In 1900, the average family had an annual income of $3,000 (in today’s dollars). The family had no indoor plumbing, no phone, and no car. About half of all American children lived in poverty. Most teens did not attend school; instead, they labored in factories or fields.
What did people in 1900 do for fun?
Vaudeville, dance halls, and motion pictures became popular, while new modes of travel allowed Americans to escape to mountain and seaside resorts.
How was the world in 1900?
In its search for raw materials and national prestige, European colonization peaked by 1900, with the exception of the fragmented Spanish Empire. France took possessions in Madagascar and French West Africa, Indochina and the South Pacific.
What was life like for children in the early 1900s?
Since there was no TV or radio, kids had to entertain themselves. Singing around the piano or home organ was great fun. In the city, roller skating and cycling were favorite pastimes for boys and girls.
What was America like in the early 1900s?
Cities During the Progressive Era In the early 1900s, the United States entered a period of peace, prosperity, and progress. In the nation’s growing cities, factory output grew, small businesses flourished, and incomes rose.
What jobs did people have in the 1900s?
As towns and cities grew in 1900, so did the variety of jobs. Men still were major the breadwinners and worked as professionals, public sector workers or as laborers. Only teaching and clerical work were acceptable for women and they earned about half of what men made. Teachers taught only 4-5 months out of the year.
What type of clothing was popular during the 1900s?
Women still wore corsets and long skirts. Men still wore suits. A complete wardrobe included hats and gloves and, for women, often an umbrella. Edwardian fashion was opulent and formal, with expensive fabrics and trimmings.
How hard was life in the 1900s?
In 1900, the average family had an annual income of $3,000 (in today’s dollars). The family had no indoor plumbing, no phone, and no car. About half of all American children lived in poverty. Most teens did not attend school; instead, they labored in factories or fields.
What are the 1900s known for?
The decade saw the widespread application of the internal combustion engine including mass production of the automobile, as well as the introduction of the typewriter. The Wright Flyer performed the first recorded controlled, powered, sustained heavier than air flight on December 17, 1903.
What were inventions in 1900?
The zeppelin invented by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Charles Seeberger redesigned Jesse Reno’s escalator and invented the modern escalator.
What jobs did children have in 1900?
By 1900, states varied considerably in whether they had child labor standards and in their content and degree of enforcement. By then, American children worked in large numbers in mines, glass factories, textiles, agriculture, canneries, home industries, and as newsboys, messengers, bootblacks, and peddlers.
What did teenagers do in the 1900s?
There was no major event, nor was their a major trend, that signifies the teenagers of the 1900s. They simply did as their parents told, and there was not much of a gap in between childhood and adulthood. Many teens were forced to grow up quickly, as can be seen in many of the decades in this century.
What was life like for girls in the 1900s?
If married, they stayed at home to look after the children while their husband worked and brought in a weekly wage. If single, they did work which usually involved some form of service such as working as a waitress, cooking etc. Many young women were simply expected to get married and have children.
What was considered rich in 1900?
As Planet Money puts it, $70,000 in 1900 would mean you’d be super rich with “a mansion, servants, the whole deal.” Meanwhile, that kind of salary would barely guarantee you a home loan today.
Immigrant and working-class females began to be employed outside the home as opportunities in manufacturing and retailing expanded. Educated women made greater advances in both the academic and professional spheres as they joined the ranks of doctors, lawyers, and professors who had previously been all male.
What was 1910 life like?
Like the decade before it, the 1910s were characterized by a slow but steady modernizing trend. American society became more urban. People left rural areas for suburbs. Cities expanded thanks to the ease of travel provided by automobiles, buses, and streetcars.
What was a good salary in 1900?
The Early 20th Century
The average American worker earned approximately $12.98 per week for 59 hours of work in 1900—$674.96 a year. Most workers did not earn that much money.
How long was a work day in the 1900s?
8-Hour
1900–1920 – 8-Hour Day.
What was the most common job in the 1900s?
#1.
The presence of children on farms is not entirely to credit for the number of farmers that made this occupation the most common job in America 100 years ago—in fact, fewer children were working on farms in 1920 than in 1910.
What did little girls wear in the early 1900s?
Children’s fashion in the early 1900s – girls would wear dresses to knee length, that had lace trimmings at the hem, with black shoes or buttoned-up boots and woolen socks. Boys would wear sailor suits, a shirt with a sailor collar and knickerbockers.
What did poor people wear in 19th century?
Poor Victorian men wore a vest, a shirt, a bow tie, coat (sometimes even down to their knees because it was bought from a 3rd or 4th hand shop and they wouldn’t try it on to see if it was the right size for them) pants, trousers, rarely shoes and a cap.