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Indiana's "Golden Age": Heralding the Hoosier Heartland:
In the arts, literature, and politics, a distinctive voice rings out from the American heartland. Indiana authors captivate readers. Local politicians gain national attention. "Hoosier Group" painters celebrate Indiana's beauty. To a nation exhausted by a bloody civil war and the anxiety of Reconstruction, Indiana's homespun virtues become a healing symbol.
The poet James Whitcomb Riley and the Pulitzer Prize winner Booth Tarkington win national attention during this "golden age," and Indiana writers produce more best-sellers than authors from any other state except New York. The telephone, telegraph, and other new communications media help spread Indiana's all-American image. On the political stage, 10 of the 13 elections from 1868 to 1915 include a Hoosier on the national ticket or a major party.
But not all Hoosiers share the era's pride and prosperity. For many, bitter racial discrimination, limited opportunities for women, harsh factories, labor unrest, and restrictions on immigrants tarnish the "golden age." |