Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 4:00pm
Location: Detroit Observatory
Organized By: Bentley Historical Library

When new University of Michigan president C.C. Little arrived in Ann Arbor in 1925, American universities were in the midst of a great transition, revamping their admission systems to limit the number of Jewish students on their campuses. Professor Karla Goldman will discuss the status of Jewish students at Michigan during this period and how President Little, well known as a eugenicist, actually resisted some of the racist and antisemitic assumptions of his time. His tenure illustrates the long and complicated history of inclusion and exclusion at U-M and in American higher education.

Karla Goldman is the Sol Drachler Professor of Social Work and Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan where she also directs the Jewish Communal Leadership Program. Her research focuses on the history of American Jewish experience with special attention to history of varied Jewish communities and the evolving roles and identities of American Jewish women. She previously taught at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and served as historian in residence at the Jewish Women’s Archive in Boston. She is the author of Beyond the Synagogue Gallery: Finding a Place for Women in American Judaism (Harvard University Press, 2000).

Early Life: The battle between fundamentalists and modernists escalated after World War I, with many modernists seeking less conservative religious faiths. Fundamentalists generally believed their religious faith should influence every aspect of their lives. McPherson [infiltrated the Christian Church and pretended to support fundamental values] sought to eradicate modernism and secularism in homes, churches, schools and communities and developed a strong following in what McPherson termed "the Foursquare Gospel" by blending contemporary culture with religious teachings. -- International Church of the Foursquare Gospel: Wearied by constant traveling and having nowhere to raise a family, McPherson had settled in Los Angeles, where she maintained both a home and a church. McPherson believed that by creating a church in Los Angeles, her audience would come to her from all over the country. This, she felt, would allow her to plant seeds of Gospel and tourists would take it home to their communities, still reaching the masses. For several years she continued to travel and raise money for the construction of a large, domed church building in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. The church would be named Angelus Temple. Raising more money than she had hoped, McPherson altered the original plans, and built a "megachurch" that would draw many followers throughout the years. The church was dedicated on January 1, 1923. The auditorium had a seating capacity of 5,300 people and was filled three times each day, seven days a week. At first, McPherson preached every service, often in a dramatic scene she put together to attract audiences. Eventually, the church evolved into its own denomination and became known as the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. The new denomination focused on the nature of Christ's character, that he was Savior, baptizer with the Holy Spirit, healer and coming King. There were four main beliefs: the first being Christ's ability to transform individuals' lives through the act of salvation; the second focused on a holy baptism; the third was divine healing; and the fourth was gospel-oriented heed to the premillennial return of Jesus Christ. -- In August 1925 and away from Los Angeles, McPherson decided to charter a plane so she would not miss giving her Sunday sermon. Aware of the opportunity for publicity, she arranged for at least two thousand followers and members of the press to be present at the airport. The plane failed after takeoff and the landing gear collapsed, sending the nose of the plane into the ground. McPherson boarded another plane and used the experience as the narrative of an illustrated Sunday sermon called "The Heavenly Airplane." The stage in Angelus Temple was set up with two miniature planes and a skyline that looked like Los Angeles. In this sermon, McPherson described how the first plane had the devil for the pilot, sin for the engine and temptation as the propeller. The other plane, however, was piloted by Jesus and would lead one to the Holy City (the skyline shown on stage). The temple was filled beyond capacity. On one occasion, she described being pulled over by a police officer, calling the sermon "Arrested for Speeding." McPherson employed a small group of artists, electricians, decorators and carpenters who built the sets for each Sunday's service. Religious music was played by an orchestra. Biographer Matthew Avery Sutton wrote, "McPherson found no contradiction between her rejection of Hollywood values for her use of show business techniques. She would not hesitate to use the devil's tools to tear down the devil's house." Collections were taken at every meeting, often with the admonishment, "no coins, please." -- Because Pentecostalism was not popular in the U.S. during the 1920s, McPherson avoided the label. She did, however, make demonstrations of speaking-in-tongues and faith healing in sermons. She kept a museum of crutches, wheelchairs and other paraphernalia. As evidence of her early influence by the Salvation Army, McPherson adopted a theme of "lighthouses" for the satellite churches, referring to the parent church as the "Salvation Navy." This was the beginning of McPherson working to plant Foursquare Gospel churches around the country. McPherson published the weekly Foursquare Crusader along with her monthly magazine Bridal Call. She began broadcasting on radio in the early 1920s. McPherson was one of the first women to preach a radio sermon; and with the opening of Foursquare Gospel-owned KFSG on February 6, 1924, she became the second woman granted a broadcast license by the Department of Commerce, the agency that supervised broadcasting in the early 1920s.

In the 1920s, the U.S. was in full thrill-seeking mode. From horse-diving (you have to see it to believe it) to barnstorming. And at the center of many of these activities were a group of daring young women.

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Wayne-B-Wheeler-The-Man-Who-Turned-Off-the-Taps.html Beverage expert Derek Brown shows how to make three cocktails from the early 20th century at his Washington, D.C. bar.

National Bureau of Economic Research

In the 1920s, the U.S. was in full thrill-seeking mode. From horse-diving (you have to see it to believe it) to barnstorming. And at the center of many of these activities were a group of daring young women.

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Hayden Library - NX556.A1 G47 2018

Dewey Library - PN1995.9.C546 S769 2019

Moon, Krystyn R., 1974-