The 1933 Century of Progress World’s fair was a moment of redemption for Chicago and the Midwest. The economic woes of the Great Depression greatly traumatized Chicago’s infrastructure and the fair presented an opportunity for Chicago to reimagine its future.[1] At the national level, assertion of regional pride was covert and suppressed by efforts to totalize the nation on the international stage. Not only did the fair suppress efforts to assert regional pride, there were efforts to exclude or tailor presentations of women, racial and ethnic minorities to fit larger visions of a specific narrative of progress and nation.
The 1933 Century of Progress World’s fair departed from its predecessor, The Columbian Exposition of 1893, in its promotion of cooperative exhibition practices rather than individualist approach to exhibition making. The fair received much of its influence from the coloniale moderne aesthetic of the 1931 Paris Exposition, but transforms the aesthetic into a modern industrial architecture that defined the region of Chicago.[2] Progress as a theme permeated all aspects of the fair shaping the architecture, art, and exhibitions included in fair. The cooperative framework of the fair planning ensured that various regions were a part of the crafting of a new vision of nation and progress. The regional representations were reconfigured into a singular representation of nation that reflected the notion that progress necessitated cooperative efforts.
The Great War and Great Depression shaped the theme and exhibitions of the Century of Progress Fair. President Franklin D. Roosevelt entered office in 1933 and began his presidency by promoting his New Deal. The New Deal combined domestic efforts to stimulate the economy with foreign policies to ease strained relationships with other countries.[3] The domestic efforts did not affect the financial aspects of the fair. However, domestic policies directly following the Great War shaped the racial and ethnic demographics of Chicago. The steady influx of European migrations was inextricably linked to political conditions and the United States presence on the international stage. The Century of Progress fair highlighted the presence of European immigrants within the Chicago area. However, they did not extend the same gratitude to Mexican and African Americans who emigrated from the southern United States. The fair underscored the political backing of European immigrants and the ambivalence of Mexican and African American populations in the Chicago area.[4]
[1] Cheryl Ganz, Introduction to 1933 Chicago’s World Fair: A Century of Progress, (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2008), 2.
[2] Robert Rydell, “The Century of Progress Expositions: Coloniale Moderne,” World of Fairs: The Century of Progress Expositions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), pp.
[3] na, “Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy Prior to World War II” Study.com, 15 March 2018, accessed 25 October 2019, https://study.com/academy/lesson/franklin-d-roosevelts-second-term-domestic-foreign-policy.html
[4] Ganz, 125.
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