Publications and Research

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Summer 8-27-2014

Abstract

What do we know about the Hall of Fame for Great Americans? This graphic is intended to show some comparative information about the Hall of Fame inductees. One of the most frequent questions raised about the Hall of Fame is about who was allowed to be inducted? There is extensive documentation about the voting process involved in the Hall of Fame. There were national calls for Hall of Fame candidates, and the a body of Hall of Fame delegates voted on who of these candidates should be chosen. Much attention was paid to making sure the delegates represented all the areas of the United States. Equal representation was focused on regional representation Northern Southern and Western states. This speaks to the notion of equality that was most concerning in 1900 when the first round of Hall of Fame inductees was announced. I would like the observer to consider a few things about the Hall of Fame inductees. most of them were selected before the U.S.’s involvement in any World War. Consider that the United states (in 1900) oriented its historical identity around the Civil War. The question of who is considered a “Great” American may have been very different in this time period. When the Hall of Fame was first elected in 1900 a great American like Martin Luther King Jr would not have been born until 1929. He would have been 16 years old when the most contemporary Hall of Fame inductee FDR, finally died. How will we remember our great Americans far into the future?

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