“Tragic America” (1931), a journalistic work by Theodore Dreiser , was written in defense of the interests of the working class as a result of Dreiser's trip to Pittsburgh , Harlan and Bell , where the living standards of the miners and their families were very low. After the trip, Dreiser criticized the American Federation of Labor for, in his opinion, those that occurred in those areas of personal abuse, police arbitrariness, strikes, and low wages. The press, in turn, criticized this book, casting doubt on the facts and figures that were given in it.
A month after the release of the book was banned. However, several thousand copies managed to disperse .
The book "Tragic America" has a journalistic character and consists of 16 articles:
- American reality;
- Modern living conditions of the masses;
- Exploitation in America is the power of power;
- Banks and corporations are our actual government;
- American rail companies, their profits and greed;
- US Supreme Court in the service of corporations;
- Constitution is a scrap of paper;
- The position of the working class;
- Increased police force;
- Infringement of personality;
- Church and Capital in the United States;
- Charity and Capital in the United States;
- Crime and its roots;
- Is it worth it to vote ?;
- Who owns America ?;
- Is America Aggressive?
Literature
- Tragic America // A Theodore Dreiser Encyclopedia / Ed. Keith Newlin. - Westport, Connecticut; London: Greenwood Press , 2003 .-- P. 372-374. - 456 p. - ISBN 0-313-31680-5 .
- Reviews
- Culver, Donald. American Liberals Seeking a Home // . - September 1932. - P. 196-197.
- Jones, Eliot. Dreiser vs. the US // . - February 27, 1932. - P. 555. - ISSN 0036-4983 .
- Thomas, Norman . Dreiser as Economist // . - April 6, 1932. - P. 402. - ISSN 0027-8378 .
- Wilson, Edmund . Equity for Americans // The New Republic . - March 30, 1932 .-- P. 185.