SOCIAL AND CULTURAL TRENDS

AdvertisingRowland 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.

The first Macy’s in New York City

Rowland H. Macy

Higher Standard of LivingBetter 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.

No indoor electric lights

No refrigeration

No indoor plumbing

Kerosene or wood to heat

Wood stoves to cook with

Horse and buggy

In 1860, most mail from the East Coast took ten days to reach the Midwest and three weeks to get to the West Coast.

A letter from Europe to a person on the frontier could take several months to reach its destination.

US Govt issued 500,000 patents—electricity

Refrigerated railroad cars

Sewer systems and sanitation

Increased productivity made live easier and comfortable.

Power stations, electricity for lamps, fans, printing presses, appliances, typewriters, etc.

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.

Life in the 1860s Life in the 1900s

Mass Culture

Mass Culture- when household items, food, preferences are the same from house to house in a given place.

Newspapers

Literature

Education

NewspapersHelped 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 ArtsLiterature 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.

EducationLiteracy 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 EntertainmentAmusement Parks

“Buffalo Bill” Cody, Annie Oakley, and Sitting Bull.

Religious Summer Camps

Vaudeville Shows

Movie Theaters

Variety Shows

Basketball

Baseball

Horse Racing

Football

Bicycle Racing

Boxing

Amusement Parks1884= 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 EventsBuffalo 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 CityVaudeville 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 SportsBaseball- National

League 1876.

Boston= Fenway Park.

1908- “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”

African American teams emerge in 1900.

Horse racing, bicycle racing, boxing and football.

James Naismith invented basketball in Springfield, Mass. in 1891.