Subject Area
History
Description
Dorothy Day’s (1897-1980) life and work fell during a period of rapid social change in America. She lived as a bohemian radical and a self-proclaimed anarchist when she entered the political scene as a journalist for The Call. Disillusioned with hypocrisy and censorship on far-left socialist media, she explored and deepened her faith. Following conversion to Catholicism, Day founded the Catholic Worker. She worked to publish stories on as many different individuals as possible, even sometimes for her story, living alongside them for weeks. When aiding the poor directly, her approach was individual-based. She stressed financial freedom, and an individual’s right to labor, and espoused an anti-materialist message. Day’s independent spirit, disdain for government authority, and tenacious hunger for justice make her a distinctly American Catholic. She was unafraid to challenge a social order that threatened justice, and freedom and disregarded the poor, sick, and disadvantaged. Catholic social thought was the bedrock of Day’s activism from her conversion in 1927 onwards but her American spirit of individual power and equality between lay and clergy made it so that when she encountered Catholics or Church powers responsible for exploitation she was unrestrained to criticize and demand change. Day’s life and writings can only be properly understood if historians consider her not just as a Catholic activist but as an American Catholic activist.
To gain a more robust understanding of Day’s life and work, historians must consider evidence that goes beyond a linear progression from radical bohemian to Catholic social activist. My research is informed primarily by her three autobiographies, From Union Square to Rome, Loaves and Fishes, and The Long Loneliness as well as a collection of Day’s correspondence to family, friends, and colleagues. In Chapter One, “Anarchy and Chaos” I discuss Day’s early life, the rebellious nature of her interest in the Christian religion, her enjoyment and adherence to an anti-establishment lifestyle, and her inherent questioning of authority. I tour through her romanticlife and discuss her political development and her position as a woman. Chapter Two, “Publishing a Paper” focuses on Day’s early years as a Catholic and the founding of the Catholic Worker with Peter Maurin. I contrast her pragmatic and active approach to that of Maurin’s, which was theological and theoretical. I solidify that she, although under the guidance of Maurin, remained true to her beliefs and did not act solely as his proxy. This chapter also considers how Day positioned the Catholic Worker in opposition to the Daily Worker and resisted censorship by the Catholic Church. Day did not placate opposition; she sought it out. Finally, in Chapter Three, “Anarchy and Peace,” I tell the story of the last three decades of Day’s life as she reckoned with the changes, economic and cultural, that occurred following WWII. Day’s previous anti-government sentiments made a resurgence. In the wake of the McCarthy era, the use of nuclear weapons, and a growing government that sought to have an overbearing presence in the life of the individual, Day continued to push back in her writing.
HIS 490 History Honors Thesis
Publisher
Providence College
Academic Year
2023-2024
Date
Spring 2024
Type
Thesis
Format
Text
.pdf (text under image)
Language
English
