3.2: Louis Sullivan: The Autobiography of an Idea (1923)
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Louis Sullivan was the first—and after his one-time protege Frank Lloyd Wright—the best-known of what came to be known as the Chicago School of architects. Sullivan did not invent the idea of the skyscraper, but nonetheless he pioneered its development. As this excerpt from his book The Autobiography of an Idea shows, Sullivan was just as concerned about how tall buildings looked as he was about how much money they could make for their owners, who rented out space in them. Sullivan clearly relished the challenge of constructing beautiful tall buildings in his native city of Chicago, but he also recognized that failing this challenge had the potential to create social problems.
Contents
- 1.1: The Labor Question
- 1.2: Edward Atkinson: “The Service Which Capital Renders When Employed by Labor” (1886)
- 1.3: Wendell Phillips: “The Labor Question” Speech (1872)
- 1.4: Questions
- 2.1: Native Americans in the American West
- 2.2: Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins: Life Among the Piutes (1883)
- 2.3: Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography (1913)
- 2.4: Questions
- 3.1: Urbanization: The Physical Form and Moral Condition of Cities
- 3.2: Louis Sullivan: The Autobiography of an Idea (1923)
- 3.3: James W. Buel: Mysteries and Miseries of America’s Great Cities (1883)
- 3.4: Questions
- 4.1: The Pure Food and Drug Act
- 4.2: Harvey Wiley: Letter to the Editor of the Wine Trade Review (1906)
- 4.3: Hiram Walker & Sons, Ltd.: “A Plot against the People” (1911)
- 4.4: Questions
- 5.1: The Dust Bowl
- 5.2: John Steinbeck: “Starvation under the Orange Trees” (1938)
- 5.3: Frank J. Taylor: “California’s Grapes of Wrath” (1939)
- 5.4: Questions
- 6.1: The New Deal and the Role of Government
- 6.2: Franklin D. Roosevelt: Second Inaugural Address (1937)
- 6.3: Charles I. Dawson: “The President Has Made the Issue” (1936)
- 6.4: Questions
- 7.1: Segregation in the North and South
- 7.2: W.E.B. Du Bois: “Segregation in the North” (1934)
- 7.3: Victor H. Green: The Negro Motorist “Green Book” (1940)
- 7.4: Questions
- 8.1: Anti-Communism
- 8.2: Chamber of Commerce of the United States: “Communist Infiltration in the United States: Its Nature and How to Combat It” (1946)
- 8.3: Ryland W. Crary and Gerald L. Steibel: “How You Can Teach About Communism” (1951)
- 8.4: Questions
- 9.1: The Modern Women’s Movement
- 9.2: Casey Hayden and Mary King: “Sex and Caste” (1965)
- 9.3: Betty Friedan: Commencement Speech to Smith College Graduates (1981)
- 9.4: Questions
- 10.1: The Generation Gap and the Vietnam War
- 10.2: Lyndon B. Johnson: “Peace without Conquest” Speech about Vietnam (7 April 1965)
- 10.3: Raymond Anthony Mungo: Anti-War Speech (1967)
- 10.4: Questions
- 11.1: The Gay Rights Movement
- 11.2: Anita Bryant Is Hit by a Pie (1977)
- 11.3: Harvey Milk: Gay Freedom Day Speech (1978)
- 11.4: Questions
- 12.1: Globalization and the North American Free Trade Agreement
- 12.2: 12.2 Ross Perot at the Third Presidential Debate (1992)
- 12.3: Bill Clinton: “Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA” (1993)
- 12.4: Questions