1. Life in the Emerging Urban Society 1848-1900
McKay Chapter 24

2. Homework
Read McKay Chapter 24
Quiz on Chapter 24 Friday!!!

3. Big Picture European Culture 1848-1900
The Conservative victory over the romantic, liberal, socialist, nationalist movements of 1848 did not solve growing problems
Urbanization, Industrialization
Yet by 1900 public health greatly improved, diets improved, life expectancy grew, industrialization spread, the size of the middle class grew, secularization grew, feminism increased, value of science

4. Urban Life during the Early Industrial Revolution

5. Industry and the growth of cities
congestion, filth, and disease existed long before the Industrial Revolution
Cities had higher death rates than birth rates
Industrial Revolution & population growth made urban reform necessary
In Britain, % of population living in cities of 20,000
17 percent in 1801
54 percent in 1891
Housing
Overcrowded, lacked sanitation, no yards
Many people lived in sewage & poo-poo kaa-kaa
Manchester
Over 200 people shared 1 outhouse
Manchester canal, circa 1850
Passage de la Petite Boucherie, Paris

6. Top of rue Champlain, Paris 1858
Industry and the growth of cities
Why the awful conditions?
A lack of transportation
“walking cities”
Lack of sanitary codes
legacy of rural housing also contributed to the problem
Took dirt for granted
Top of rue Champlain, Paris 1858

7. Gustave Doré: London, A Pilgrimage

8. Advent of the Public Health Movement
Edwin Chadwick
British commissioner in charge of poor relief under Poor Law of 1834
Greatly influenced by Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Philosopher who believed in Utilitarianism
Public problems must be dealt with rationally according “greatest good for the greatest number”
Chadwick came to believe that disease and death caused poverty
“Sanitary idea”
believed that cleaning the city would curtail disease
proposed the installation of running water and sewers
New sanitation methods and public health laws adopted all over Europe after 1840s

9. The Bacterial Revolution
Miasmatic theory
Old Belief that disease was caused by bad odors
Louis Pasteur ( )
French chemist who discovered Germ Theory
germs caused disease
major breakthrough
Pasteurization
Organism growth that occurs during fermentation could be eliminated via heat
meant disease could be controlled through vaccines
Robert Koch
Germany doctor identified harmful organisms and their life cycles
vaccines developed
Joseph Lister
developed the concept of sterilization of wounds
Diphtheria, typhoid, typhus, cholera vanished
Mortality rates began to decline rapidly in European countries
Operation using Lister's carbolic spray invented in 1869

10. Improvements in Urban Planning
Better urban planning contributed to improved living conditions
Napoleon III led the way in Paris
Motivated by desire to better lives of citizens, provide employment, glory for himself
Georges Haussmann ( )
Alsatian Urban planner
Demolished entire neighborhoods in Isle de Cite
Transformed Paris during s
Pre 1850 Paris
A “labyrinth of narrow, dark streets, severely overcrowded”
“walking city”
Very high death rates

11. Haussmann’s Paris and Transporation
Paris became a model city
Broad, straight, tree lined boulevards cut through the center of the city
Prevent barricade building
Parks created throughout the city
Sewers improved & aqueducts built
Improved housing (especially for middle class)
Transportation
Horse drawn streetcars came in 1870s
Electric streetcars
Came after 1890
revolutionized urban life and enabled the cities to expand
Cheaper, faster, cleaner, more comfortable
Carried 6.7 billion riders in Euro cities by 1910
The Boulevard Saint-Michel by Jean-François Raffaëlli
-ironically had been a Parisian realist painter and printmaker turned Impressionist
The avenue de l'Opéra as seen by Pissaro

12. Note prominence of bourgeoisie
Enrique Martínez Cubells’ La Puerta del Sol (Sun Gate), Madrid circa 1900
Note prominence of bourgeoisie
Threshold of old world transportation and new

13. Pre Haussman Paris
Post Haussman Paris

14. Rich and poor and those in between

15. Rich and poor and those in between
Social structure
Between about 1850 and 1906, the standard of living for the average person improved substantially
But differences in wealth continued to be enormous
Wealthiest 5% owned 33% of the wealth
society remained stratified in a number of classes
Yet did not split into tow sharply defined groups as Marx had predicted
Diverse social and economic hierarchy emerged
Paris Street; Rainy Day ,1877 by the Gustave Caillebotte
Figures are dressed in the height of contemporary Parisian fashion. She wears a hat, veil, diamond earring, demure brown dress, and a fur lined coat. The man wears a moustache, topcoat, frock coat, top hat, bow tie, starched white shirt …middle class. Yet some working class figures may be seen in the background; a maid in a doorway, the decorator carrying a ladder …

16. Upper Class Wealthy classes
Aristocrats, nobility, lords, large landowners
Power somewhat diminished after 1848
But still held lots of influence (especially in Eastern Europe)
Had many servants
Lived in lavish townhouses during “the season” (winter) and country estates during summer
Arranged marriages
Rose from Titanic
Often married wealthy middle class
Titles for cash
Attended exclusive schools

17. The Middle Classes Upper middle class
composed of successful business families who were attracted to the aristocratic lifestyle (Nouveau Riches), (Cal from Titanic)
Middle middleclass group
contained merchants, lawyers, and doctors--people who were well off but not wealthy
Lower middle class
shopkeepers, small businessmen, and white-collar workers
Experts
engineers, chemists, accountants, teachers
Managers of new department stores

18. Middle-class culture united these sub-classes
Lifestyle and culture united middle classes
Food= largest expense
Favored large dinner parties once a week (Big meat eaters)
“servant keeping classes”
Great # of servants higher status
fashionable dressing, apartment housing, and good education
Books, travel, music, and family important values of “leisure”
Code of expected behavior
stressed hard work, self-discipline, religion, and restraint from vices
Victorian morality
Separate sphere = home
Known for prudishness
Corset, Crinoline dress
"The Corner of the Table, 1904“ by Paul Chabas
Beaver Fur Hat
Swiss, c. 1885–1925.
The desire for beaver fur hats in European men’s fashions dates back centuries and spurred the development of the 17th century North American fur trade. However, it was not until the 1730s that mercury began to be used in the making of beaver top hats. This hat, which dates to the end of the 19th century, still contains small amounts of mercury.

19. Child rearing
Urban improvements and Bacteria Revolution greatly reduced infant mortality
Middle class values centered on the family
Mothers encouraged to love their children
more breastfeeding and less swaddling and abandonment of babies
fathers were urged to help in child rearing
Why?
Birthrate declined
each child became more important and could receive more advantages

20. The working classes Vast majority of people (4 out of 5 by 1900)
had varying lifestyles and little unity
"labor aristocracy"
Highly skilled workers
Factory bosses, construction bosses, cabinet makers, jewelers
Vicarious position because of rapid automation of formerly skilled crafts
considered themselves the leaders of the working class
Adopted middle class values
Committed to family and economic improvement
Valued education, separate spheres
Frowned on heavy drinking, sexual promiscuity
“the path to the brothel leads through the tavern” and from there total ruin

21. The Working Classes Semiskilled workers
Carpenters, bricklayers, and some factory workers
Unskilled workers
factory workers, teamsters, day laborers, rag gatherers
Domestic Servants
mostly female, were a large unskilled subgroup
33% of girl in Britain between 15-20
Drawn to occupation from rural setting because of adventure, marriage prospects
“Sweated industries“
Women who did piece-work from home
Very low wages
Decorated dishes, embroidered linens, did laundry, ironing, sewed clothes

23. Premarital sex and marriage
"Romantic love" encouraged among working classes
economic considerations still strong in middle classes
Premarital sex remained high but
After 1850
Illegitimacy decreased
indicating the growing morality and stability of the working class

24. Leisure Activities of Working Classes
Drinking
favorite leisure activity
"drinking problem” (drunkenness) declined in the late 19th century
influence of middle class and upper working class values
Cafes and pubs became respectable, even for women
Pubs became centers for working class politics
Spectator Sports grew
Soccer, horse racing most popular
Ironically fueled literacy among working classes
Wanted to be able to read racing forms to place bets
“cruel sports” of bullbaiting, etc. declined
Music and Vaudeville Theaters popular
50 in London alone in 1900
Favorite topics included drunkenness, premarital sex, marriage problems, and mothers-in-law
Click for Clip

25. Religion and the Working Classes
Church Attendance declined during late 1800s
Why?
Lack of churches in urban areas
Catholic and Protestant churches viewed as conservative, traditional institutions that upheld the power and position of the ruling elites
Working class were anti-church but not anti religion
Religious organizations linked with an ethnic group (e.g., Irish and Jewish), and not the state, tended to thrive
Middle Class stressed church attendance
St. Peter’s RCC, Stalybridge, Cheshire, UK

26. Post-Impressionist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Prostitution
155 thousand registered in Paris
Middle and upper classes fueled it
Men commonly turned to prostitutes because
marriages were so often made later in life, especially in the middle and upper classes
My Secret Life
Anonymous autobiography of wealthy middle class
Revealed dark side of urban society
Some prostitutes operated in business-like matter
Some Working class girls corrupted by hot meals, baths
For some women was a stage of life, like being domestic servant
Post-Impressionist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

27. The Triumph of Science and Industry
Scientific knowledge began to have growing influence on human thought
Scientific Revolution had not played large role technological breakthroughs
Industrial Revolution and technology great increased scientific inquiry and R&D
Electricity become commercial form of energy after 1890
German chemist revolutionized even fashion with dyes derived from coal coke
Second Industrial Revolution
Burst of technological innovation and industry after 1850
Scientific achievements strengthened faith in progress and gave science unrivaled prestige
German chemist created the first colorfast green dye using copper and arsenic; known as Scheele’s Green in 1814

28. Social science and evolution
Auguste Comte
Father of Sociology
tried to study society scientifically
using data collected by the government to find social laws
Comte argued
The third and final stage of knowledge is that of science, or what he called the "positivist method"
Would allow social scientists to develop a disciplined and harmonic society ruled by science and experts
Theory also shows increase in concept of evolution
Marx’s stages to Communism
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

29. Social science and evolution
Origin of the Species
Theory of evolution
Charles Darwin
English naturlist
5 year cruise to S. America and Pacific
Collected and studied specimens of different animal species
theorized that all life had evolved gradually from a common origin through an unending "struggle for survival" that led to the survival of the fittest by natural selection
Social Darwinists, such as Herbert Spencer, applied Darwin's ideas to human affairs
Fit nicely with Bourgeoisie weltanschauung
Satirical cartoon by Thomas Nast, from Harper's Weekly, August 19, Victorian society was shocked by the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and in 1871 of his Descent of Man, both of which seemed to indicate that man was descended from the apes. Here the artist puts all the dismay into the mouth of the “defrauded” ape.

30. Realism in literature Literature of post 1850 Europe to 1890s
Rejected romantic notions of emotion and free will
Objectively studied & wrote about
everyday life
taboo subjects
Sex, violence, alcoholism, poverty
urban working class
Were strict determinists (Fatalistic)
human actions were caused by unalterable natural laws
Emile Zola
French realist
Carefully researched and observed urban slums, strikes
Count Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace set during Napoleon’s invasion in Russia
Fatalistic theory of history
But central message is love, trust and family are only enduring values