He won several awards for his work in the theater, including the National Institute of Arts and Letters medal in 1941 for distinguished service in the field of drama. He also became widely recognized for his involvement with Hollywood screenplays and his journalistic writing, especially for
Life and
Vanity Fair, and he was conferred honorary doctorates by Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Yale University, and Bishop's University in Quebec, Canada.
As with many writers of the period between the world wars, Sherwood's commitment to social reform emerged chiefly from the neurosis accompanying World War I, the Great Depression of 1929, which exposed the flaws of capitalism that remained concealed under the veneer of industrialization, urbanization, and the illusion of prosperity, and the rise of fascism in Europe by the end of the 1930s that made the reality of another war imminent. Additionally, his personal experience in the war as a member of the Canadian Black Watch, during which he was both gassed and severely wounded, prompted him to raise his voice against all wars. Haunted by horrifying memories of the physical discomfort and wastefulness that war induced, Sherwood wished to see a peaceful, happy, and egalitarian society--one that imparted justice to all and respected human dignity, freedom, and personal integrity.
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