Chap­ter 8 takes place dur­ing the 1890s, a decade marked by a severe eco­nom­ic cri­sis known as the Great Depres­sion. This peri­od of soci­etal unrest led to a rise in nativist sen­ti­ments, and anti-immi­grant atti­tudes surged, espe­cial­ly toward Asian immi­grants. As the coun­try strug­gled eco­nom­i­cal­ly and polit­i­cal­ly, cor­rup­tion in Wash­ing­ton reached a peak. In response, Grover Cleve­land was reelect­ed as pres­i­dent, vow­ing to elim­i­nate cor­rup­tion and restore integri­ty to the gov­ern­ment. How­ev­er, the polit­i­cal cli­mate remained tense, and issues of immi­gra­tion and eco­nom­ic dis­par­i­ty dom­i­nat­ed pub­lic dis­course. In the midst of this chaos, the nation looked for oppor­tu­ni­ties to dis­play its pow­er and progress on the glob­al stage, set­ting the stage for the World’s Columbian Expo­si­tion in Chica­go.

The World’s Columbian Expo­si­tion, held in 1893, was orga­nized to cel­e­brate the 400th anniver­sary of Christo­pher Columbus’s arrival in the Amer­i­c­as. The fair was an extrav­a­gant affair, meant to show the world that Amer­i­ca was emerg­ing as a world pow­er. The event fea­tured elab­o­rate dis­plays, includ­ing a Lib­er­ty Bell made of oranges and a salt sculp­ture of the Stat­ue of Lib­er­ty. It was more than just an exhi­bi­tion; it was a demon­stra­tion of America’s grow­ing promi­nence in inter­na­tion­al affairs. The expo­si­tion also intro­duced the Pledge of Alle­giance, writ­ten by Fran­cis Bel­lamy, which sought to instill a sense of patri­o­tism and loy­al­ty in immi­grants dur­ing a time of grow­ing xeno­pho­bia. Cleveland’s remarks at the open­ing cer­e­mo­ny high­light­ed the nation’s aspi­ra­tion to be rec­og­nized for its com­mit­ment to free­dom and dig­ni­ty, empha­siz­ing the val­ues that the expo­si­tion hoped to embody.

In the midst of this grand dis­play of nation­al pride, Bertha Palmer led the “Board of Lady Man­agers” at the expo­si­tion. She was an advo­cate for cre­at­ing a space that high­light­ed women’s accom­plish­ments, rather than just pre­sent­ing women as pas­sive fig­ures. The Women’s Build­ing became a key fea­ture of the fair, with exhi­bi­tions show­cas­ing the con­tri­bu­tions women made to soci­ety and the chal­lenges they faced. This effort was part of a broad­er push for women’s rights and gen­der equal­i­ty, as many activists sought to expand women’s roles in pub­lic and polit­i­cal life. As the expo­si­tion con­tin­ued, it became clear that the event was not just about show­ing off tech­no­log­i­cal achieve­ments but also about address­ing social issues, includ­ing the grow­ing calls for women’s suf­frage.

As the fair con­tin­ued, Katie and Katharine, two women trav­el­ing togeth­er, ven­tured through Col­orado, where Katie expe­ri­enced a moment of divine inspi­ra­tion. This led her to write a poem that cap­tured her deep feel­ings about the beau­ty and promise of Amer­i­ca. A year lat­er, she sub­mit­ted the poem to The Con­gre­ga­tion­al­ist, where it was pub­lished on July 4, 1895, earn­ing her praise and a small pay­ment of five dol­lars. The poem quick­ly gained pop­u­lar­i­ty, and its pow­er­ful words res­onat­ed with many peo­ple. Soon, requests came in for a musi­cal adap­ta­tion of the poem, lead­ing to the col­lab­o­ra­tion with Clarence Bar­bour, who found the per­fect melody for the lyrics.

The melody, “Mater­na,” com­posed by Samuel Ward, was orig­i­nal­ly a hymn, and when paired with Katie’s vers­es, it became a beloved anthem of Amer­i­can ideals. The song, which came to be known as “Amer­i­ca the Beau­ti­ful,” cap­tured the essence of the nation’s aspi­ra­tions for free­dom, beau­ty, and uni­ty. Its soar­ing lyrics and melody cre­at­ed a pow­er­ful sym­bol of patri­o­tism, and the song’s pop­u­lar­i­ty grew rapid­ly, mak­ing it a sta­ple in Amer­i­can cul­ture. Over time, “Amer­i­ca the Beau­ti­ful” became syn­ony­mous with the Amer­i­can spir­it, par­tic­u­lar­ly dur­ing times of nation­al pride and reflec­tion. Through her lit­er­ary work, Katharine Lee Bates helped shape an endur­ing sym­bol of the Amer­i­can dream, one that con­tin­ues to inspire future gen­er­a­tions and reflects the beau­ty and promise of the nation.

Katharine Lee Bates, through her poem and her role in cap­tur­ing the nation’s ideals, left an indeli­ble mark on Amer­i­can cul­ture. In a time of polit­i­cal unrest and eco­nom­ic tur­moil, her words offered a sense of hope and pride for the future. “Amer­i­ca the Beau­ti­ful” remains a time­less anthem, res­onat­ing deeply with the ideals of free­dom, uni­ty, and the col­lec­tive strength of the Amer­i­can peo­ple. Bates’s con­tri­bu­tions were not just artis­tic but also reflec­tive of the broad­er social changes tak­ing place dur­ing her time, par­tic­u­lar­ly regard­ing women’s rights and the evolv­ing nation­al iden­ti­ty. Through her work, Bates encap­su­lat­ed the essence of Amer­i­can aspi­ra­tion and con­tin­ues to inspire gen­er­a­tions of Amer­i­cans to strive for a more beau­ti­ful and inclu­sive nation.