SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
TRENDS
Advertising
 Rowland H. Macy = opened one of the first
department stores in N.Y. in 1858 and it became the
largest in America.
 Methods used = advertising, goods organized into
departments, and high quality goods for fair prices.
 New concepts at other stores = money back guarantee,
newspaper advertisements, lower shipping rates,
distinctive logos, and long distance shipping.
Rowland H. Macy
The first Macy’s in New York City
Higher Standard of Living
 Better sanitation and health care allowed for a longer
life expectancy and new products and new technology
cost less.
 Middle class tried to imitate the rich upper class.
 Women began to focus more on clothing styles and
more complicated meals.
 Public transportation allowed families to live outside
of the cities so men became commuters and began
spending more time away from home.
Life in the 1860s
Life in the 1900s

US Govt issued 500,000 patents—
electricity
No refrigeration

Refrigerated railroad cars

No indoor plumbing

Sewer systems and sanitation

Kerosene or wood to heat

Increased productivity made live easier
and comfortable.

Wood stoves to cook with


Horse and buggy
Power stations, electricity for lamps,
fans, printing presses, appliances,
typewriters, etc.

In 1860, most mail from the East Coast
took ten days to reach the Midwest and
three weeks to get to the West Coast.

New York to San Francisco to 10 days
using railroad.

1.5 million telephones in use all over the
country

Western Union Telegraph was sending
thousands of messages daily throughout
the country.

No indoor electric lights


A letter from Europe to a person on the
frontier could take several months to
reach its destination.
Mass Culture
 Newspapers
 Mass Culture- when
household items, food,
preferences are the
same from house to
house in a given place.
 Literature
 Education
Newspapers
 Helped create mass
culture.
 Between 1870-1900
newspapers increased from
600 to more than 1600.
 Joseph Pulitzer- The World
and the Evening World.
 Believed it was his job to
inform people and stir up
controversy.
 Included comics, exposure
of political corruption,
sports and illustrations.
 William Randolph Hearst-
Morning Journal.
Competitor to Joseph
Pulitzer.
 Special interest
newspapers soon began to
spring up in ethnic
neighborhoods as well.
Joseph Pulitzer
William Randolph Hearst
Literature and the Arts
 Literature and art often took the roles of telling the
story of what it was like to live in the time period.
 Horatio Alger = wrote about people who succeeded
by hard work.
 Others wrote/painted about rules of conduct in
society, the slums of the cities, and street life.
Education
 Literacy rate rose to about 90% in 1900.
 More schools being built for children.
 Science, woodworking, drafting, civics, business training,
English.
 John Dewey- new methods of teaching that allowed
students to answer their own questions.
 Higher education institutions became specialized to
train in urban careers.
 Teaching, social work, and nursing were some of the new
careers.
 Led to an advancement in women’s colleges.
New Forms of Entertainment
 Amusement Parks
 Basketball
 “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Annie
 Baseball
Oakley, and Sitting Bull.
 Religious Summer Camps
 Vaudeville Shows
 Movie Theaters
 Variety Shows
 Horse Racing
 Football
 Bicycle Racing
 Boxing
Amusement Parks
 1884= First Roller
Coaster (Lamarcus
Thompson)
 First ride to open at
Coney Island.
 Parks offered a new
getaway for people who
would otherwise go on a
picnic for a daily
adventure.
Outdoor Events
 Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie
Oakley, and Sitting Bull.
Wild West Show
 Included roping, riding,
and shooting.
 Took the show across the
country.
 Religious summer camps
that children and
families could attend.
 New York’s Chautauqua
Lake.
 Families could stay for up
to two weeks at these
camps.
New Entertainment in the City
 Vaudeville shows = Medley of musical drama,
songs and off color comedy.
 Tony Pastor- opened theater in 1881 to offer clean
cut variety shows.
 Motion pictures soon became popular.
 Ragtime music soon became jazz music.
Spectator Sports
 Baseball- National
League 1876.
 Horse racing, bicycle
racing, boxing and
football.
 Boston= Fenway Park.
 James Naismith
 1908- “Take Me Out To
The Ball Game”
 African American
teams emerge in 1900.
invented basketball in
Springfield, Mass. in
1891.