Social Conditions During 1800s

In 19th Century England, living conditions were horrible for the poor. If you didn’t have enough money to stay out of poverty you were heading into a harsh and unforgiving life as a person in the slums. People took poison to escape the horrors that a poor person could easily slip into. Both adults and little children drank gin and beer because of all of the sewage and garbage dumped into the rivers. For the many, many poor people there was often no clean water and people went to the bathroom in ‘bathroom’ privies that everyone in the slums used outside. At least half of the poor children died before their fifth birthday. In contrast, the wealthy could have mansions with servants, grand food, and clean drinking water. On top of all of this,

Everyday Life in Early America was written by David Freeman Hawke, a professor of American History at Lehman College. He was seventy-five years old when he passed away in 1999. Hawke carried multiple degrees from Swarthmore College, University of Wisconsin, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was a highly regarded historical scholar with a talent for writing. Hawke already had several books published by the time he wrote Everyday Life in Early America in 1988. These books include: The Colonial Experience (1966), In the Midst of a Revolution (1961), Paine (1974), and Franklin (1976). His other book, “Benjamin Rush: Revolutionary Gadfy” was a biography nominated for National Book Award in 1972.

The 1920s was known for its prosperous and flamboyant lifestyle. The GDP during that time had risen by 30 percent and unemployment was as at an all-time low of 3 percent. This was not meant to last forever. In fact, it was nearly impossible for this to last any longer than it did due to an imbalance that society was unaware of including that not every citizen was experiencing this uncommon wealth. There were still 3 percent unemployed and even some of the employed members of society did not make enough to support a family and were considered homeless. It was in October of 1929 when this so-called luxurious lifestyle vanished as the stock market crashed at a time when the stock market seemed it would never stop increasing. This caused an economic, downhill, rolling ball effect. Those who took out loans to invest in stocks could not afford to repay the banks causing the banks to fail and close down. When the banks closed down, the depositors of that bank lost their life savings causing them to go broke and some company owners to close their doors. This led to a loss of jobs by the employers of those companies. This time period was known as the Great Depression and rightfully so. It is the most significant setback in the American Economy to date. The Herbert Hoover administration was in effect at this time giving the society an easy target to blame. Come time for the next election in 1932, Americans were ready for a change in authority to bring them out of this seemingly black

During the industrial revolution in Britain, the usage of child labourers dramatically increased as it became a cheap and easy form of labour. This lead to the continued abuse of many children in textile factories. In 1833, the Factory Act of 1833 was put forth which dictated that no children under the age of nine would work. Children ages nine to thirteen wouldn’t work more than nine hours a day and children ages thirteen to eighteen wouldn’t work more than twelve hours a day. In addition it introduced the circulation of four factory inspectors who were to enforce the new legislation. They were to certify whether children had received their compulsory education of two hours each day and report conditions to the government. This act brought forth attention and sparked debates from the public which made stronger note of the working conditions for children.

AAmerica began as a small struggling nation, with each citizen desiring an opportunistic way of life. To achieve this way of life, many changes needed to be made. Different people with distinctive ideas came together, and although there was conflict, they made great changes politically, socially, and economically. Each aspect changed America tremendously in a variety of ways. Analyzing each specific change can determine the extent in which America has changed for better or for worse.

Knox, Dr. Ellis L. "Social History." European Social Structure. Dr. Ellis L. Knox, Boise State, 11 Sept. 2000. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. .

Social, economic, and political changes derived from the Market Revolution in America. This suggests the many changes for better or worse the United States experienced during 1800-1860. The first impact was economic growth from the many types of machinery utilized to produce a product and the increasing number of industries in the North. By implementing factories, brought workers with raw materials out of their homes and shops into centralized location causing rapid mass production utilizing capital machinery and concentrated energy as coal (Adams, 1982). Therefore, new forms of transportation resulted from the steam engine to provide adequate travel by river and railroads, i.e. train, then adding new roads and canals to the improvements allowed

The dictionary defines gilded as "covered thinly in gold leaf or gold paint or wealthy and privileged"; the period between 1870 and 1900 was called the “Gilded Age” because during this era, inventions increased industrial growth, cites expanded, new jobs were becoming available, individuals’ intelligence was increasing, and everyone was becoming wealthier. During this era, one of the most important pieces of our society was created, the telephone. Created by Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone was a new invention that, over the years, increased the industrial growth of the United States of America. Cities in the United States of America began expanding because of the immigrants that were arriving. Immigrants wanted to live in America because

“No country can be well governed unless its citizens as a body keep religiously before their minds that they are the guardians of the law, and that the law officers are only the machinery for its execution, nothing more” (Twain, 1873). The Reconstruction was officially over with the Compromise of 1877 which finally withdrew the last military troops in the South. United States as a nation experienced a variety of significant and drastic changing beginning in that period. Former slaves gained their freedom and this fact permitted them mobility. United States saw a great influx of immigrants that altered their course of history, bringing new traditions and costumes that with time became integrated

“There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (Chopin 129). One can interpret this to mean that parents in the 1800s (and to some extent today) desired a higher marital status for their daughters, so they could be well positioned for a stable life. As discussed in class, social status still exists in modern America which can significantly attract many candidates who want to marry a person for social status but not necessarily for love. These attitudes that continue to dominate America today stem from the aristocratic Old South as a means to achieve control of wealth for the few at the expense of impoverishing the masses.

The late nineteenth century (1875-1900), having just witnessed the long years of Reconstruction, left America in the spirit of change. This ardor led to the creation of new technological advancements such as the remodeled sewing machine but most importantly it changed the way workers wanted to be treated and payed. But during this time, organized labor was unsuccessful in improving the working conditions of laborers due to the abundance of violent attacks and the inability to overcome different backgrounds.

Following World War I in the 1920s was a drastic rise in numerous industries such as, automotive, film, radio, and more. Although there were substantial political and social changes, many Americans continued to dwell in the past discouraging progressive reforms. Essentially, the 1920s was a conservative era where many Americans advocated restrictions on immigration, prohibition on drugs, and support for anti-evolution. A considerable amount of Americans at this time suspected that immigrants were seen undesirable in the country, the immigrants were also to blame for many unfavorable issues, and many did not settle for teaching new concepts. The 1920s were clearly a reactionary movement as many individuals remained in this time period supporting

Social class systems in the nineteenth century were comprised of the upper class, the middle class, the working class, and the underclass. The different social classes can be “distinguished by inequalities in such areas as power, authority, wealth, working and living conditions, life-styles, life-span, education, religion, and culture” (Cody). The poor, also known as peasants, were usually mistreated and segregated from the wealthy, or those of higher class. During his time, Charles Dickens “seen as a champion of “the poor” by some of the poor themselves” (“What was”). It is said that one of his greatest achievements “was to bring the problem of poverty to the attention of his readers through introducing varieties of poor persons into almost all of his novels, and showing the “deserving” majority of the poor, bravely struggling against the forces arrayed against them” (“What was”). This is clearly evident in A Tale of Two Cities. During the nineteenth century Victorian era, social class systems were a common excuse for the division and mistreatment of many individuals, as evidenced in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

There was much change coming to the United States of America. Towns were booming with population and technology was reaching new heights. There were many that could not farm or produce agriculture anymore due to the poor soil. Women were not being educated, but were expected to make money. Many women were leaving the rural areas to go to the urban areas to work in the textile mills. Thousands were going to Lowell, Massachusetts, which was the epicenter for mills during the 1820s to the 1860s.

Some of the Social conditions during the 1800’s that made a big difference around this time and that made Harriet Beecher the women that she was and how it helped her to shaper her believes thanks to his father Lyam Beecher and her family. Her Father gave her a lot of her examples and she believes too due to the close relationship they have to the church. She was devastated when the dead of her brother came around, but it counterstrike her by influencing her and giving her more power to wanting to change America. Harriet Beecher was a major slave abolitionist and she wanted to make a change for the better by influencing the American people with her books.