Daily Life in the 1910s

Daily LifeChris WilsonPeriod BMrs. Mone

overviewLife from 1910-1919 is commonly referred to as being in the ending part of Progressive Era. Since this was in the Progressive Era, industrialization boomed, modernizing America and how Americans lived. However, for the second half the decade, numerous foreign countries were pitted against each other bringing upon the first world war. America decided to join the war on April 6th, 1917, three years into it.

PopulationThe population of America in the 1910 census was 92,228,496 which was 21% higher than the 1900 census.New York state had the highest population with 9,113,614 people.

In 1910, there were only 46 states. However, New Mexico and Arizona joined two years later in 1912. 3

JobsIn the 1910s, job became more advanced and more contrasting. There was a boom in industrial factories as well as financial businesses. Big business corporations became very popular during this time and by the end of the decade, it was easy to tell that they were putting an influence on politics and American life in general.

Child Labor

With industrial businesses on the rise, someone needed to fill the extra jobs. This led to hiring more and more children in dangerous places like factories and mines. Children worked grueling hours for only a miniscule amount of money. With only being paid $1.50 for 16 hours of work, about 20% of the children lived in poverty and only 1/3 of all children enrolled in elementary school. It is safe to say children and women had to go through a lot of hardships in the 1910s.

5

Womens suffrage movementWomen fought very hard to give them this right and with the National Womans Party, the 1910s seemed to be a decade of improvement for women politically. In 1919, Congress submitted the 19th Amendment to the states for ratification which would eventually give women more rights and freedoms one year later.

Cars

The sale of cars tripled in size from 1914 to 1916. Ford Motor Company alone sold 730,041 cars in 1916-1917. The Model T changed America for several reasons.One being that it was a low cost and reliable car.Ford introduced the assembly line with the Model T which allowed the company to make mass productions of the car.

Fashion:

WomenFashion had evolved in the 1910s for men and for women.Womens clothes changed the most. In the early part of the decade they wore hobble skirts that touched the ground. However, in the mid 1910s, women began to wear more revealing clothes. Their skirts went to their ankles and it is at this time that the v-neck became popular. (insert top)By the end of the decade, their clothes became straighter and looked more professional. (insert bottom)

MenMens fashion in a way became much more casual. Really only upper class men wore suits with long jackets but that was only to formal occasions. This is the time when blazers become more known to people. Men wore them for sports, such as sailing, or other casual events.

10

Even though the war began on July 28th, 1914, the United States did not enter the war until April 6th, 1917. The war made the lives of Americans very stressful with a draft and having to work even harder to keep the economy afloat. However, people wanted to help. Some examples of war efforts that took place in the United States are the growing of fruits and vegetables at home refraining from buying at the market, buying war bonds and donating money from their work to the army force. 11

life DURING THE WARLife was a little more strict and controlled during this time if you did not support the warThe Espionage and Sedition Acts made sure patriotism and nativism was strong in America.The Espionage Act made it illegal to interfere with the draft, basically forcing someone to go to war.The Sedition Act made it illegal to say or publish anything that was disloyal or profane to anything American, going against our freedom of speech.

prohibition

The call for the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in America was ratified and certified on January 16th, 1919. Prohibition had a negative effect on people during the end of the decade. As soon as it was passed, organized crime increased and made a lot of people have disrespect for their government.

Red SummerThe daily life was also examined more closely with the Red Scare. People could not do anything that they wanted with the fear that someone they knew could be a communist.