The witty journalist and controversialist, Henry Louis Mencken was born on September 12, 1880 in Baltimore, Maryland (McNamara, 2020). Mencken has often been deemed the most influential American literary critic of the 1920s (“H.L. Mencken | Biography, Books, Significance, & Facts,” 2024). He used criticism in his writings to jab at the different American social and cultural weaknesses. At the young age of 23, Mencken became city editor of The Baltimore Morning Herald, and he was repeatedly deemed throughout his lifetime as, “The Sage of Baltimore” (“H.L. Mencken | Biography, Books, Significance, & Facts,” 2024). In 1906, Mencken started his career at the Baltimore Sun, where he worked as a journalist for the majority of his life (McNamara, 2020) . In his articles, Mencken attacked those he thought were hypocrites, mainly politicians and religious figure heads (About H.L. Mencken, 2024). This attitude Mencken displayed in his writings, attracted a large following of readers who appreciated his shocking honesty and openness about his personal beliefs.
Mencken was co-editor of the literary magazine, The American Mercury (“H.L. Mencken | Biography, Books, Significance, & Facts,” 2024). In this magazine, there were short-fiction and journalism pieces that were critically written by Mencken about current events (About H.L. Mencken, 2024). One of Mencken’s works was deemed immoral, and the issue in which it was published was banned in Boston, Massachusetts in 1925 (McNamara, 2020) . Boldly, Mencken traveled to Boston to confront this issue. Mencken was arrested in the streets of Boston as he defended the freedom of the press (McNamara, 2020) . After he was acquitted, he was praised by many around the country for his boldness in the defense of the first amendment (About H.L. Mencken, 2024).
When the Tennessee school teacher, John Scopes, was put on trial for teaching the theory of evolution in his classroom, Mencken traveled to Dayton, Tennessee to cover the story (“H.L. Mencken | Biography, Books, Significance, & Facts,” 2024). An example of his humorous, yet satirical reporting techniques were displayed in his coverage of this trial, when he casually referred to Dayton, Tennessee as “Monkeytown” (About H.L. Mencken, 2024). In addition to this outrageous insult, he also called the citizens of Dayton “yokels” and “peasants” (About H.L. Mencken, 2024). Mencken used his crude word choices in order to reach a broader audience, and he helped the readers of his work become more aware of what was occurring in society.
Since his death Mencken’s work and character has been widely debated (About H.L. Mencken, 2024). There is no doubt of the colossal talent he possessed as a writer; however, his blatant display of his prejudiced beliefs and attitudes certainly diminishes H. L. Mencken’s reputation as a credible journalist.
References
H.L. Mencken | Biography, Books, Significance, & Facts. (2024). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/H-L-Mencken
About H.L. Mencken. (January 17, 2024). The Mencken House. January 17, 2024 https://menckenhouse.org/aboutmencken/
McNamara, Robert. (2020, August 28). Life and Work of H.L. Mencken: Writer, Editor, and Critic. https://www.thoughtco.com/hl-mencken-biography-4177098
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