Reform
The Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909 was linked to several reform movements sweeping New York City, in addition to Progressivism. These included the Conservation and Preservation movements, which led to the creation of the Historical Preservation Society. This organization worked to restore and establish landmarks and parks; these goals would be seen in the Celebration, in the many dedications of monuments which occurred over the course of the festivities. These monuments promoted the history of the city, and provided, like the Historical Parade, a visual history lesson for New Yorkers. Similar to the Progressives’ City Beautiful Movement, these memorials hoped to develop a unified civic identity for the diverse inhabitants of New York City.
To express New York’s civic identity and its emerging cultural preeminence, the Commission organized a Carnival Parade. Its floats displayed the music, art, and literature of the Old World, in an attempt to link New York to London, Paris, and other European metropolises. This event was a night celebration which illuminated New York, creating an exciting and festive atmosphere.
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Famous quotes containing the word reform:
“We must reform society before we can reform ourselves.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Undoubtedly if we were to reform this outward life truly and thoroughly, we should find no duty of the inner omitted. It would be employment for our whole nature.... But a moral reform must take place first, and then the necessity of the other will be superseded, and we shall sail and plow by its force alone.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The reform [of the civil service] should be thorough, radical, and complete.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)