By: Andrew Alston

1. By: Andrew Alston

2. BACK Ground • Thomas Wolfe was born on October 3rd 1900 in Asheville North Carolina. • He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographicalwriting. • He graduated from UNC with a B.A. degree in June 1920. • In 1922, Wolfe received his Master's degree from Harvard

3. Major Works • Look Homeward, Angel, 1929 • Of Time and the River, 1935 • From Death to Morning, 1935, collection of short stories • The Story of a Novel, 1936, autobiographical essay on writing • The Bonfire of the Vanities. Wolfe's first novel, about the downfall of a successful New York financial trader, captures a cultural moment and the public imagination. Illustrating the differences between life on Park Avenueand life in the outer borough projects of New York City during the "greedy 1980s," Wolfe's book is a bestseller and one of the era's defining reflections.

4. Influences • His father died, in Asheville, This was one of the major events that influenced his writing.

5. Historical Background • March 14, 1900 - The Gold Standard Act officially placed the United States on the gold standard. • September 6, 1901 - President William McKinley was shot twice in Buffalo, New York by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition. • February 18, 1908 - Postage stamp coils were issued for the first time by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. • May 18, 1908 - Congress required “In God We Trust” be placed on all coins starting in 1909. • August 2, 1909 -The Lincoln one-cent coin was issued to replace the Indian Head penny. • February 25, 1913 - The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution, authorizing federal income tax, was ratified. • December 23, 1913 - President Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law • November 16, 1914 - The Federal Reserve Banks opened.

6. January 28, 1915 - The U.S. Coast Guard was created by Congress with the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and U.S. Life-Saving Service. • April 24, 1917 - The First Liberty Loan Act authorized the issue of $5 billion worth of bonds at 3.5 percent interest three weeks after the United States declared war on Germany. • April 23, 1918 - The Pittman Silver Coinage Act was approved. • October 28, 1919 - Congress passed the National Prohibition Act, • January 16, 1920 - Prohibition went into effect. • November 14, 1925 - The Debt Funding Agreement between the United States and Italy was signed • March 15, 1938 - The United States Secret Service launched the “Know Your Money” educational campaign in an effort to hurt counterfeiters. • May 17, 1938 - The Bureau of Engraving and Printing occupied the Treasury Annex Building.

7. Questions • When was Thomas Wolfe born and when did he die? • What was one the major influences that influenced Thomas to write? • What was one of Thomas Wolfe’s Major Works? • What is Thomas Wolfe Known For? • In what year did Thomas Wolfe graduate from Harvard?

8. References • http://library.uncwil.edu/wolfe/wolfe.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolfe • http://www.ncwriters.org/services/lhof/inductees/twolfe.htm