Life at the Turn of the 20th Century

Expansion of Education

Public School and Education Statistics 1870 50% of white children attended free public schools Only 2% of all 17-year-olds graduated from high school Few states had mandatory attendance laws Rural students attended only from November to April 20% of the population was illiterate

Public School and Education Statistics 1900 31 states had passed laws requiring children between 8 – 14 years old to attend school 12% of Americans were illiterate 1910 72% of American children attended school 8.6% of 17-year-olds graduated from high school 8% of Americans were illiterate

Higher Education Expands 1880-1900 More than 150 new colleges opened 1890-1910 College enrollment more than doubled 1880’s-90’s Men’s colleges refused to admit female students, but sometimes established separate women’s colleges

Colleges for Women Usually funded by private donors (philanthropists) who wished to give money to good causes. 1865 Vassar College (New York) 1879 Radcliffe College (MA) 1891 Barnard (New York) 1891 Pembroke (Rhode Island)

College & African Americans 1890 Only 160 black students were attending white colleges 1891 Only 30 black women in colleges 1900 34 African American colleges with over 2000 graduates

Booker T. Washington 1856 – 1915 Born into slavery Age 9 went to work in a salt furnace Age 16 worked as a janitor to pay his way through the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute Became a teacher continued

1 Booker T. Washington 1881 became head of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a new black normal school (a school for training teachers) Encouraged African Americans to focus on economic security and vocational skills – instead of political equality with whites 1901 wrote autobiography, Up From Slavery

Booker T. Washington

W.E.B. DuBois Born in Massachusetts Graduated from Fisk University 2 W.E.B. DuBois Born in Massachusetts Graduated from Fisk University 1895 became first black man to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard Taught at Atlanta University until 1910 Rejected Washington’s views continued

2 W.E.B. DuBois Encouraged blacks to seek an advanced education instead of vocational training and to seek political and social equality with whites 1905 helped found the Niagara Movement 1910 Became publications director for NAACP

W.E.B. Du Bois

Entertainment

Live theatrical performances 3 Vaudeville Live theatrical performances Variety shows with magic, music, comedy, and special performers like ventriloquists

Motion pictures became popular after The Great Train Robbery in 1903. Movies 4 Motion pictures became popular after The Great Train Robbery in 1903. Nickelodeons—theaters that charged 5-cent admission—became immensely popular

Theater audience being entertained

CIRCUS Began traveling the country by railroad in 1872 5 CIRCUS Began traveling the country by railroad in 1872 Live shows with acrobatics, animals and sideshows Sometimes called the “Big Top”

The Big Top

1936 Circus

Coney Island - the most famous from the era 6 Amusement Parks Rides like the steeplechase, Ferris wheel and roller coasters led to the growth of amusement parks Coney Island - the most famous from the era

The Steeplechase Coney Island 1906

Ferris Wheel Chicago World’s Fair 1893

Coney Island New York

Boxing, horseracing and baseball were the most popular. Sports 7 Boxing, horseracing and baseball were the most popular. In the late 1800s football began to grow in popularity also.

8 Reading As literacy increased, people began reading more for knowledge and entertainment Newspapers Magazines Comics

Reporting of sensational news to sell papers 9 Yellow Journalism Reporting of sensational news to sell papers Scandals Vices Murders Foreign affairs

Racial Issues

Discrimination Methods of keeping people of different races from obtaining political power or having equality 10

11 Voting Restrictions Methods of keeping African-Americans from exercising their right to vote

A tax charged before a person was allowed to vote 12 Poll Tax A tax charged before a person was allowed to vote Used to keep poor blacks from voting

This allowed poor illiterate whites to vote Grandfather Clause Exempted a person from the voting restrictions of poll taxes and literacy tests if their grandfather had voted This allowed poor illiterate whites to vote 13

Prevented inter-racial marriages 14 Jim Crow Laws Southern laws that required segregation in all public establishments such as restaurants, theaters, parks Prevented inter-racial marriages

15 Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 Supreme Court case that said blacks and whites could be required to use separate facilities as long as they were equal “Separate but equal” clause of the ruling made segregation legal nationwide Blacks were denied civil rights for another 70 years

Usually refers to white violence against blacks by hanging or burning 16 Lynching The murdering of someone suspected or accused of a crime without a proper trial Usually refers to white violence against blacks by hanging or burning

A group of African Americans that called for 17 Niagara Movement A group of African Americans that called for Full civil liberties An end to racial discrimination The recognition of human brotherhood

NAACP 18 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Founded in 1909 to end discrimination, oppose racism and gain civil rights for African-Americans through the court system Had black and white members Still in existence today