At the beginning of the 20th century, 90% of the United State's African American population was living in the South, where they were constantly tortured by the infamous Jim Crow laws. Even in blacks were technically equal, Jim Crow reminded them of their socially inferior status via "septerate but equal" segregation of waiting rooms, drinking fountains, windows at the bank and even a seperate Bible...
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries numerous Lebanese people migrated to America and many found homes in Birmingham, Alabama. On arriving, the most common job for the Lebanese men to do was “peddling”, which entailed delivering goods from one place to another by bike. At times, these men would spend days or weeks out on deliveries and the hours were filled with...
Upon moving to Florida in 1884, Henry Nehrling made it his life’s ambition to grow and cultivate rare plants. He created thousands of breeds of flora and set up the foundation for Florida’s thriving nursery program. He was by all means a friend of nature, but more than that he had a vision of the future. The growth of Levittown suburbia hindered this dream, but by no means did it destroy it....
As the nineteenth century drew to a close, American culture was defining itself in further forms than basic survival. Society was struggling with itself in terms of its identity. Aside from social movements of the era such as anti-racism, women’s rights, and labor laws, a major social movement was masculinity. This encompassed the desire for a man to feel as if he was a man, how he viewed himself,...
The 19th and 20th centuries saw a rapid influx of revolutionary ideas and innovations, but very few were as morally frightening as the eugenics movement. Coined in 1883 by Francis Galton, the term “eugenics” became popularized in the 20th century, especially after Galton’s 1901 publication “The Possible Improvement of the Human Breed Under Existing Conditions of Law and Sentiment.” Galton’s...
Can you imagine the United States without gas stations? Almost every main road today is littered with these familiar sights, all with similar architecture and design. It is hard to imagine life without these small stores, both for filling up with gasoline and for grabbing other small items. But it has not always been this way. For people living in the early 1900s, these modern fixtures...
In August 1862, Jennie Hodgers enlisted in the 95th Illinois infantry with the name Albert Cashier. In 1862, a citizen of Illinois said, “they surely must want soldiers badly, if they take that little fellow at the end of the line.” He spoke of Jennie Hodgers who was amongst other recruits. During her time in the army, she fought in a multitude of battles, and she continued to masquerade...
Life in the village was dictated by the back-and-forth pangs of church bell and mill whistle. The mill village of Union Bleachery was home to workers and their families and known for an abounding sense of community. The Bleachery began with 125 workers who would spin up to 100,000 yards of cloth a day.
Imperative to the survival of the community, a tight routine was established and maintained....