Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2024/spring/Section14/J. Harry Hopkins ("Mac, The Con Man")

Biography

Maurice ‘Mack’ Haskins was born in Parkton, Virginia, but spent most of his life in Raleigh, North Carolina. Haskins suffered from infantile paralysis, resulting in one leg being five inches shorter than the other. At six years old, he moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, but two years later moved in with his aunt in Danville. At eleven years old, he operated to even his leg length, which took fifteen months. He grew up in an educated, white family. His father was an architect, and both siblings went to college, but he dropped out of school and went into the workforce. Although crippled, he moved in-between all types of jobs with little to no issue; for example, at the Parkton newspaper, overseas on the USS Simpson, and raising and selling chickens. After dropping out of high school, Haskins travelled back to Virginia, where he was briefly employed at a gun-cotton plant, and eventually became a foreman. After spending a year in Virginia, he moved to New York for around five months. He moved back to Parkton and lived there for two years before joining the army. After being discharged, he joined the USS Simpson and the Uwharrie, where he worked the engines. Haskins eventually moved to Raleigh and married his wife, Ada, and with her had two healthy sons. At 42 years old, he worked the streets of Raleigh conning people into buying a strange medicinal concoction, lending himself to his nickname: “Mack, the Con Man.”  

Unemployment in Raleigh, North Carolina

At Meredith College, speaker Ida Tarbell, a woman writer and economist, relays the issue of unemployment and possible solutions to students, specifically addressing it as a community issue. With over 3 million unemployed, men in particular, it has become difficult to find contracted jobs. Communities also began to lose respect for American institutions and thus hope for a successful, capitalistic economy promised under the American dream. Many in Raleigh criticized the Republican government. “’We are never going to solve the unemployment problem,’ she concluded, “unless there shall be an end to war.’” The war Tarbell refers to is the first World War, but these effects lasted well into the 1930’s, as America creeped toward a second World War.  

Survivalist Entrepreneurshipx

Survivalist entrepreneurship involves the attempt of a person to bring minimal profit margins through small business to make enough money for them, or them and their families, to survive. Survivalist entrepreneurship became popular during The Great Depression, especially in urban America, because of its capitalistic basis and ease of access for some demographics. The stance of white people in society allowed them to, despite being poor, be respected because of a perceived race, leading to success and ability to support their families. However, this success was difficult to come by for other populations, particularly black communities, leading to immense poverty. “At the other end are mainly economically destitute and educationally underprivileged persons who find an independent livelihood that is simple to undertake. For such persons, self-employment in these marginal activities offers little hope for economic stability or job creation, as seminal critiques of the “black capitalism” strategy have pointed out.” In this time period, "white capitalism" tended to rear more success because of continued racial prejudice, which was heightened in the American South.

Modernization of Cosmetic Surgery

Reconstructive surgery made great strides between the World Wars, especially regarding the cosmetic benefits of skin grafts, plastic surgery, and the reconstruction of bones and joints. “Important as is the ‘cosmetic’ angle of reconstructive surgery, it fades into insignificance beside its more vital function of eliminating horrible disfigurements resulting from abnormalities at birth, disease, accidents, and operative scars.” Doctors were able to provide citizens with a normal life because of medical advancements, especially following World War 1. Doctors recalled having to rebuild faces, limbs, and other features using skin grafts and transplants. Cartilage can be taken from the ribs to rebuild the nose. For correcting birth deformities, doctors decided the best time to perform these procedures is later in life: either during infancy or childhood.