The Rise of Mass Culture at the Turn of the Century Education and Leisure Chapter 13, Section 3, Part B
Jan 15, 2015
The Rise of Mass Culture at the Turn of the Century
Education and LeisureChapter 13, Section 3, Part B
Mass Society
a society whose citizens are characterized by having impersonal relations, a high degree of physical and social mobility, and a trend to conform to external popular norms.
Education
Universal education was a product of the mass society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Before then, education was primarily for the wealthy and upper middle class.
Between 1870 and 1914 most western governments began to set up state-sponsored primary schools. Boys and girls between 6 through12 were required to attend.
The first female colleges were really teacher-
training institutes.
LONDON, 1900
The firms of the Second Industrial Revolution needed skilled, knowledgeable labor.
If they had an elementary education, boys and girls of the working class could aspire to jobs previously not assessable to them. Teaching White-Collar Jobs
The chief motive for public education was political.
Extending the right to vote called for a better-educated public.
Compulsory education created a demand for teachers. most were women since the job appeared to be
an extension of the “natural role” of female nurturing.
The increased education increased literacy (the ability to read).
Where there was universal schooling, by 1900 most adults could read.
Leisure Activities
“Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what we will.”
Worcester, Massachusetts Carpenters’ Union 1889
Year Hours Per Week
1860 66
1890 60
1920 47
Changes in the United States Work Week
More time away from work led to more leisure time.
Amusement Parks Coney Island
Tunnel of Love
Fasion In mid-18th century, a woman
of means wore five or six petticoats under her dress. Her skirt was long so that writers of etiquette books like Emily Thornwell's The Lady's Guide to Perfect Gentility had to provide instructions of how to lift it in a graceful and decorous way when climbing stairs or walking on a muddy street. A woman of the time often wore a corset since it was considered fashionable to have a "wasp" waist.
Bicycling and Roller Skating
Spectator Sports Baseball
Live Performances and Motion Pictures Vaudeville Ragtime The Circus Silent Pictures
Consumerism Department Stores Chain Stores
Five and Dime Stores Mail-Order Catalogs
Increased literacy
helped spread newspapers. In London, millions of copies were sold each day.
Often they were sensationalistic, with gossip and gruesome stories of crime.
Newspapers and Advertisements
Sensationalismsubject matter, language, or style producing or designed to produce startling or thrilling impressions or to excite.
Mass Culture: the culture that is widely circulated by the use of the mass media
Vaudeville