A World on Display

53 minutes

Source: New Deal Films

In the spring and summer of 1904, the eyes of the nation, and the world, were focused on St. Louis, Missouri, site of a world’s fair commemorating the Louisiana Purchase Centennial. As part of one of the main exhibitions, the fair’s organizers brought 2000 indigenous peoples from all over the world to St. Louis to live in supposedly authentic villages, reflecting both the social Darwinism of the time, and America’s new role as an overseas power.

Related lessons:
Eugenics and the Progressive Era : Living Newspapers
Race in Popular Culture: The St. Louis World's Fair of 1904