Finley Peter Dunne: 1900-1926: The Forgotten Works of Finley Peter Dunne, America's Greatest Political and Social Humorist
(The early 1900s were a transitional time in America, as t...)
The early 1900s were a transitional time in America, as the country entered and exited the Progressive Era, a period marked by radical social and political changes. Relief came in the form of fictional barkeep Mr. Dooley, among others. Through his creation, Finley Peter Dunne explored some of the most hotly debated topics in the country, as well as professional and amateur sports, financial crises, and presidential elections. It was all done with a serious purpose disguised with wit, humor, and the sidelong glance at human frailty. Readers ranged from ordinary workingpeople to members of presidential cabinets.
Finley Peter Dunne was an American journalist, humorist and writer. Dunne's sketches became so popular and such a litmus test of public opinion that they were read each week at White House cabinet meetings.
Background
Peter Dunne was born on July 10, 1867, in Chicago, to Peter Dunne and his wife, the former Ellen Finley, both born in Ireland. Peter was the fifth of the seven Dunne children who would survive to adulthood. He was a first-generation American; his father had emigrated from Queens County, Ireland, and his mother from Kilkenny. Although Dunne's parents had both come to the United States as children, his father retained emotional ties to the country of his birth and supported Irish nationalism. Dunne's mother, Ellen, was a major influence in his life. She encouraged her children to read and develop their intellects.
Education
Dunne graduated from West Division High School in 1884.
Career
At age seventeen, Dunnes' life as a journalist began. Chicago at the time had thirty daily newspapers; the least successful of the thirty, the Chicago Telegram, hired Dunne as an office boy and police reporter. For the next eight years, Dunne hopped from paper to paper as he was offered higher positions. By 1889, five years after he had entered the newspaper business, Dunne was one of the top reporters for the Chicago Tribune; in 1892, he was in charge of the editorial page for the Evening Post.
As his career flourished, Dunne also enjoyed a lively intellectual life in the company of writers such as Hamlin Garland, Theodore Dreiser, Carl Sandburg, and Sherwood Anderson. With several friends, Dunne founded the Whitechapel Club, a fraternity-like organization whose members gathered to discuss their political views. Through his association with members of the Whitechapel Club, as well as the patronage of Mary Ives Abbott, the Evening Post's book reviewer, Dunne began to mix in the most elite circles of Chicago society.
Dunne had begun to experiment with using dialect in his newspaper pieces when he covered the Chicago city government and sports stories. His first stabs were quite weak, however, and Dunne spoke disparagingly about dialect pieces in general. His attitude was soon to change. In December 1892, Dunne wrote his first piece in the guise of an Irish bartender, Malachi McNeery. McNeery was based on an actual bartender named James McGarry, who objected to being used as Dunne's model. So Dunne created the character of Martin Dooley, a saloon keeper in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. The first article to feature Dooley appeared on October 7, 1893. Dunne used dialect to give Dooley the voice of an Irish immigrant who has spent most of his life in America.
While the Dooley pieces were popular, only gradually did Dunne realize that they could provide a vehicle for him to achieve a stronger editorial voice and comment on a wider variety of issues. Through Dooley, Dunne attempted to shed light on anti-immigrant prejudice and on the assimilation process experienced by immigrants. He found that he could be more blunt and controversial as Dooley without risking his own career or the reputation of his newspaper.
In 1896, a new owner acquired the Post who was less tolerant of Dunne's editorial style. Dunne moved on to the Chicago Journal in 1897, and Dooley soon began to appear in the Journal. But Dunne was now in a mood to take bolder steps with the Dooley persona. He had Dooley question the wisdom of the Spanish American War - a war that the Journal editorials strongly supported. The Dooley essay entitled "On His Cousin George," on the subject of Admiral George Dewey's victory in Manila Bay, earned Dunne national notoriety. Papers around the country began to reprint the Dooley pieces. In 1898, at the urging of friends, Dunne published a collection of Dooley columns titled Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War. The book was a best seller.
Dunne had long aspired to work at the management level of a newspaper, and he accomplished this goal when he was made managing editor of the Journal. Meanwhile, thanks to Dooley, he had become something of a celebrity. On a trip to Europe, Dunne discovered that Dooley was extremely popular in Britain and France. Dunne was frustrated at his inability to adapt Dooley to other media, such as a play or novel, but the public continued to devour the Dooley essays. As a result of Dooley's widespread fame, Dunne found himself under greater pressure to cover national and international topics.
Dunne moved to New York in 1900 in search of greater intellectual stimulation. Soon after, his new book of Dooley essays was published, but it was less popular than the first two. Dunne also had the misfortune of contracting typhoid fever while on a visit to Chicago. But Dunne hit his stride with Dooley once again, writing columns in Harper's Weekly and for his newspaper syndicate. In 1901, he published another Dooley collection, Mr. Dooley s Opinions. Dunne's active mind sought a greater challenge than the Dooley essays, and he became editor of the New York Morning Telegraph in 1902. He left the position in 1904. While the Dooley essays were more popular than ever, Dunne experienced writer's block and frequently missed his deadlines. The founding of The American Magazine with several other reform-minded journalists helped Dunne to overcome his malaise.
Dunne continued to publish several volumes of Dooley essays, partly because of his constant need for income. He had expensive tastes and became accustomed to an extravagant style of living. His health was also poor in the last decades of his life. Dooley reappeared briefly during the 1924 presidential campaign, and again in 1926, but was permanently retired by 1927. The rest of Dunne's life was mainly devoted to maintaining his busy social schedule.
Finley Peter Dunne died of cancer on April 24, 1936, in New York City.
Quotations:
"One of the strangest things about life is that the poor, who need the money the most, are the ones that never have it."
"There are no friends at cards or world politics."
"A lie with a purpose is one of the worst kind, and the most profitable."
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
Blanchard described the importance of Dunne's creation of Dooley: "Regardless of limits imposed by his chosen medium, Dunne was an important contributor to the realistic movement in American literature, and his contributions must be evaluated in that light."
Connections
On December 10, 1902, Finley Peter Dunne married Margaret Ives Abbott, the couple had four children: Finley Peter Dunne Jr., Philip Dunne, and twins Peggy and Leonard.