A ‘civilized’ commerce: gender,‘race’,and empire at the 1893 Chicago Exposition

Abstract

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago represents a turning point in American history, a point when the United States moved from an era of nation-building to one of empire-building. This paper examines the links between these eras through an analysis of the ideologies that underpinned two types of exhibits at the Exposition - depictions of Native-Americans, and commercial displays of American products sold overseas. I argue that the turn-of-the-century discourse of civilization that helped legitimize American economic imperialism was formulated from within, and built upon, the discursive construction of Anglo-American/Native-American relationships.