UNIV 3539 Blog

The exhibits that mesmerized fifty million visitors to the 1900 Paris Exposition intimated a bright
future?literally as well as figuratively. From the wonders of electric lights that vanquished the
darkest of nights to the near-daily innovations that promised to revolutionize every aspect of daily life, the dawn of the twentieth century elicited a sense of optimism and hope. For a generation, the peoples of Europe had lived in peace. This period, also known as the Belle Époque (Beautiful Era), would last until 1914 when an assassination in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo plunged the continent?and eventually most of the world?into the madness of industrialized and mechanized
total war.

And yet we might wonder why ordinary people were hopeful: little had changed socially. When
the crowned heads of Europe gathered for the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901, they carried
?the white man?s burden? of ruling three-fourths of the world?s population. Even in the world?s
great democracy, the United States, women and minorities remained second-class citizens.

Why do you think this program is called "Age of Hope"? At the turn of the century, what gave
people hope for a better future? Do you think their hopes were realized? Why or why not?