THESIS CONSUMING IDEALS: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE SOCIAL HYGIENE MOVEMENT IN COLORADO Submitted by Kristy Kay Griffin Department of Anthropology In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Summer 2015 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Mary Van Buren Lynn Kwiatkowski Sarah Payne Copyright by Kristy Kay Griffin 2015 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT CONSUMING IDEALS: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE SOCIAL HYGIENE MOVEMENT IN COLORADO Historical investigations of the Social Hygiene Movement (1890s-1930s) tend to focus on the urban origins of the concerns that sparked much of the resulting reform efforts. Furthermore, archaeological investigations that address artifacts associated with the Social Hygiene Movement often focus on either an urban or a rural setting, and usually only examine a single aspect of the movement rather than considering the impact of the totality of the movement’s ideology on American consumer behaviors. As a result, little is known about the materialization of the Social Hygiene Movement in the archaeological record and the differential appearance of associated artifacts at urban relative to rural sites. This project seeks to define Social Hygiene Movement- associated artifact types and undertake a comparative analysis of the occurrence of these artifacts at two urban and four rural sites in the state of Colorado in an effort to better understand the early material expressions of the movement in rural regions of the United States. This study was designed to 1) explore the assumption that artifacts related to health, hygiene, and cleanliness should appear at rural sites later than at urban sites, 2) determine if the Social Hygiene Movement manifested differently in rural regions relative to urban areas as evidenced in the archaeological record by types of consumer products purchased, and 3) if differences do exist, provide information about what other contextual and ideological factors may have caused the divergence. This project concludes that rural residents were likely aware of the emerging health, hygiene, and cleanliness ideals from nearly the beginning of the Social Hygiene Movement. ii However, differences in the frequency and types of products purchased suggest that consumer choices were informed by a shared system of rural values developed in opposition to the hegemonic rhetoric of Progressive Era reformers. The evidence presented in this study indicates that rural residents did not alter their hygienic practices and consumer behaviors to be in-line with urban standards, but rather selected the ideological aspects of the SHM that reinforced their rural identities and incorporated the products and practices which complemented their daily realities and social norms. The results highlight the importance of utilizing material studies in conjunction with historical research to achieve more nuanced understandings of the origins of the Social Hygiene Movement and question commonly-held assumptions based on the dominant discourse often evidenced in documentary sources. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my advisor, Mary Van Buren, whose brilliance as a mentor cannot be overstated. I would also like to thank my committee members, Lynn Kwiatkowski and Sarah Payne, for their support throughout this project. I would like to extend my gratitude to Melissa de Bie of the History Colorado Center for offering me the internship that sparked my idea for this thesis. I would also like to thank Todd McMahon of the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation for sharing his research and for his ongoing guidance and assistance. To Stephanie Boktor of the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, I would like to offer my gratitude for her endless patience in helping me locate sources and information for the sites included in this study. Thank you to Tammy Stone of the University of Colorado Denver for sharing her research. To Jonathon C. Horn of Alpine Archaeological Consultants, the thoroughness of your reports sets a standard in Cultural Resource Management. Thank you to Christina Cain of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and Susan Smith of the Plains Conservation Center for making collections available for review and graciously hosting visiting researchers. Thank you to Jessica Ericson and Kat Shrawder for sacrificing a beautiful day to help me review artifact assemblages in a basement, and to Allison Parrish for teaming up with us and so munificently sharing your research. Thank you to the many other professionals who also took the time to assist me in my search for sites to include in my study. I would also like to thank the members of the Colorado State University Anthropology Department who have supported my academic pursuits, with special recognition to Mica Glantz and Jason LaBelle. Thank you to my Anthropology Department cohort for making pursuing a Master’s degree fun, and to my dear friend Audrey iv Emmett-Delamere for making everything fun. Thank you to Cat Traywick for your assistance. Finally, nothing I do is possible without the love and support of my parents, Penny and Glenn Griffin, and my husband, Jeremy Smith. This thesis was funded, in part, by the generous support of the Karen S. Greiner Endowment and the Ward Weakly Scholarship, awarded by the Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 Testing Assumptions ....................................................................................................................... 2 Theoretical Foundations.................................................................................................................. 3 Summary of Chapters ..................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2: PROGRESSIVE FRONTIERS............................................................................. 10 The Growth and Development of the American Social Hygiene Movement (1846-1930s) ........ 10 Creating a Thoroughly Modern Countryside ................................................................................ 19 An Urban vs. Rural Dichotomy in Colorado (1848-1890s) .......................................................... 29 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3: TALKING CLEAN .............................................................................................. 35 Institutionalizing Clean ................................................................................................................. 37 The American Federation for Sex Hygiene ............................................................................... 38 The American Social Hygiene Association and John D. Rockefeller....................................... 39 American Eugenics Society ...................................................................................................... 42 Indoctrinating Clean...................................................................................................................... 44 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 49 vi CHAPTER 4: SOCIAL HYGIENE MOVEMENT ERA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN COLORADO ................................................................................................................................ 51 Site Selection Methods ................................................................................................................. 51 Spatial Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 54 The Five Points Neighborhood and Site 5DV.5997 ..................................................................... 58 Regional Context ....................................................................................................................... 58 Site Description ......................................................................................................................... 60 Excavation Methods .................................................................................................................. 61 Spatial Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 63 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 65 The Capitol Hill Neighborhood and