Questioning Acts of Commemoration: The Indy 500 and The Military
The Indianapolis 500 is a sporting spectacle dripped in Americana, military supremacy, and milk. For something so integral to the celebration of Memorial Day and the genuine non-combative showing of the American Military, interestingly, the two did not always get along. After the American Civil War was finished in 1865, more than 650,000 American soldiers died in the four-year strife. Due to this everyday people were left to tell the stories, remember, and grapple with the outcome of the war and the people left behind. Rising from the battlefield a group of Indiana Union Veterans founded the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1866. GAR would later become the largest Union Civil War veterans’ fraternal organization in America, generating over 400,000 members nationally by the start of 1890. [1] The group’s mandate was to remember and “gatekeep” the memories of the American Civil War. In doing so GAR declared May 30th as a day of remembrance and in memoriam. This day eventually became Memorial Day in America and could hardly be compared to the festivities and events seen today. Additionally, it should be noted that despite being told this way, the origins of Memorial Day are not clear and the day itself could just be a culmination of events seen throughout the year such as the general decorating of graves and cemeteries or other local and national days of public commemoration.
Despite this, however, the GAR had a very big presence on Memorial Day, especially regarding how the day should be celebrated and the activities allowed to be conducted on the day. Although Memorial Day was originally centred around people observing it “in their own way,” by the beginning of the twentieth century, GAR leaders and local chapters took issue with not only those who participated in “morally grey” things like sports gambling and the copious consumption of alcohol but also those who allowed their business to stay open on the holiday or did things outside the mandate of GAR. Memorial Day was a day “to cherish “the memory of our heroic dead” by “guard[ing] their graves with sacred vigilance.” By taking the time to observe Memorial Day and to remember those who died to save the Union, Americans would maintain the “solemn trust” between living veterans and the dead and perpetuate the memories of the fallen. [2] “ GAR sought to somewhat ritualize Memorial Day and enshrine its values into both American society but also people mindsets towards freedom, patriotism, and the military.
On May 30th, 1911, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was set to hold its inaugural race: the Indianapolis 500. Taking place on Memorial Day the race was set to have record attendance and an even bigger purse for the winner. In the previous two years, smaller races were held on the track but due to taking place on Labour Day weekend, the attendance numbers were lacklustre, and the owners saw a new date, Memorial Day, as a way to bring people to the track. The idea was that the Indy 500 would take place every Memorial Day but have celebrations and preparations take place throughout the entire month. Thus became the “Month of May” in which the track opens on May 1st for practice and familiarization.
That GAR viewed this decision of holding the Indy 500 on Memorial Day as being against their values and disrespecting the holiday. This led to a statewide GAR movement to both boycott and ban the race from taking place. Things were taken a step further in 1925 when Indiana State Senator Robert Moorhead introduced a bill in the state General Assembly calling for a ban of the race on Memorial Day. GAR members supported this through letter-writing campaigns and giving speeches to their communities. This was in support of Moorhead’s bill while also criticizing the races as being “an insult to the memory of United States soldiers who died during the Civil War. [3]” This “misuse” of Memorial Day did not begin with the Indy 500, in 1890 members of the Indiana GAR “complained that too many [people within Indiana] were allegedly using the holiday to engage in frivolous activities on the one day of the calendar reserved for reflection on the legacy of the heroic Union dead. [4] “ It is important to note that none of these “rules” or “conducts” were legally binding but rather “unspoken rules” that were perpetuated by the GAR and its supporters.
Moorhead’s bill did not receive total support from all veterans in the state as many young veterans of World War I and members of the newly formed Legion were against the bill and what it stood for. A 1913 editorial in the Indianapolis Star wrote that the bill and the GAR were “unreasonable” with their protests against the race. The editors wrote that although remembering and decorating the grave of soldiers were important things to do people were more interested in looking towards the future and that those in attendance are “celebrat[ing] the triumph of invention and industry that of itself was made possible by the services of the veterans.” [5] The Star argues that the race could do more good than harm as attendees were spending money and supporting businesses in the state and that “race spectators actually honoured the sacrifices of the Union dead by contributing to the economic success of the city. [6]” Other organizations such as the automobile industry, the Indianapolis Automobile Trade Association, and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce claimed at a joint meeting in late January 1923, that the bill was “an encroachment on the personal liberties of citizens. [7] “
On March 5th, 1923, Governor Warren T. McCray vetoed the Moorhead Memorial Day Bill citing “class legislation” or the idea that this bill disproportionately affected certain groups within society. This decision faced harsh backlash from the GAR and its members. It was seen as an act of betrayal and disrespecting the sacrifices made during the American Civil War. In a speech given by McCray in Muncie to a group of veterans, he said:
“Laws to be respected and observed must also be reasonable and fair. Is it right to single out a certain amusement and deny its right of existence, and at the same time permit other forms of amusement to operate without prejudice? Is there any reason why a circus, a theater, or a moving picture show should be permitted to give exhibitions without violating any law, and yet make it prohibitive under the law to hold a race of any kind?… Is it justice for two to play golf in a tournament [one] for a prize and the other for amusement only and yet one be guilty of law violation under the act and the other not? [8] “
Nicholas W. Sacco wrote the article that informed most of this essay and he concluded it by saying “the establishment of the Indianapolis 500 in 1911 finally ushered in the transformational phase, in which later generations inherited Memorial Day and used the holiday to convey their own interpretations, memories, and rituals onto society’s collective past. [9]” I think that this sentiment is something that both represents and explains the Indy 500 and the festivities that follow it. In Car and Driver magazine’s list “What Makes the Indianapolis 500 So Special,” Caleb Miller wrote that the overt patriotism of the Indy 500 is one of the reasons it is so special. Miller continued by saying:
“Along with “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America,” there is also the singing of “America the Beautiful,” honouring of service members, and two flyovers by the Air Force’s Thunderbirds… Before the race, an Indiana National Guardsman plays “Taps” on the trumpet, and all 325,000 fans-with utmost respect for the race’s rituals-go silent before erupting into cheers as the final note rings across the Speedway. [10] “
In 1911 during the inaugural race of the Indianapolis 500, the Grand Army of the Republic feared that the race would take away from the day and that people would disregard and forget the sacrifices made by those who died in the American Civil War. What happened instead is a long-held tradition of military support. Parades, stories, memories, and thankfulness are all things that make the Indy 500 what it is today. The sheer spectacle of it all is something that could only happen in America, and that in and of itself makes it the perfect event to happen on Memorial Day weekend.
[1] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[2] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[3] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[4] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[5] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[6] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[7] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[8] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[9] Nicholas W. Sacco, “The Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis 500, and the Struggle for Memorial Day in Indiana, 1868–1923,” Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 4 (2015): 349,.
[10] Caleb Miller, “What Makes the Indianapolis 500 so Special,” Car and Driver, June 1, 2022,.
Originally published at http://rebeccasthoughts3.com on May 30, 2023.
