Youth culture has been an important facet of the mainstream culture in the United States since its continuous development and evolution during the 20th and 21st centuries. In forming a separate and distinct identity from that of adults, American youths have found numerous ways to express their differing ideas, beliefs and interests throughout the years. One of the most influential and well-recorded samples of this youth expression is student writing. High school level student publications such as literary magazines, yearbooks and student newspapers offer clear reflections of not only individual personalities, but also the ideals of contemporary youth culture.

In studying Beverly High School’s literary magazine, The Aegis, obvious and expected changes have occurred since the early twentieth century, the time period at which I began my research. Advancing technology and the increase in the accessibility of photography are two important variables that caused understandable variations in the literary magazine. However, color has yet to be introduced to The Aegis, allowing for a smooth transition through subsequent volumes. Other high school literary editions have been subject to the same expected changes since the turn of the century. Governor Dummer Academy’s The Archon and Phillips Exeter Academy’s The Pean have also been altered by technology, and similarly have yet to include much color in their publications.

Despite the previously described visual changes, the writings included in these high school periodicals have also experienced significant, yet discreet alterations since the early nineteen hundreds. The topics of expression and the language used in the 1916 edition of The Pean, seem like the ancient writings of an extinct era, which in reality, they are.

Exultant youth, at play on field and stream,-
Little limbs that leap, bare arms that lightningwise
Flash in the sun, flushed cheeks, and sparkling eyes,
How far from man’s mortality you seem!
Such vision formed some classic sculptor’s dream
Long centuries ago ‘neath Attic skies;
Such stripling in Elizabethan guise
To Shakespeare sonnetizing, gave the theme.

Though you must pass and in the world of men
Grow stiffiy-old, white haired, and sunken-eyed,
And life grow fretful as a work out tune,
Yet there shall boyhood ever and again
Renew itself and pout its endless tide
So long as Spring is Spring and June is June.

(J.P.W., “A Young Exonian,” The Pean, (1916):20.)

Despite the somewhat whimsical scenario of a youth at play, this 1916 poem also features the harsh reality of growing old and facing responsibility. “Though you must pass and in the world of men grow stiffiy-old ” tells the reader that this author is fully aware of his designated place in society. While this theme is arguably common in today’s youth culture, it is also less evident in contemporary student publications.

In comparison to the previous “A Young Exonian”, written in 1916, “Smugly Detached”, which was published in 2001, depicts a fanciful daydream, with no serious realities to face.

I woke up this morning and found
My rocket ship,
One fin detached
Laying smugly on the ground

I remember when is flip top box Sat below and under
Birthday moonlight
Awaiting my watery slithered return From soccer practice.

Boy oh boy
I smiled so wide And my eyes were fried
Instantaneous evaporation
Of
Indulgent hopes
The rocket was yellow
But has since browned from use
And Abuse
And seagulls

My
Galaxy skipping
Cloud flipping
Burnt Yellow good-time
Flown everyday till this
And probably everyday after
If
I were to glue that fin
Right back to its shell

For some reason I just don’t feel like doing that.

(Steve Quinlan, “Smugly Detached,” The Aegis, (2002):18.)

These two samples of student writing both express memories of youth, but in a two completely different ways. In the version from 1916, the writer is essentially saying goodbye to his carefree childhood and acknowledging his entrance into adulthood. In the 2001 publication, the author is once again returning to his childhood. In “Smugly Detached” however, the author is not necessarily dismissing his youth. Rather, he is embracing it.

In addition to this more youthful, carefree tone displayed by high school students in their writings, a defined youth culture also brought with it a responsibility felt by many young people. That is, the desire to express their own personal beliefs towards their government and global events. The writings in The Aegis of the 1970s portrays students that are aware of the goings on in their world, and have solid opinions about them. This poem, entitled “Sending Out a Message”, displays this belief system.

Two men stand
neck deep in gas
each threatens the other
I’ll light the first match

Neither wants to burn
But they still buy more matches
They’ll threaten each other
Until the gas catches

Such utter stupidity
Why not drain off the gas
And burn all the matches
For a candle to last

They say that we’re the smartest
It’s so hard to believe
We call the animals beasts
Why is it so hard to conceive

Our government paints us pictures
Of monstrous Russian bears
I don’t care what they say
Somewhere a Russian cares

If we’d all just start thinking
About what we’re headed for
What this world just doesn’t need
Is another pointless war

Let’s get our act together
Join forces with the world
When one is all, and all are one
Under one flag unfurled

Care about each other
And ourselves too
Forever in each other’s hearts
Never to be blue

We should take care of our mother
Instead we are polluting
The animals who are living right
We end up shooting

Sending out a message
To you and everyone
Show the love inside us all
Throwaway the guns.

( David Grimes, “Sending Out a Message,” The Aegis, (1974):20-21.)

“Sending Out a Message” clearly shows that at this point in time, American youths were making their voices and opinions heard. No longer were children being told to speak only when spoken to, and if they were, then no one was listening.

In addition to the changes in writing, the visual art displayed in these publications has also differed over the years. With the advent of the 1960s, a more abstract, creative type of visual art is displayed in Beverly High School’s Aegis. The maturity and complexity of the graphics has significantly increased since the early 1900s. The introduction of photography as an art form is one of the most definitive reasons for visual changes. Although limited to black and white, these photographs have significantly altered the face of student publications. Photography has supplied young people with yet another way in which to express themselves, thus allowing for an even more developed youth culture.

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, youth culture has been developing and thriving. Displaying definitive opinions and ideas, America’s young people have created their own identity and their own unique culture. The rise of this culture is evident through youth expressions, particularly student publications. The changing mindset of our country’s youth has been clearly portrayed through the evolution of student magazines in the past century.

Works Cited

Grimes, David. “Sending Out a Message,” The Aegis, (1974): 20-21.

W., J.P. “A Young Exonian,” The 1916 Pean, (1916): 20.

Quinlan, Steve. “Smugly Detached,” The Aegis, (2002): 18

In the early twentieth century, the Industrial Age was booming. Immigrants were pouring into the shores of Boston, New York and other major cities along the coast. In Beverly, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation was the backbone of the local economy. The Industrial Revolution changed the landscape and economy of the country, revamping old industries and creating new ones. This new urban environment set the stage for the national debate over the importance of manual training and industrial trading in the public school system. This national issue was played out in Beverly where a trade school was eventually established.

The planned purpose of manual training was to teach students skills such as sewing, cooking, commercial penmanship, agriculture, woodworking and patternmaking. These skills would allow them to be employed in skilled areas of industry upon the completion of their education. It would be replacing the dying art of apprenticeship and compensating for the lack of education and practice of manual work at home or outside of school. 1

Industrial training, on the other hand, was to be aimed at children who were around the age of fourteen who were planning to leave school to become factories employees.

A Day Industrial School would offer instruction for two to four years in the theoretical knowledge fundamental to a particular trade and in addition, and would afford either in the school shop, or in some regular factory or workshop ample opportunity for comprehensive practice of the various parts of the trade under factory conditions. 2

This was not just an education of a particular skill such as carpentry, but a preparation particular to work in factories appropriate to local industries. Prior to having a day school Beverly had held Evening Industrial Schools, but these were later considered “fragmentary and less comprehensive” than a day school would be. Industrial and manual training classes could be taught in two ways. One was independently in a separate school and another way was through a composite high school which contained both a traditional high school as well as a vocational one. 3

At the same time as the discussion on manual and industrial education in public school systems reached its height, immigrants were coming into the United States in record numbers. They brought with them their own cultures and developed ethnic neighborhoods such as the North End in Boston which was predominantly Italian. Many of these immigrants ended up working in factories. Manual and industrial education was considered a way to assimilate immigrants into the culture of the United States. 4

In Origins of the Urban School: Public Education in Massachusetts, 1870-1975, Marvin Lazerson writes about the North Bennet Street Industrial School in the North End of Boston. It was established for philanthropic means and to meet the “needs of the immigrant poor.” The experimental school was an attempt to reduce and eventually eliminate poverty in the area. 5

While not all school committee reports from various school systems direct their trade school initiatives at the immigrant class, one can see that in many ways it is inferred. For instance, one article from the National Education Association states that vocational education is essential for “public safety and public welfare,” and then goes on to say further that manual training schools “give a superior cultural education”. (pdf)  6 In another article it says that composite high schools are more favorable than independent vocational schools because the separation of the two schools results in “caste distinctions.” Furthermore the article states that a composite high school is the best atmosphere for “promoting democratic ideas thru acquaintance and saner judgments.” (pdf)  7

All of these comments, when paired with the nativist attitude of the time can be seen as referring to the education and assimilation of immigrants. The comment about “caste distinctions” shows that there is a distinct and tangible gap between the social status of those attending vocational schools and those attending traditional high schools.

A perfect example of vocational education being used as a tool for assimilation is in home economics. In another National Education Association article discussing vocational schools for girls, it lists reasons for such schools to exist. The third reason states these schools help “groups of foreign girls and women who desire and need to be initiated into American standards and methods of homemaking” 8 Around the same time period a group of concerned citizens submitted a report to the Beverly School Committee which concerned sewing. It stressed its importance and practicality since it was one of the least expensive classes to run. It reads as follows:

While it is quite possible for girls to be taught to sew at home, as a matter of fact this is rarely done. Few mothers have, themselves, been systematically taught to sew and consequently few are capable of teaching their girls to sew properly. The busy mothers of today have little leisure and continually put off teaching their daughters to a more convenient day with the result that the girls are not taught at all. 9

While this excerpt does not specifically mention the immigrant population of Beverly, it does imply the shortcomings of the lower classes. While many women had jobs, those who were working so hard as to not to have to time to teach their children to sew were probably forced to take up a factory job to support their family. Whole families worked in factories in order to support themselves. The article goes on to give a short list of the deeds a young girl should be capable of in the contemporary culture.

Sewing and home economics was not solely for immigrants and those in lower classes with hardworking mothers. It was also suggested for young girls in “well-to-do modern homes, who are in school but do not practice homemaking.”10 Like many other instances in history, vocational training was not just for the poverty stricken immigrants. While in the case of the North Bennet Street Industrial School it was set up to alleviate poverty, there were also other purposes for setting up such schools. 11

In 1905 a Beverly School Committee report stated that a “Professor Tyler” gave physiological reasons for the need for manual training.
He says that the vital organs, the heart and lungs, are not stimulated to increased activity by mental exertion alone. It is necessary to exercise the muscles in order to relieve congestion and restore the perceptive faculties to their normal powers. In this way manual work actually increases the power of the mind to acquire knowledge by keeping the mental machinery in proper condition. 12

While claims such as this and others were made about the general importance of vocational education for all, it is also clear that muddled in between the lines is the idea that it is a way to assimilate and regulate the influx of immigrants. By implementing manual training and industrial schools it was one way to teach new immigrants the cultural aspects of the United States workplace and made schools civic and social centers. Foreign girls were taught how to keep proper homes, while boys were educated on factory work and other trades. In some instances such as the North Bennet Street School the schools were established to try and eliminate poverty.

History is not simple however and the importance of vocational schools is still evident today without an immigration issue. There were and always will be students that are not bound for colleges or universities but wish to go into some form of skilled labor. In a time were apprenticeships no longer exist as they once did, trade schools provide an opportunity for students to get the education they need to become successful in the job market.

1 “Manual Training“, School Committee Report, Beverly City Documents 1905. (Beverly High School Archives)

2 “Industrial Training“, School Committee Report, Beverly City Documents 1907. (Beverly High School Archives)

3 Ibid.

4 Marvin Lazerson, Origins of the Urban School: Public Education in Massachusetts, 1870-1915 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971).

5 Ibid, 115.

6 National Education Association of the United States. Journal of the Proceedings and Addresses (Ann Arbor Michigan, 1912), 1032.

7 Ibid, 178.

8 Ibid, 1031.

9 “The Fads,” School Committee Report, Beverly City Documents 1906. (Beverly High School Archives)

10 NEA,1031.

11 Lazerson, 115.

12 “Manual Training.”

Americanization is a major aspect of American Exceptionalism. The fact that a nation can contain people from all major world powers, and flow evenly, together in peace, is an enormous accomplishment. When its people accepts this feat, when this melting pot is known to the immigrants, who still flood ships with their arrivals, it is extraordinary. Americanization through education is one genre of this sameness of identity, and whether it is ideal or devastating, is up for interpretation. Who were these people who needed to learn the American way? What did they learn from Citizenship and Americanization classes? What does Americanization truly consists of? This melting pot of ideals, theories, and education, runs much deeper and less superfluous than exterior acceptance. This hypothesis has been proved, to the best of a high school senior’s research and knowledge. Many tools have been explored, such as School Committee reports and the 1930 census, and many resources, such as the archives at Beverly High School, and the Gutman Library at Harvard, have been excessively picked through. Although this topic is not unique, its relation to Beverly High School is. Many books have been written on Americanization, for example, Robert A. Carlson’s The Americanization Syndrome: A Quest for Conformity, and The Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, edited by Stephan Thernstrom. The significance of Americanization through education in Beverly and New York City, is the comparison from the small town to the big city. The differences are surprisingly not great; it is their similarities which make them interesting. The sustained dream of achieving a totally Americanized nation is a wonderful concept, but will it nevertheless always linger as a dream, given that individuality and freedom remain the hallmarks of Americanization?

 

“A nation consists of its citizens. It is they who make up the body politic, who determine its future, and who insure its perpetuation. It is of the utmost importance to the nation to assimilate into its blood stream those foreign elements that can add to its vigor and maintain its standards.” [1] Before jumping to conclusions, one must ask, who are these ‘foreign elements’ who make up the majority of the future of America, the land of all opportunities big and small? How is it possible for a single nation to assimilate the immigrant so willingly? The answer to this seemingly complex question, is however, quite simple. It is a force that lives among us all, that drives us to do the unthinkable from the moment we are first put in contact with others of our own kind: peer pressure. However, when speaking of this force in context of an entire nation, an American nation, we refer to it as Americanization.

In theory, Americanization is simply the yearning to be like all those who are successful and amalgamated; to effectively live in America, is to be American. As the infamous historian/philosopher, Crèvecoeur remarked, as he came to study social mobility in America, the immigrant who comes to this nation, comes with his own beliefs and values, but as he remains in America, he is “melted into a new race of men.” [2] This melting pot of ideals, theories, and education, runs much deeper and less superfluous than exterior acceptance.

Late in the 19^th century, with the influx of the new immigrant, American Nativists who were third or fourth generation native-born began to become weary of the sea of new un-American faces. Between 1860 and 1900, there were over 14,000,000 people immigrating to the United States. Over 18 1/2 million more arrived between 1900 and 1930, with a peak arrival of 1,285,349 in 1907 alone. [3] The new immigrant from Southern and Eastern Europe, was usually uneducated, was of a different religion, and did not speak English. How then would he be assimilated? Cities nation-wide were overburdened by demand for proper Americanization programs, that would help prepare foreigners for the American way of life. Beverly, Massachusetts, a former fishing village, which developed into an industrial town by the opening of a shoe machinery corporation, was of no exception.

According to the Beverly School Committee, “for the accomplishment of this result, the solution of the problem of the Americanization of the foreigner, the attention of the general public was focused on the evening school.” [4] The assimilation of the non-English speaking person was not the major problem, but rather the recruiting of non-citizens. When an immigrant first decided that he/she wanted to become an American Citizen, a Declaration of Intention was to be filled out, followed by a Petition for Naturalization. Most adults, who were not naturalized, were working parents who did not have the time or energy to attend voluntary evening schools. The earlier courses taught, such as Civics, History, English, Bookkeeping, and Penmanship, were not deemed as necessary subject matter, which would help put food on the table. Beverly understood that “there is no Americanization until the foreigner becomes a conscious part of America.” [5] In order to recruit people for the evening schools, there must have first been an incentive for them to join.

In 1915, the Beverly Department of Education organized a Citizenship program, which would prepare immigrants for citizenship, and provide him/her with first and second papers in order to naturalize. The class became an instant success. This movement of Citizenship Education was the first step towards an evolution of Americanization Education. Another reason for the high enrollment in Citizenship classes was the patriotic peer pressure felt during wartime. As in the cases of Germans, Austrians, and Hungarians, it was almost vital to prove loyalty to America. This is not so evident in Beverly as seen through Adult Education records, as there were not very many Germans, Austrians, and Hungarians enrolled previously. However, when compared to the percentages of diverse ethnic backgrounds found in the New York City evening schools, it is more evident that immigrants of from Axis-power countries during WW1 felt a great need to show their loyalty to America. Out of 73,042 students in NYC evening schools, Austrians held 10.02% of enrollment, Germans 6.11%, and Hungarians 3.95%, during the school years between 1913 and 1915.  On the other hand, it was the allied forces of Russia (46.35%) and Italy (14.63%) who made up the majority in both the big city and, of 8.80% and 33.77% out of 303, in the small town evening school. (See  “Analysis of Foreign Attendance in Evening Elementary Schools during Two Successive Years” & Evening School Attendees, Birthplaces (1913-1915) )

Political leaders were hard at work, analyzing the solutions available to Americanize the immigrant, and in 1917, a conference was held in Washington D.C., which addressed the issue of, “What is Americanization?” [6] In 1918, the director of the Beverly Evening School made a significant remark: “ It is evident that school departments cannot handle the problem of Americanization without help; the industries must co-operate.” [7] Beverly was not alone in this concern. In 1919, an Act of Congress was passed stating that instruction must be provided for foreigners in English, Government, and Citizenship. Finally, in 1920, a Supervisor of Americanization was appointed for the Beverly evening schools, under the University Extension and the State Department of Americanization. Information Bureaus were set up to secure passports, naturalization forms, and to help immigrants with their handicap in language. It was also in the fall of 1920, that the very first Americanization classes were available in the Beverly Evening School curriculum.

Shortly after this great educational enhancement, came the help needed from the local industries. In the 1921-22 Annual School Report, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation was given recognition for their co-operation in supporting weekly Americanization and Citizenship classes during their noon-hour break. In January of 1922, two newspaper articles were written for the Beverly Evening Times addressing the “Splendid work… being done in the Americanization classes in this city… ” [8] and that “the classes in Citizenship at the plant of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation are worthy of mention just now. ” [9] It was believed at this time of reinstatement of a totally American society, that control over the immigrant could once again be reached.

According to the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, “the Americanization movement tried to submerge the complex relationships between ethnic backgrounds and national identity… most educators sought to promote cultural homogeneity and the work ethic of industrial capitalism”. But some like Julia Richman and Jane Addams, believed that Americanization through education would separate families, because it is primarily the youth who is Americanized first, and the immigrant parent second. [10] There were, of course, other means to Americanize the adult foreigner, the more instinctive of which would be inter-marriage. If an Italian and Armenian were to fall in love, would they not yearn to learn a language the two of them could understand? And while living in America, would that not entice them to join the local evening school? However, who would be the first to join, the man or the woman? According to registration records for Beverly’s citizenship classes, immigrant men would more commonly advance to the highest-level classes, while women would continuously remain under beginner or intermediate instruction. Was this red tape bias towards men, or was it family needs that drew women away from their studies? In any case, during the winter of 1924, an Americanization class was organized especially for immigrant mothers, held in the homes of the immigrant women. The women enjoyed these classes, which focused on the home, clothing, cooking, etc., so much that another was organized the following fall. During this same winter session, there was a group of men and their wives who met to study English and Citizenship together. This was a peculiar, because men were usually non-supportive of their wives attending school. [11]

In this genre of education, Beverly was not among the first to encourage immigrant mothers to Americanize. In New York City’s 1910-11 School Committee report, prior to the mention of Citizenship or Americanization classes, courses in home making, cooking, dressmaking, and such classes were available. [12] Although educators in New York City may not have been aware of their unplanned assimilation, being taught in one of the largest cosmopolitans of the United States was the original notion of Americanization of the woman.

Prior to 1922, women automatically received citizenship once their husbands became naturalized. However a new Act of Congress was passed stating new laws towards the naturalization of married women:

1. Citizenship is no longer conferred on an alien woman by her marriage to a citizen.

2. Citizenship is no longer conferred on the wife by the naturalization of her husband.

3. Citizenship of a woman is no longer lost by marriage to an alien unless the alien husband is ineligible to citizenship.” [13]

Women were suddenly left on their own to gain Citizenship. Three 1925 Citizenship classes and one Americanization class were linked to the 1930 national census . The findings show that out of the ten students who still dwelled in their same home, five of which were men and one woman, had been naturalized by 1930 ; one man had his First Papers, and two alien women were married to men who had their First papers. These findings are worth mentioning, as they show that these two alien women, who under the new law, were enrolled in the classes because they had to become naturalized citizens themselves . In 1923, there were only 7 Petitions for Naturalization, and 117 Declarations of Intention. Nevertheless, the following year, there were 66 Petitions for Naturalization, and 153 Declarations of Intention.  Whether this extreme change in necessity was directly related to the new Act of Congress or not is not known for sure, however the connection raises strong questions as to its construal. This particular Act of Congress may also be the cause for the sudden increase in Americanization classes, from 73 students in 1923, to 101 students, in 1924, and 159 students the following year, with a peak of 180 students in 1926. At this point, word would have been out that successfully earned citizenship could be accomplished through evening school. 

During this same time period, a new Immigrant Quota law was passed limiting the number of immigrants who could enter the country. As for those who had family wishing to come to America, an exception stated “immigrant relatives of a citizen are given precedence in making up the quota for those who may enter the country.” [14] These may have also caused the rush of registration to Americanization classes at the Beverly Evening Schools, and the increase in Petitions for naturalization. “The Johnson-Reed Act…would [restrict] an overall yearly limit of 150,000 on immigrants from outside the western hemisphere. The 150,000 was to be divided into quotas, assigned to nationalities in the proportion that they bore, by birth, or descent, to the total population as of 1920.” [15]

Beverly’s Americanization program must have raised the attention of many other towns, for in 1937, “35 out-of-town students [were] attending the evening classes (…) namely [from] Danvers, Salem, Peabody, Wenham, Manchester, and Hamilton.” [16] Was it possible that Beverly was more prominent and advanced in teaching programs than their brother and sister towns? If it were not for WW2, which caused a sudden decline in Americanization class attendance, would Beverly’s Americanization Education Department have carried on longer than 1944? The last mention of Americanization available cited within the resources of the Beverly Educational Archives, states that “ statistics indicate a great need for Americanization training leading to citizenship, but there are practical difficulties in the way of securing co-operation of aliens in any program of education which are so far unable to overcome.” [17]

In the past, Americanization Education supplied support for immigrants, the will of Nativists, and control to America’s political leaders, as long as the foreigner was enticed to learn the American way. However, the original aims of Americanization through education are open to discussion. Was Americanization the thread that held immigrants and Americans together and equal? Or was it the eraser of tradition, religion, loyalty and pride of one’s native country? Americans “worked to create a national identity as a land of individual freedom based on the Protestant religion, the middle class society, and a republican form of government.” [18] Through this idea of Americanizing national identity, was the complete assimilation of the foreigner ever achieved? The sustained dream of achieving a totally Americanized nation is a wonderful concept, but will it nevertheless always linger as a dream, given that individuality and freedom remain the hallmarks of Americanization?

Works Cited

Books

Civic Education for the Foreign-born in the United States. A joint Publication of the Immigration and Naturalization services, 1944.

Bevilaqua Matheson, Mary and Linden McCullough. Americanization Primer. Norwood: Norwood Press, 1920.

Berkson, Isaac B. Theories of Americanization: A critical study. New York: Amo Press & the New York Times, 1969.

Carlson, Robert A. The Americanization Syndrome: A Quest for Conformity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987.

Carlson, Robert A. The Quest for Conformity: Americanization through Education. New York: John Wiey and Sons, 1978.

Cornbleth, “Citizenship Education” in Encyclopedia of Educational Research. New York: the Free Press, 1982.

Thernstrom, Stephan, ed. Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980.
Periodicals

Weisberger, Bernard A. “A nation of immigrants,” American Heritage, 1994.
Primary Sources

Beverly Evening Times. 10 January – 12 January 1922.

Report of School Committee, Annual Report: Supervisor of Americanization and of the Evening School (Beverly, Massachusetts, 1906-1944).

Report of School Committee, Annual Report: Supervisor of Americanization and of the Evening School (New York City, NY, 1910-1918).

Census Records (Beverly, Massachusetts, 1930).

Registration Records, Citizenship and Americanization classes (Beverly, Massachusetts, 1925).

 

 

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