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Life at the turn of the 20th century
By: Connor U., Alex K., Ian W. Starting in 1890 and going into the early 1900s, the 20th century brought many changes to our nation. Major events in this time were based off of segregation, education, and equal rights. -
Public Education Reforms
In 1895 laws were passed that required 12 to 16 week of school annually for kids ages 8-14. High schools expanded what they taught, including science, social studies, civics, and courses for work. Immigrants were encouraged to attend school, but African Americans weren't encouraged. in 1900, only 4,000 African Americans attended school out of 4 million, and, in 1910, only 3% of eligible African Americans attended school. -
Labor Unions
At the turn of the century, labor unions became more popular. People thought that their labor was worth more than what they were being paid, and that they deserved better working conditions, so they began to strike. The northerner didn't like blacks being part of the labor unions. Blacks were often fired before whites -
Plessy vs Ferguson
Homer Plessy vs Judge Ferguson was a case disputing segregation of blacks. Plessy, a 7/8 European 1/8 African man, was arrested for sitting in a "whites only" train car. Louisiana passed the separate car act in 1890 to have separate train cars for whites and blacks. After being arrested Plessy believed that it violated the 14th amendment which gives every U.S. born citizen to have the same rights. The court argued that Louisiana had the rights of the train car and could arrest him if needed. -
Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow laws were enacted to separate any blacks and whites in public locations in the southern states. For example, drinking fountains, restaurants, public restrooms, etc. These laws lasted until the 1950s when the civil rights movement was starting. With these laws in place many African Americans moved to the northern cities, which then caused an expansion of the laws to limit blacks in the north. During this era the KKK was a popular group and would terrorize the black communities. -
Industrial Development Changes Schools
At the turn of the century only 2.3% of young people went to college. With a need for newer technology the United States educational needs changed. Research universities were built for physical sciences, psychology, and modern language. Also professional schools that practiced law and medicine were built. In the 1900's only 4 thousand African Americans out of 9 million were enrolled in college.
