LIFE AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN AMERICA SCIENCE AND URBAN LIFE • By the turn of the 20th century, four out of ten Americans lived in cities • In response to urbanization, technological advances began to meet communication, transportation, and space demands Artist Annie Bandez SKYSCRAPERS • Skyscrapers emerged after two critical inventions: – elevators – steel skeletons that bear weight • Famous examples include; Daniel Burnham’s Flatiron Building in NYC, Louis Sullivan’s Wainwright Building in St. Louis • What was special about the skyscraper? • IT solved the issue of how to best use limited and expensive space Flatiron Building - 1902 Another view of Burnham’s Flatiron Building ELECTRIC TRANSIT • Changes in transportation allowed cities to spread outward • By the turn of the century, intricate networks of electric streetcars – also called trolley cars –ran from outlying neighborhoods to downtown offices & stores “EL’S” AND SUBWAYS • A few large cities moved their streetcars far above street level, creating elevated or “el” trains • Other cities built subways by moving their rail lines underground BRIDGES & PARKS • Steel-cable suspension bridges, like the Brooklyn Bridge, also brought cities’ sections closer • Some urban planners sought to include landscaped areas & parks • Frederick Law Olmsted was instrumental in drawing up plans for Central park, NYC Central Park is an oasis among Manhattan’s skyscrapers CITY PLANNING: CHICAGO • Daniel Burnham oversaw the transformation of Chicago’s lakefront from swampy wasteland to elegant parks strung along Lake Michigan • Today Chicago’s lakefront is one of the most beautiful shorelines in North America NEW TECHNOLOGIES • New developments in communication brought the nation closer • Advances in printing, aviation, and photography helped speed the transfer of information A REVOLUTION IN PRINTING • By 1890, the literacy rate in the U.S. was nearly 90% • American mills began to produce huge quantities of cheap paper from wood pulp • Electrical web-perfecting presses printed on both sides of paper at the same time • Faster production and lower costs made newspapers and magazines more affordable (most papers sold for 1 cent) AIRPLANES • • • • • In the early 20th century, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, experimented with engines and aircrafts They commissioned a fourcylinder internal combustion engine, chose a propeller, and built a biplane On December 17, 1903 they flew their plane for 12 seconds covering 120 feet Within two years the brothers were making 30 minute flights By 1920, the U.S. was using airmail flights regularly Actual photo of Wright Brother’s first flight 12/17/03 Section 1 Discussion Q’s 1. What was the determining factor that enabled the Wright brothers to achieve flight, while their predecessors failed? 2. What does the quote “the world became a smaller place” mean in regards to flight? The Wright Brothers Epic Rap Battles: Wright Brothers v. Mario Brothers PHOTOGRAPHY EXPLOSION 1888 Kodak • Before 1880, photography was a professional activity • Subjects could not move and the film had to be developed immediately • George Eastman invented lighter weight equipment and more versatile film • In 1888, Eastman introduced his Kodak Camera (portable) • The $25 camera came with 100-picture roll of film – Send it to Eastman’s factory for 10 bucks to have it developed. Connector • How has photography changed since 1888 to now? Has their been recent transformations in photography? GO PRO Anderson Cooper 60 Minutes Saturday Connector • Do you believe our education system meets the needs of all students today (locally GP & nationally)? Why or why not? Just the facts Ma’am • Our nation’s education assessment is largely derived from graduation rate. Every year, only 68 percent of American high school seniors earn their diploma. We’re ranked 17th in education (Finland, SK, Singapore) – Teaching for future, High Teacher Pay, Value of Ed by parents, better data on great schools. • Roughly half of the students who enter a 4-year school will receive a bachelor’s degree within 6 years. • If the 1.3 million dropouts from the Class of 2010 had graduated, the nation would have seen $337 billion more in earnings over the course of the students’ lifetimes. SECTION 2: EXPANDING PUBLIC EDUCATION • Why are we learning this? Goals? 1.Analyze the expansion of public education at the turn of the 20th century 2.Describe the growth of higher education? -We must ask ourselves a question? Is public education improve life for all Americans? SECTION 2: EXPANDING PUBLIC EDUCATION • Between 1865 and 1895, states passed laws requiring 12 to 16 weeks of annual education for students ages 8-14 – but the curriculum was poor – Teachers were usually not qualified. Why? – No teacher colleges, standards, ideal ology, etc. • However, the number of kindergartens expanded from 200 in 1880 to 3,000 in 1900 HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT SOARS • High schools expanded their curriculum to include science, civics and social studies • By 1900 500,000 teenagers were enrolled in high schools Elroy High School Photo 1906 RACIAL DISCRIMINATION • African Americans were mostly excluded from secondary education – (just private B.Sc.) • In 1890 less than 1% attended HS • By 1910 that figured had reached only 3% • Why? African American school in the south about 1920 – No encouragement from gov, discrimination from white schools, private $ EDUCATION FOR IMMIGRANTS • Unlike African Americans, immigrants were encouraged to go to school • Most immigrants sent their children to public schools • Also, thousands of adult immigrants attended night schools to learn English EXPANDING HIGHER ED • In 1900, less than 3% of America’s youth attended college • Between 1880 and 1920 college enrollments more than quadrupled • Professional schools were established for law and medicine AFRICAN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES FORMED • After the Civil War, thousands of African Americans pursued higher education despite being excluded from white institutions • Blacks founded Howard, Fisk, and Tuskegee Universities (founded by Booker T. Washington) • W.E.B. Dubois founded the Niagara Movement, which sought liberal arts educations for all blacks W.E.B. Dubois Discussion Questions 1. What did Du Bois accomplish at Harvard? What adversities did he face while there? 2. What did the Case Study “The Philadelphia Negro” analyze? 3. What makes Du Bois’ body of work unique? Who is W.E.B. Du Bois? 11/25 Connector • What do you know about the “Jim Crow” laws in the South (dates from late 1800’s all the way up to the 1960’s)? • Have you ever felt discriminated against based on the following factors: race, gender, age? • Prejudice is a negative attitude towards an individual based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group. – For example, a person may hold prejudiced views towards a certain race or gender etc. (e.g. sexist, racist). • Discrimination is the behavior or actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of people, especially on the basis of sex/race/social class, etc. SECTION 3: SEGREGATION AND DISCRIMINATION • By the turn of the 20th century, Southern States had adopted a broad system of legal discrimination • Blacks had to deal with voting restrictions, Jim Crow laws, Supreme Court set-backs, and physical violence WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION? • Discrimination involves: • Beliefs : "This group of people is inferior because" • Emotions : "I hate this group of people." • Actions : "I will deny opportunity/hurt/kill members of this group." VOTING RESTRICTIONS • All Southern states imposed new voting restrictions and denied legal equality to African Americans • Some states limited the vote to those who could read, other states had a poll tax which had to be paid prior to voting JIM CROW LAWS • Southern states passed segregation laws to separate white and black people in public and private facilities • These laws came to be known as “Jim Crow Laws”, named after an old minstrel song – Musicals where whites painted their faces black impersonating African-Americans (stereotypical) • Racial segregation was put into effect in schools, hospitals, parks, and transportation systems throughout the South Jim Crow Discussion Questions 1. After you saw the Jim Crow minstrel, how did that make you feel? 2. What two ways could African-Americans use to change America? Quick/Slow process? Plessey v. Ferguson & “Separate but Equal” PLESSY v. FERGUSON • Eventually a legal case reached the U.S. Supreme Court to test the constitutionality of segregation • In 1896, in Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of races was legal and did not violate the 14th Amendment – Addresses citizenship, equal protection, due process for all RACE RELATIONS - 1900 • Blacks faced legal discrimination as well as informal rules and customs • Meant to humiliate these “rules” included; – whites never shaking the hand of an African Americans – blacks had to yield the sidewalk to whites – blacks also had to remove their hats in the presence of whites VIOLENCE • African Americans who did not follow the racial etiquette could face severe punishment or death • Between 1882-1892, more than 1,400 black men and women were shot, burned, or lynched – KKK was around in 1870’s but died out. Did not come back until 1920’s. • Lynching peaked in the 1880s and 90s but continued well into the 20th century MAJOR AREAS OF LYNCHING DISCRIMINATION IN THE NORTH • While most African Americans lived in the segregated South, many blacks had migrated to the North in hopes of better jobs & equality • However, the North had its own brand of racism as blacks got low paying jobs and lived in segregated neighborhoods DISCRIMINATION IN THE WEST • Discrimination in the west was most often directed against Mexican and Asian immigrants • Mexicans were often forced in Debt Peonage – a system of forced labor due to debt • Asians were increasingly excluded from mainstream society Anti-Asian Cartoon SECTION 4: DAWN OF A MASS CULTURE • Many middle class Americans fought off city congestion and dull industrial work by: – enjoying amusement parks, bicycling, tennis and spectator sports • American leisure was developing into a multimillion dollar industry AMUSEMENT PARKS Coney Island was America’s most famous amusement park in the late 19th century • Built to meet the recreational needs of city dwellers • NYC – Coney Island • Constructed: Outskirts of cities • Provided: Entertainment, picnic grounds, distraction from life. We want to be entertained! BICYCLING/Coca-Cola, Hersheys • After the introduction of the “safety bike” in 1885, Americans increasingly enjoyed biking • Safety bike allowed women to travel without a chaperone. • “It has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.” – Susan B. Anthony (Suffragist) On the right is the “safety bike” – much easier and safer to ride SPECTATOR SPORTS 1897 Baseball team picture Kansas State University • Americans not only participated in new sports, but became avid fans of spectator sports • Baseball and Boxing became profitable businesses • Mark Twain called baseball, “the very symbol of the booming 19th century” NEWSPAPERS • Mass-production printing techniques led to the publication of millions of books, magazines, and newspapers – Large Sunday papers • Publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst competition led to more and more sensational newspaper reporting. What sells? – Comics, Sports, – Six, Sex, Sensation, Scandals Hearst (above) and Pulitzer initiated what was known as “Yellow Journalism” (Exaggerating reporting to sell papers) Characteristics of Yellow Journalism included huge, sensational, exaggerated headlines Some contend that Hearst and Pulitzer’s Yellow Journalism was responsible for the SpanishAmerican War in 1898 PROMOTING FINE ARTS This portrait was done by Robert Henri, who led the Ashcan School • By 1900, free circulating Public libraries numbered in the thousands • By 1900, most major cities had art galleries • In the early 20th century, the Ashcan School of American Art painted urban life ASHCAN SCHOOL Title: Dempsey and Firpo, 1924 Artist: George Wesley Bellows ASHCAN SCHOOL Unsigned work, 1930 POPULAR FICTION • “Dime” novels were popular & inexpensive • Most of these focused on adventure tales and heroes of the west • Some readers preferred a more realistic portrayal from authors Mark Twain, Jack London, and Willa Cather GROWING CONSUMERISM • The turn of the century witnessed the beginnings of the shopping center, department and chain stores, and the birth of modern advertising THE DEPARTMENT STORE • Marshall Field of Chicago brought the first department store to America • Field’s motto was “Give the lady what she wants” – Several floors for specialized departments • Field also pioneered the “bargain basement” concept – Less expensive, but reliable Marshall Fields has been around for almost 150 years CHAIN STORES • In the 1870s, F.W. Woolworth - low prices – offered an item at a low price, “the consumer would purchase it on the spur of the moment” • By 1911, the Woolworth chain had 596 stores and sold $1,000,000 per week CATALOGS AND RFD • Montgomery Ward and Sears were two pioneers in catalog sales • By 1910, 10 million Americans shopped by mail • In 1896 the Post Office introduced a rural free delivery (RFD) system that brought packages directly to every home