Chronicling America / LOC Corpus
The Historical Frame Engine
How does an event become a story? Using millions of historical newspaper pages from the Library of Congress, we track headline vocabulary, causal agency, and moralization curves across days, weeks, and decades.
Chronicling America & LOC CorpusApril 14–15, 1912
The Sinking of RMS Titanic
“Within 14 days, the Titanic transformed from an engineering logistical accident into an epic moral morality play—reorganizing around Victorian chivalry, corporate hubris, and class martyrdom.”
Temporal Frame Evolution ScrubberSlice 1 of 5
Dominant Narrative Frame // April 15, 1912 (Morning)
Technological Infallibility & False Salvation
Historical Newspaper Headlines (Chronicling America)
The Evening WorldNew York, NY
“TITANIC'S PASSENGERS TRANSFERRED AT SEA; SHIP TOWED TO HALIFAX”
The Christian Science MonitorBoston, MA
“ALL SAVED FROM TITANIC AFTER COLLISION WITH ICEBERG”
Causal Explanation Assigned: Glancing blow with ice; watertight bulkheads holding safely
Epistemic & Rhetorical Metrics
Moral Language Index10%
Uncertainty Fog90%
Named Protagonists
RMS Titanic (as invincible actor), Capt. Smith