Unit 6: Development of An Industrial United States Part 8: American Educa<on and Culture
Objec&ves: 1. Explain ways in which public educa&on improved in the late 1800s. 2. Describe how newspapers, magazines, and dime novels reflect changes in reading habits. 3. Explain how writers and painters used realism to capture American culture.
I. The Growth of Public Educa<on A. Following the Civil War, industry grew at a rapid pace. To meet the needs of industry, the na<on needed an educated work force.
I. The Growth of Public Educa<on (con t) B. States responded by make educa<onal improvements including: 1. Crea<ng the first kindergarten classes 2. Passing compulsory educa<on laws that required children to arend school, usually through sixth grade. 3. Teaching English to young immigrants 4. Teaching classes about du<es and rights of American ci<zens
I. The Growth of Public Educa<on C. In the 1880s, Catholic immigrants feared public schools taught Protestant teachings. In response, Catholics opened their own parochial, or church-sponsored, schools. (con t)
I. The Growth of Public Educa<on (con t) D. A Typical School Day: 1. Usually lasted from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. 2. Students studied reading, wri<ng, and arithme<c. (Known as the 3 R s) 3. Schools emphasized discipline and obedience.
I. The Growth of Public Educa<on (con t) E. Higher Learning (High School/Colleges) 1. A_er 1870, many ci<es and towns built public high schools. 2. New private colleges for women and men opened. 3. Most public schools had programs to prepare students for jobs in business and industry.
I. The Growth of Public Educa<on (con t) 4. States began to establish their own state universi<es that offered low-cost tui<on. 5. College educa<on opportuni<es for women and minori<es were o_en very limited.
I. The Growth of Public Educa<on (con t) F. Adult and Family Educa<on: 1. In 1874, a Methodist minister opened a summer camp at Lake Chautauqua in New York. Nearly 75,000 people gathered each summer for spiritual guidance and lectures on art, poli<cs, and other subjects. 2. By the early 1900s, the Chautauqua Society was sending out traveling companies to 10,000 American towns every year.
II. A Na<on of Readers A. As educa<on spread, people read more, especially newspapers. 1. The number of newspapers grew drama<cally. 2. Many immigrants learned to read English by reading the newspaper.
II. A Na<on of Readers 3. Joseph Pulitzer created the first modern, masscircula<on newspaper the New York World. Pulitzer was the first to use comic strips, bold scare headlines to draw reader aren<on, and pictures to illustrate stories. The paper had a circula<on that exceeded 1 million copies.
II. A Na<on of Readers (con t) 4. William Randolph Hearst challenged Pulitzer with his paper, the New York Journal. His paper focused on presen<ng gossip, scandals, and crime stories.
II. A Na<on of Readers (con t) 5. Cri<cs coined the term yellow journalism for the sensa<onal repor<ng style of the World and the Journal. People complained there was lirle news and more gossip and scandal. 6. Newspapers published special sec<ons for women readers. Women s topics included fashion, health, social events, and family marers.
II. A Na<on of Readers (con t) 7. A few women worked as reporters. Working under cover, Nellie Bly wrote about cruelty in mental hospitals.
II. A Na<on of Readers (con t) B. Americans also read more books and magazines. 1. Each magazine, such as The Ladies Home Journal and Harper s Monthly, had its special audience. For example, The Ladies Home Journal appealed to women and told stories of famous people. Harper s Monthly featured stories about poli<cs and current events.
II. A Na<on of Readers (con t) 2. Low-priced paperbacks, known as dime novels, offered thrilling adventure stories. Many told about the Wild West. Hora<o Alger wrote more than 100 dime novels about poor boys who became rich. They tried to teach that through hard work even the poorest person could become rich in the United States.
III. American Writers A. By the 1880 s, Americans read more books by American authors than by Bri<sh authors. One group of writers, known as realists, tried to show the harsh side of life as it was. Many realists had experience working as newspaper reporters. Realists wanted to make people aware of the costs of urbaniza<on and industrial growth. Examples included poverty, health care concerns, poor housing condi<ons, etc.
III. American Writers (con t) B. Notable Realist Writers Included: 1. Stephen Crane: Best known for a Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. He also wrote Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, about young city slum dwellers. 2. Jack London: Wrote about the hardships of miners and sailors on the West Coast. 3. Kate Chopin: Wrote short stories about women breaking out of tradi<onal roles.
III. American Writers (con t) 4. Paul Lawrence Dunbar: Was the first African American to make a living as a writer. He wrote poems, such as We Wear the Mask.
III. American Writers (con t) 5. Mark Twain: The most famous and popular author of this period. He used local color to make his stories more realis<c. Local color refers to the speech and habits of a par<cular region. Twain used homespun characters to poke fun at serious issues. He wrote Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
IV. American Realist Painters A. Realists Like writers, many ar3sts sought to capture local color and the rough side of modern life. 1. Winslow Homer During the Civil War, Homer drew scenes of bacles for magazines. Later, he painted realis3c images of the New England coast. 2. Thomas Eakins Learned anatomy and dissected dead bodies to learn to portray the human form accurately. He painted sports scenes and medical opera3ons. 3. Henry Tanner Won fame for pictures of black sharecroppers. 4. James Whistler His use of color and light influenced European ar3sts. 5. Mary CassaC Especially known for her bright, colorful scenes of mothers with their children.