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Literature of American History II Prof. KC Johnson
2/16/06
Alan Strauber
Study questions for David Nasaw, The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000).
1) What was David Nasaw’s purpose in writing about William Randolph Hearst? Did he achieve his purpose?
2) Do you think that Hearst was a conflicted personality? If so, in what ways?
3) How did George Hearst, W.R.’s father, make his fortune?
4) What did W.R. Hearst’s mother recall was his “forte”? (12)
5) How does Nasaw characterize Hearst’s childhood and its effect on his adult life?
6) In what ways might Hearst represent a “spirit of the west”?
7) Who or what was “Rosebud”?
8) Initially, what newspaper did Hearst use as a model for the San Francisco Examiner?
9) Can Hearst be considered a self-made man?
10) What 2 New York City newspapers did Hearst purchase simultaneously?
11) What were Hearst’s strategies for beating the newspaper competition in New York?
12) What presidential candidate did Hearst use his newspapers to support in the presidential campaign of 1896?
13) What effect, if any, did his activities in this campaign have upon the influence of the Hearst newspapers?
14) During approximately the first half of his life, what was Hearst’s ultimate personal political goal?
15) What was the third city where Hearst intended to own a newspaper and why?
16) What president did a Hearst columnist claim deserved assassination, only to have his suggestion come to fruition?
17) What national politician’s support base did Hearst plan to build his own political support base from?
18) How did Hearst see his relationship to the working class?
19) What was the decisive blow to Hearst’s 1904 presidential campaign? (181)
20) During his second term in congress, what legislation did Hearst introduce? How successful was he as a legislator?
21) Why did some consider Hearst to be a traitor to his class?
22) What was the first magazine that Hearst purchased? (190)
23) What effect did Hearst’s 1905 mayoral campaign have on his public persona, according to Nasaw? (200 – 201)
24) What did Hearst’s political campaigns say about the politics of his time?
25) Why did Upton Sinclair compare Hearst to Abraham Lincoln? (207)
26) Do you think that Nasaw romanticizes Hearst or places undue emphasis on his Hollywood activities?
27) Why did Theodore Roosevelt remark that Hearst “is the most potent single influence for evil we have in our life?” (210-211)
28) After a number of campaigns for state and national offices, why do you think that Hearst failed to win any of them?
29) What was Hearst’s I.N.S.?
30) How did Hearst propose to stop WWI while still in its infancy? (242)
31) What was the significance of the film serial, Patria?
32) How did Hearst acquire artwork and furnishings for his house at San Simeon?
33) How do you reconcile Hearst’s rise to national, even international, influence with the fact that he was constantly in debt?
34) Do you find Nasaw’s descriptions of Hearst’s financial situation adequate?
35) What was the first direct evidence that Hearst’s wife, Millicent, knew that Marion Davies was her husband’s mistress, according to Nasaw?
36) How would you describe Hearst’s relationship with the Republican Harding administration, particularly Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon? (320 – 321)
37) How did Hearst’s building and spending spree of the 1920’s reflect the economy and social trends in the U.S. during this period?
38) Who did Hearst support in the presidential campaign of 1928 and why?
39) What was Hearst’s position concerning the World Court and why?
40) What was Marion Davies’ first response upon hearing Al Jolson’s voice in a “talkie”?
41) How was Hearst’s fortune affected by the stock market crash of 1929?
42) What made the Hearst newspapers different than other newspapers?
43) As the Depression developed, what were Hearst’s overall sentiments towards President Hoover and his approach towards dealing with the faltering economy?
44) For what presidential candidate did Hearst release pivotal convention votes to assure a Democratic party nomination?
45) What was the initial reason that Adolph Hitler, the columnist, fell out of favor with Hearst? How did his sentiments towards Hitler change if at all?
46) What was the evolution of Hearst’s view of FDR and his policies?
47) What world event does Nasaw claim caused the rejuvenation of Hearst’s finances? |