Awarding America: Multiple Views of Citizenship in the Pulitzer Prize for Drama

In 1903 Joseph Pulitzer signed the first version of the agreement to establish the noted prizes that would bear his name. Regarding the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it should come as no surprise that the original document essentially serves as the powerful publisher’s personal vision of dramatic theory, given that he was creating not only a bequest for the funding the accolade but also a description to serve in guiding its presentation. What might prove a bit more surprising is the realization that the concept behind the drama prize (and, one could argue, all of the Pulitzer Prizes) additionally serves to define the qualities valued in American citizenship. This essay explores the circumstances surrounding the creation of the prize, including key elements of Joseph Pulitzer’s life and interpretations of the text created to describe the prize, as well as examples of unusual or unexpected moments in the administration of the drama prize. Each area of consideration carries the potential for seeing a range of definitions of American citizenship. Like the citizens of the country it celebrates, the decisions of those associated with granting the Pulitzer Prize reflect a range of attitudes from stubborn intransigence to agreeable flexibility, from originalism to pragmatism.

The Immigrant Experience

Given his reputation as a self-made man, we often assume that the life of Joseph Pulitzer provides a prime example of a rags-to-riches immigrant success story. However, aspects of his early life and family influences paint a more complicated picture.

Pulitzer was born in 1847 in Makó, a small town in southeast Hungary near the western tip of Romania. There his father, Philip, owned a successful grain business—so successful, in fact, that in 1853, shortly after Joseph reached age six, he had accumulated sufficient means to retire.¹ Upon taking account of his holdings and realizing that his wealth would allow for a grand level of comfort and style, he moved the family to Budapest. There they took advantage of the cultural offerings of the city. Young Joseph quickly became a fine student who excelled in languages and literature but also displayed a love of classical music and theatre.²

In addition to the comfort that he found, Joseph Pulitzer also found his early life marked by social and political turmoil. The revolutions of 1848, also known as the Year of Revolution, traumatized over a dozen nations, including Hungary. Pulitzer’s uncles became active in the struggles and continued to support factions fighting for better working conditions, free speech, and a free press. As in many locations, the revolutionaries did not fare well in Hungary. Authorities suppressed the revolution leading to many deaths and exiles. Numerous Hungarians sought refuge in the United States. Although scarcely past infancy at the time of these uprisings, Pulitzer’s association with relatives, and others immersed in the conflict, gave him an understanding of recent history and instilled in him a passion for democratic ideals.³

In 1858, Pulitzer’s father died after a lengthy illness, leaving the family in debt. Pulitzer’s mother would remarry, and the future publisher frequently clashed with his stepfather. In 1864, having reached age seventeen, Pulitzer wished for more adventure than his home provided, so he left his family to forge a new life. He sought a commission in the Austrian army and then the French Foreign Legion, only to have both applications summarily rejected. Using funds provided by recruiters for the Union army, Pulitzer traveled to America where he served in a German-speaking regiment during the latter months of the Civil War. Although Pulitzer possessed prodigious language skills, speaking German, Hungarian, and French, his isolation with German speakers made knowledge of English unnecessary; indeed, he did not study English seriously until after the war.⁴

Following his military service, Pulitzer embarked on a series of Midas-touch endeavors, each one leading to ever more lucrative opportunities. Such menial jobs as shoveling coal on a steamboat and burying the corpses of cholera victims eventually took him to St. Louis. Reporting on life on the river and...