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Chapter 24-2

Chapter 24-2. Late 19 th Century Social Structure. Second ½ of 19 th Century. Increase in the standard of living Still big gap between working class and wealthy “Golden Age of the Middle Class” In England 1820-1850 Wages and consumption increased by 50%.

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Chapter 24-2

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  1. Chapter 24-2 Late 19th Century Social Structure

  2. Second ½ of 19th Century • Increase in the standard of living • Still big gap between working class and wealthy • “Golden Age of the Middle Class” • In England 1820-1850 Wages and consumption increased by 50%

  3. Growing demand for experts with specialized knowledge • New Professionals: Engineers, architects, chemists, accountants, surveyors • Managers of large public and private institutions • Expansion and diversification of the lower middle class: • Increase of white-collar employees: Salesmen, bookkeepers, store managers, clerks • Increase in independent property-owning shopkeepers

  4. Society more diversified but less unified The Middle Class Western Europe: 15-12% of population Eastern Europe less • Only 2% in Russia • Nobles dominated business

  5. Upper Middle Class • Bankers • Industrial leaders • Top government officials • Large scale commerce • Employed several servants

  6. Upper Middle Class • Smaller businessmen • Professionals • Merchants • Doctors • Lawyers • Civil servants • Employed at least one sercant: cook or maid

  7. Lower Middle Class: Petite Bourgeoisie • Independent shopkeepers • Small merchants • Store managers • Minor civil servants • Teachers • Clerks • Some master craftsmen (like goldsmiths)

  8. Lower Middle Class continued • Grew from about 7% of population to 20% in 1900 • Women: department store clerks, stenographers, secretaries, waitresses, nurses • Women held more than ½ of post office and government clerk jobs in 1911

  9. Characteristics of the Middle Class: • Believed in classical Liberalism • Sought protection of property in constitutional assemblies (British Parliament, French Chamber of Deputies) • Gained political influence with increased property ownership (linked to voting rights)

  10. Characteristics of Middle Class continued • Emphasized individual liberty and respectability based on economic success • Clearest goal: Expanding the family’s fortune was the way to respectability • The family was the foundation of the social order

  11. Characteristics of the Middle Classcontinued • Education and religion extremely important • Evangelical Protestantism especially in Eng;and, Netherlands, some German States • Catholicism in France • Strong feelings of nationalism

  12. Working Class continued • Highly Skilled: (15% of pop) Labor Aristocracy • Construction bosses, foremen, highly skilled craftsmen • Semi-skilled: • Carpenters, bricklayers, successful factory workers • Unskilled and domestic servants • (most women)

  13. The Working Class: • 80 % of population • Many were peasants and hired hands (especially in Eastern Europe) • Less unified and homogenous than Middle Class • Highly Skilled • Semi-skilled • Unskilled

  14. Working Class continued • By 1900 over ½ of all working women in England were domestic servants • 1874 Children 14% of all textile factory workers

  15. The Family • By 1850 Romantic love became the most important reason for marriage • Rising standard of living, better economy = younger marriages • BUT economic status was still important • Also...remember respectability…

  16. The Family continued • Middle Class females monitored closely by parents • Chastity was paramount • Middle Class boys …not so much

  17. The Family continued • Rate of illegitimacy decreased after 1850 • Premarital sex still common but couples “in trouble” tended to marry • Middle Class emphasized fidelity in marriage • HOWEVER most of the customers of prostitutes were middle and upper class men

  18. The Family continued • After 1850 increasingly distince gender roles • Husbands were the primary wage-earners • Wife dominated the home • Child-rearing became more child-centered • Middle Class women began to resist their second-class status • Demand for education, employment, laws

  19. Middle Class Child-Rearing • Lower mortality rates for children = parents more emotionally involved • Mothers increasingly breastfed their own infants • Lower rate of illegitimacy • Fewer children abandoned to foundling hospitals • Decrease in number of children in families

  20. Middle Class Child-Rearing continued • Increase in the number of books published on child-rearing • Middle Class parents intent on improving the economic and social condition of children

  21. Working Class Child-Rearing • Working class children did not remain economically dependent on their families • Boys and girls went to work after adolescence • Broke from families when emotional ties became oppressive (all unlike middle class) • In 20th century middle-class youth will follow above pattern

  22. Life in the fin de siecle 1895-1914 Belle Epoque (The Good Old Days) • Increased standard of living in all industrial countries • But better living conditions in Northern Europe (Britain, France, Germany) than Southern or Eastern Europe

  23. Life at the end of the Century continued • Gradually people enjoyed higher wages and lower prices for food • Britain 1850-1900 wages almost doubled • More money spent on clothing • Meat consumption increased dramatically • Increased money and increased leisure time

  24. Increased Consumption • Sports: increased # of spectators and participants • Increase in sports clubs • Soccer (football), rugby, bicycle and auto races, track and field • 1890’s: huge bicycle craze

  25. Women and Sports • Increasing numbers of women active in sports clubs and bicycling • Gradually women abandoned their restrictive slothing for dresses that allowed for more movement

  26. Sports continued • The emergence of the sports culture mirrored the growth of aggressive nationalism in the late 19th century • Some Social Darwinists believed that sports conpetition confirmed the superiority of certain racial groups

  27. Other Leisure Activities • Increased patronage of cafes and taverns in cities and towns • Department Stores mainly frequented by the middle class • Paris: dance halls, concerts, plays

  28. New Inventions • Telephone • Automobile • Gramophone • Radio • Motion Pictures

  29. Education • The State’s role in education increased = more secularization of society • Decreased the influence of organized religion • Increased the emphasis of loyality and service to the state

  30. Education continued • England: all children 5-12 required to attend primary school: Free • France: The Ferry Laws required children 3-13 to attend primary schools: Free

  31. Increased Literacy • Men had higher rates than women • Urbanites more literate than rural folks • Northern and Western Europe more literate than Southern and Eastern • 1900: Germany 99%...Russia 25% • Girls less access to higher ed than boys • Families had to pay • BUT could improve marriage prospects

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