Chapter 18 outline
An urban age and a consumer society
Farms and cities
Farms and cities grew together
Farm prices recovered from the great depression.
Entered golden age
Urban expansion increased demand
Immigrant families lived in downtown tenements that had
no electricity or indoor toilets
The city became an attraction for artists, writers, and
reformers.
The muckrakers
Some saw cities as a place for corporate greed to
undermine traditional American values
Muckraking is Writing that exposed corruption and abuses
in politics, business, meatpacking, child labor, and more,
primarily in the first decade of the twentieth century;
included popular books and magazine articles that spurred
public interest in reform
Immigration as a global process
New immigration began in 1890 and peaked during the
progressive era
Europeans entered Ellis Island which is a Reception center
in New York Harbor through which most European
immigrants to America were processed from 1892 to 1954.
Only 2% arrived
Asians and Mexicans immigrated into the west
The immigrant quest for freedom
Immigrants arrived imagining the United States to be the
land of freedom with equality
New immigrated formed close knit ethnic neighborhoods
They got low wages, worked long hours, and were in
dangerous conditions
, Consumer freedom
Cities became the birthplace of a mass consumption
society
department stores, chain stores in urban neighborhoods,
and retail mail-order houses for farmers and small-town
residents
Low wages, the unequal distribution of income, and the
South’s persistent poverty limited the consumer economy
Leisure activity related to mass consumption
The working woman
The new visibility of women in urban public places showed
that gender roles were changing
Jobs only expanded for white women
Working women became a symbol of female emancipation
The desire to participate in new society caused conflict
within immigrant families
The rise of Fordism
Ford Motor company
Ford focused on standardizing output and lowering prices
Fordism- Early twentieth-century term describing the
economic system pioneered by Ford Motor Company
based on high wages and mass consumption
The promise of abundance
The new advertising industry perfected ways of increasing
sales, often by linking goods with the idea of freedom.
Economic abundance resulted in personal fulfillment with
having material things.
Inspired political activism – exclusion from mass
consumption was almost like a denial of rights
An American standard of living
American standard of living- The Progressive-era idea that
American workers were entitled to a wage high enough to
2
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller anyiamgeorge19. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $12.39. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.