Contents inroduction chapter I. American english as a variant of english

 
2.2 H. L. Mencken as a Philologist 
H. L. Mencken was an American writer and editor who rose to 
prominence in the 1920s. For a time, Mencken was considered one of the most 
astute observers of American life and culture. His prose contained countless 
quotable phrases that entered the national discourse. During his lifetime, the 
Baltimore native was often referred to as the "Baltimore Sage." 
Mencken, often considered a highly controversial figure, was known for 
expressing sharp opinions that were difficult to divide. He commented on 
political issues in a syndicated newspaper column and influenced contemporary 
literature through the popular magazine he co-edited, The American Mercury. 

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Henry Louis Mencken was born on September 12, 1880, in Baltimore, 
Maryland. His grandfather, who emigrated from Germany in the 1840s, 
succeeded in the tobacco business. Mencken's father, Augustus, was also in the 
tobacco business, and young Henry grew up in a comfortable middle-class 
home. 
As a child Mencken was sent to a private school run by a German 
professor. As a teenager, he moved on to a public high school, Baltimore 
Polytechnic Institute, from which he graduated at age 16. His education focused 
on science and mechanics, subjects that prepared him for a career in 
manufacturing. much more into writing and the study of literature. He attributes 
his love of writing to his childhood discovery of Mark Twain, especially 
Twain's classic novel Huckleberry Finn. Mencken became an avid reader and 
aspired to become a writer. 
His father, however, had other ideas. He wanted his son to follow him 
into the tobacco business, and for several years Mencken worked for his father. 
When Mencken was 18 years old, however, his father died, and he took this as a 
chance to fulfill his ambitions. He showed up at the local newspaper, The 
Herald, and asked for a job. At first, he was turned down, but he insisted and 
eventually got a job as a writer for the paper. An energetic and quick learner, 
Mencken quickly became the city editor of the Herald and eventually editor.
9
In 1906 Mencken moved to the Baltimore Sun Hotel, which became his 
professional home for the rest of his life. At the Sun, he was asked to write his 
own column called "The Freelance." As a columnist, Mencken developed a 
style in which he attacked what he considered ignorance and pompousness. 
Much of his writing was aimed at what he considered mediocrity in politics and 
culture, and often contained sharp satire in carefully crafted essays. 
Mencken criticized those he considered hypocrites, including sanctimonious 
religious figures and politicians. When his scathing prose appeared in 
9
A. Betty., Mencken`s Bibliography, 1968

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magazines across the country, he attracted readers who regarded him as an 
honest assessor of American society. 
When World War I broke out, Mencken, who was very proud of his 
German roots and skeptical of the British, seemed to be on the wrong side of 
prevailing American opinion. He was somewhat side-lined during the 
controversy over his loyalty, especially after the United States entered the war, 
but his career rebounded in the 1920s. 
In the summer of 1925, when Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes went on 
trial for teaching the theory of evolution, Mencken travelled to Dayton, 
Tennessee, to cover his case. His reports circulated in newspapers across the 
country. Renowned orator and political activist William Jennings Bryan was 
brought in as a special prosecutor for the case. Mencken cheerfully ridiculed 
him and his fundamentalist followers. 
Mencken's report of the Scopes trial was widely read, and the people of 
the Tennessee town where the trial took place were outraged. On July 17, 1925, 
the New York Times published a dispatch from Dayton, topped with the 
following headlines: "Mencken Epithets, Rose Dayton Rage," "Citizens 
Outraged at Being Called 'Babbitts," "Morons," "Peasants," Billis "and" Yokels 
"and" Talk of Beating Him Up." 
Shortly after the conclusion of the trial, William Jennings Bryan died. 
Mencken, who scolded Bryan during his lifetime, wrote a brutally shocking 
assessment of him. In an essay entitled "In Memoriam: WJB," Mencken 
mercilessly attacked the recently departed Bryan, ruining Bryan's reputation in 
classic Mencken style: "If this guy was sincere, so was P.T. Barnum. In fact, he 
was a charlatan, a charlatan, a fool without reason or dignity." 
Mencken's opinion of Brian seemed to define his role in the America of the 
turbulent twenties. His wild opinions, written in elegant prose, drew fans to him, 

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and his rebellion against what he considered puritanical ignorance inspired 
readers.
10
Running his syndicated newspaper column, Mencken, along with his 
friend George Jean Nathan, held a second and equally demanding job as co-
editor of The American Mercury literary magazine. The magazine published 
short fiction as well as op-ed pieces, and generally published Mencken's articles 
and critiques. The magazine became known for publishing works by major 
American writers of the era, including William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 
Sinclair Lewis and W. B. DuBois. 
The American Mercury was banned in Boston in 1925 when a story in it 
was deemed immoral. Mencken went to Boston and personally sold a copy of 
the issue to one of the censors so that he could be arrested (when a crowd of 
students cheered him on). He was acquitted and widely praised for defending 
press freedom. 
Mencken left the editorial board of the American Mercury in 1933 when 
his political views became more conservative and out of step with progressive 
readers. Mencken expressed open contempt for President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
and endlessly ridiculed and condemned New Deal programs. The eloquent rebel 
of the 1920s turned into a grumpy reactionary as the country suffered during the 
Great Depression.
11
Mencken had always taken a deep interest in the development of 
language, and in 1919 he published American Language, which documented 
how words came to be used by Americans. In the 1930s Mencken returned to 
work on documenting language. He encouraged readers to send him examples 
of words in different regions of the country and undertook this research. 
10
G. Lloyd., Mencken Diaries` Bar Lifted, 1985 
11
C. Richard., H.L. Mencken as a Critic of Poetry, 1950

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