the broader Progressive era principles not only established the dominant and counter memory narratives, but also, allowed the Eastland disaster to become a symbol to discuss the broader issues of greed, corruption, and the sensationalized journalism.