Livin' La Vida 1870-1920.
July 27, 2017 11:38 AM Subscribe
I am interested in the daily lives of average US citizens living 1870-1920. How did they go about their daily lives? What medicine was available? What levels of technology? Etc. I am interested in fashion, gun rights, drug laws, demographic make up, immigration trends and views, etc.
I don't even know how to begin researching this. Hope me?
Note: I am looking for resources, not actual answers to these questions.
I'm not so much interested in typical American history so much as I am interested in how people went about their lives. What were the vices of the day? The popular brands? What did people do for fun without Netflix? What were crime rates? Average life expectancy? Most popular jobs. What social safety nets existed? Religion? Dentistry? What hygiene products were commercially available? How did minority religion, sexual orientations, and race play out in small town USA? Agricultural practices and food diversity? Plumbing? Education? Carnivals, fairs? Overriding concerns (obviously no one cared about climate change/global warming, or nuclear war, so what were the average person's fears?).
Obviously I can see the big events: Who was President, international conflicts, etc., but I am more concerned about small town living. Again, I am interested in primary sources: Books, academic journal articles, websites, etc.
So far I've looked at census data (helpful, but doesn't really track any of the above), Sears catalogs, and some obits. What I really want is a book called "What it was like to be alive in rural America 1870-1920 if you weren't famous or rich."
I'm not concerned with the city centers like New York or Paris unless what happens there influenced the daily lives of Americans at the time.
I am not a historian, so would prefer books/resources for the layman, but I can slog through if need be.
I'm not so much interested in typical American history so much as I am interested in how people went about their lives. What were the vices of the day? The popular brands? What did people do for fun without Netflix? What were crime rates? Average life expectancy? Most popular jobs. What social safety nets existed? Religion? Dentistry? What hygiene products were commercially available? How did minority religion, sexual orientations, and race play out in small town USA? Agricultural practices and food diversity? Plumbing? Education? Carnivals, fairs? Overriding concerns (obviously no one cared about climate change/global warming, or nuclear war, so what were the average person's fears?).
Obviously I can see the big events: Who was President, international conflicts, etc., but I am more concerned about small town living. Again, I am interested in primary sources: Books, academic journal articles, websites, etc.
So far I've looked at census data (helpful, but doesn't really track any of the above), Sears catalogs, and some obits. What I really want is a book called "What it was like to be alive in rural America 1870-1920 if you weren't famous or rich."
I'm not concerned with the city centers like New York or Paris unless what happens there influenced the daily lives of Americans at the time.
I am not a historian, so would prefer books/resources for the layman, but I can slog through if need be.
Hmmm. 1920 was the point when the number of Americans who lived in urban areas surpassed the number of Americans who lived in rural areas, so I'm not sure that I agree with your assumption that "average" Americans were rural. You're talking about the era when that was ceasing to be true. Also, you're aware that New York is America and there were people living there, right?
If you're ok slogging through something pretty academic, I think you might like Robert Wiebe's The Search for Order, which covers this period. It argues that isolated rural communities got sucked into an international political and economic structure that seemed really remote and scary, and this resulted in people turning to the Federal government as the only force powerful enough to impose some sort of control. It's 50 years old, but it's still a total classic. (And because it's a total classic, US history grad students read it for their comprehensive exams, and you can find lots of summaries from people who post their comp. notes, if you want to see if it's worth reading.)
For primary sources, I agree with mudpuppie that old newspapers are a ton of fun. If you're interested in Iowa specifically, you could check out The Iowa Digital Newspaper Project. (The fact that some of those are in German might be interesting in itself, even if you can't read them.) The University of Iowa newspapers are digitized going back to 1868. Other states probably have similar things, which you could google.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:09 PM on July 27, 2017
If you're ok slogging through something pretty academic, I think you might like Robert Wiebe's The Search for Order, which covers this period. It argues that isolated rural communities got sucked into an international political and economic structure that seemed really remote and scary, and this resulted in people turning to the Federal government as the only force powerful enough to impose some sort of control. It's 50 years old, but it's still a total classic. (And because it's a total classic, US history grad students read it for their comprehensive exams, and you can find lots of summaries from people who post their comp. notes, if you want to see if it's worth reading.)
For primary sources, I agree with mudpuppie that old newspapers are a ton of fun. If you're interested in Iowa specifically, you could check out The Iowa Digital Newspaper Project. (The fact that some of those are in German might be interesting in itself, even if you can't read them.) The University of Iowa newspapers are digitized going back to 1868. Other states probably have similar things, which you could google.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:09 PM on July 27, 2017
Nthing old newspapers! They are so fun to read. One thing that stood out to me was the many advertisements for piano lessons. That was a form of home entertainment, and many more people than now belonged to lodges and social groups that needed musicians. Take a look at fultonhistory.com. It's free.
posted by jgirl at 12:11 PM on July 27, 2017
posted by jgirl at 12:11 PM on July 27, 2017
Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1870-1920: How the Second Great Wave of Immigrants Made Their Way in America
I haven't read it, so this isn't a personal recommendation, but the reviews look promising.
posted by FencingGal at 12:16 PM on July 27, 2017
I haven't read it, so this isn't a personal recommendation, but the reviews look promising.
posted by FencingGal at 12:16 PM on July 27, 2017
If you want to get lost in old, mostly small newspapers in New York State try searching for common terms on Old Fulton NY Post Cards and browsing the results.
posted by plastic_animals at 12:19 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by plastic_animals at 12:19 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: > Also, you're aware that New York is America and there were people living there, right?
Right, but I'm not interesting in big city living, so if the population is higher than 3,000 or so it's not going to work for me. New York state, sure, city, not as much (unless the events there had some kind of ripple effect on the rest of the county).
posted by cjorgensen at 12:25 PM on July 27, 2017
Right, but I'm not interesting in big city living, so if the population is higher than 3,000 or so it's not going to work for me. New York state, sure, city, not as much (unless the events there had some kind of ripple effect on the rest of the county).
posted by cjorgensen at 12:25 PM on July 27, 2017
Here's an interesting article on race and brand consumption you might enjoy. Here's the abstract:
Between the Civil War and the 1920s, a consumer culture emerged which attempted
to evade class tension by focusing on contrived racial differences. The vast majority of American-born whites and European immigrants alike embraced the illusion of a classless consumer culture in which opportunity was available to white citizens alone. African Americans were caricatured as being racially unsuited to those citizen privileges in consumption and labor space. Archaeological assemblages from Annapolis, Maryland demonstrate, however, that African- American consumers actively sought the opportunities consumer culture promised and articulated an anti-racist class struggle in consumer space.
Eta: And I just saw you're primarily interested in rural life- sorry! There are some references at the end of this article that I still think may be useful to you.
posted by Mouse Army at 12:31 PM on July 27, 2017
Between the Civil War and the 1920s, a consumer culture emerged which attempted
to evade class tension by focusing on contrived racial differences. The vast majority of American-born whites and European immigrants alike embraced the illusion of a classless consumer culture in which opportunity was available to white citizens alone. African Americans were caricatured as being racially unsuited to those citizen privileges in consumption and labor space. Archaeological assemblages from Annapolis, Maryland demonstrate, however, that African- American consumers actively sought the opportunities consumer culture promised and articulated an anti-racist class struggle in consumer space.
Eta: And I just saw you're primarily interested in rural life- sorry! There are some references at the end of this article that I still think may be useful to you.
posted by Mouse Army at 12:31 PM on July 27, 2017
Also, are you looking for primary sources (that is, things written at the time) or secondary sources (things written later that analyze the time?) You say you want primary sources, but it kind of sounds like you want not-too-academic secondary ones.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:37 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:37 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
My suggestion is travel guides. Here's an eclectic, opinionated, and IIRC frequently racist guide to London, Paris, Georgia, Florida, and California, circa 1891: Abroad and at Home. Here are two others covering Florida in 1869 and 1873. I happened to run across these a while back thanks to a particular interest in Florida, but there ought to be plenty for other places in your timeframe. If I weren't on a phone, it'd be a fun thing to hunt for.
posted by Wobbuffet at 12:56 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Wobbuffet at 12:56 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
You might have more luck finding what you want by looking for "social history," if you're looking for modern books in that realm that touch on your chosen time period.
Primary sources:
There are volumes of Ladies' Home Journal from 1885, 1893, and 1897 on Google Books, a volume of Godey's from 1895, and a number of editions of Good Housekeeping (scroll down for more).
Old etiquette and letter-writer books are an interesting source of information how it was thought things should be done.
(This sort of interest is why I've read so many old cookbooks and continue to do so - I like learning what ingredients were widely available, which were thought to be compatible, what equipment was used, what level of effort was thought to be appropriate to exert, what dishes gained popularity when, who would be expected to do the cooking, etc. etc. etc.)
posted by jocelmeow at 1:00 PM on July 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Primary sources:
There are volumes of Ladies' Home Journal from 1885, 1893, and 1897 on Google Books, a volume of Godey's from 1895, and a number of editions of Good Housekeeping (scroll down for more).
Old etiquette and letter-writer books are an interesting source of information how it was thought things should be done.
(This sort of interest is why I've read so many old cookbooks and continue to do so - I like learning what ingredients were widely available, which were thought to be compatible, what equipment was used, what level of effort was thought to be appropriate to exert, what dishes gained popularity when, who would be expected to do the cooking, etc. etc. etc.)
posted by jocelmeow at 1:00 PM on July 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Social history and cultural history both have elements that line up with your query.
posted by jocelmeow at 1:13 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by jocelmeow at 1:13 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'd start with the Library of Congress collections. This one, Local History and Folklife, contains many collections with first-person accounts.
You can also search "folklife" and history by state. Our state has some online collections, and I ran across some first-person interviews, recordings, etc. a while back. Think it was on one of the university websites. A lot of universities have projects and collections, some online. I even found one of my grandmother's cousin's daily diary online, but that was from the 1960's.
I also have a small ephemera collection, photos, some journals, Christmas cards, letters, etc. I found it at a flea market. As well as an old McCall's magazine, I think from the early 1900's.
Most of the journals I have, it's stuff like, "put up jam today," or "bad ice storm so we didn't go out," and being rural, they were concerned with the weather a lot. One mentions a neighbor hanging himself in the barn, and some big dust storms out west (the Dust Bowl).
I think your best bet is to start with the Library of Congress, then state and university websites.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:15 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
You can also search "folklife" and history by state. Our state has some online collections, and I ran across some first-person interviews, recordings, etc. a while back. Think it was on one of the university websites. A lot of universities have projects and collections, some online. I even found one of my grandmother's cousin's daily diary online, but that was from the 1960's.
I also have a small ephemera collection, photos, some journals, Christmas cards, letters, etc. I found it at a flea market. As well as an old McCall's magazine, I think from the early 1900's.
Most of the journals I have, it's stuff like, "put up jam today," or "bad ice storm so we didn't go out," and being rural, they were concerned with the weather a lot. One mentions a neighbor hanging himself in the barn, and some big dust storms out west (the Dust Bowl).
I think your best bet is to start with the Library of Congress, then state and university websites.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:15 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Your local public library likely has access to various historical databases such as Historic Newspapers, APS (American Periodicals Service), and others. Sometimes you have to go there, other times you can get remote access using your library card. Ask a reference librarian.
Susan Strasser's books Satisfaction Guaranteed and Never Done both record in great detail aspects of everyday life during this era (the latter- mostly for women but not exclusively) and how businesses interacted with consumers in cities and rural areas.
The Library of Congress has a lot of amazing historical material online in their "American Memory" section. Poke around a bit. Smithsonian Museum of American History too. Your state historical society may also have good resources online.
posted by bluedeans at 1:58 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Susan Strasser's books Satisfaction Guaranteed and Never Done both record in great detail aspects of everyday life during this era (the latter- mostly for women but not exclusively) and how businesses interacted with consumers in cities and rural areas.
The Library of Congress has a lot of amazing historical material online in their "American Memory" section. Poke around a bit. Smithsonian Museum of American History too. Your state historical society may also have good resources online.
posted by bluedeans at 1:58 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
In 1970, Time-Life Books published a series called This Fabulous Century, covering 1870-1969. It's definitely not academic, but it does cover a lot of the slice-of-life topics you're interested in. You can find them on Amazon for a couple of dollars per volume. 1870-1900 are together in one volume, and then it's divided by individual decade. I bought an almost-full set at a flea market, and people love browsing through them.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:02 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:02 PM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series is a fictionalized account of her life that begins in the 1870s; the books go into great detail about maintaining a home, attending (and teaching) school, and the homesteading life, including building a log house and living in a dugout house.
posted by epj at 6:45 PM on July 27, 2017
posted by epj at 6:45 PM on July 27, 2017
Victorian America, 1876 to 1913 by Crandall Shifflett looks like it might be relevant to your interests. From the back cover:
Victorian America, 1876 to 1913 investigates America during a period of immense innovation and profound change. Illustrating numerous aspects of American life, both public and private, the book is a kind of mosaic, from which we discover what Americans ate; what they wore; what they did for entertainment; what songs they sang; what games they played; what books they read; who they voted for; what they worried about; how much they earned and how they spent it; what they grew, manufactured, and produced; how they did or did not provide social services; how they celebrated themselves in three World's Fairs; and much, much more.
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 6:53 PM on July 27, 2017
Victorian America, 1876 to 1913 investigates America during a period of immense innovation and profound change. Illustrating numerous aspects of American life, both public and private, the book is a kind of mosaic, from which we discover what Americans ate; what they wore; what they did for entertainment; what songs they sang; what games they played; what books they read; who they voted for; what they worried about; how much they earned and how they spent it; what they grew, manufactured, and produced; how they did or did not provide social services; how they celebrated themselves in three World's Fairs; and much, much more.
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 6:53 PM on July 27, 2017
Seconding the recommendation for Susan Strasser's books, which are good on change colliding with tradition even (especially) when the tradition was not very old. Waste and Want, too.
posted by clew at 9:42 PM on July 27, 2017
posted by clew at 9:42 PM on July 27, 2017
I poked around the Internet Archive a little looking for stuff from your part of the country, and the most interesting things I found were these city directories which coincidentally run from 1866 to 1922. Just picking one at random, 1893 has hundreds of ads relating to topics you mention, in addition to listings of names, occupations, addresses, and renter/owner statuses. Starting on page 64, there's a directory of miscellaneous organizations of general interest (places of amusement, 5 pages of secret societies, 1 page of labor unions, etc.). Starting on page 713, there's a classified business directory.
posted by Wobbuffet at 12:31 AM on July 28, 2017
posted by Wobbuffet at 12:31 AM on July 28, 2017
Sinclair Lewis's novel Babbit (1922) might be of interest, as a depiction of middle-class life in a mid-sized U.S. city. There's a passage in which the titular main character is annoyed with his daughter leaving towels on the bathroom floor or something like that which reminds me of this current AskMe, as an example of a timeless domestic conflict.
posted by XMLicious at 2:32 AM on July 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by XMLicious at 2:32 AM on July 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
In Robert Caro's (greatest biographer imo of all time)LBJ biography "Path to Power" he discusses life in Texas hill country for people living without electricity in the 30s, but would be same for the period you mentioned.
He does this for almost a whole chapter (Part IV: Reaping: Chapter 27-The Sad Irons"). It's an amazing, breathless read.
posted by sandmanwv at 8:10 AM on July 28, 2017
He does this for almost a whole chapter (Part IV: Reaping: Chapter 27-The Sad Irons"). It's an amazing, breathless read.
posted by sandmanwv at 8:10 AM on July 28, 2017
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You say you want a book, so I get that you may want a more curated experience. But you can piece together pretty much everything you want to know by reading small town newspapers.
Chronicling America has a good collection, although I hate their format. Newspapers.com is the most user-friendly, but it's not cheap. You can usually get a free 7- or 14-day trial. In addition, a lot of states now have state-specific online newspaper archives whose holdings have better collections of small and mid-sized towns' newspapers than you'll find anywhere else. They're often run by universities or historical societies. Google [state] "digital newspaper archives" to find the state you're interested in.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:51 AM on July 27, 2017 [5 favorites]