.?*??) ?.?*?)
Post by *~Mrs. Cooper ~* on Dec 29, 2006 0:58:19 GMT -5
1900-1909 - An Optimistic Beginning
The clock strikes midnight. With the turn of a calendar page, a new century begins. From the pioneering spirit of Robert Peary, the first man to stand on the North Pole, to the Wright brothers' success with the first "flying machine" --that was the decade, the century, when anything was possible. The new century began with optimism, confidence, peace and prosperity.
The 1900's was the decade of beginnings. Although less than 150 miles of American roads were paved, the automobile arrived and caught the imagination of the country. The cost of sugar was 4 cents a pound, butter was 24 cents a pound, and a dozen eggs cost 14 cents. The majority of households didn't have bathtubs (1 in 7 homes) or telephones (1 in 13), but that didn't hinder the spread of electricity that began to flow into homes during this decade. Evolving inventions included the telephone, typewriter, and sewing machine. Sear and Roebuck, catering to a mostly rural country, continued building a direct mail empire that would last through the entire century. Indeed, there was no limit to what humanity could accomplish--or so it seemed.
But where light shines brightest, shadows are inevitable. American had its dark side: child labor, scandals, corruption. A woman might have nine children with the hope that two would survive. The major cause of death were diphtheria, typhoid, and malaria. Pneumonia was often fatal. Yet the political, social, and moral problems were not enough to shake American's faith in the inevitability of progress. The new century gave birth to Pentecostalism, the Salvation Amery, and what came to be called the "social gospel"--programs of social reform by those who believed they could bring the Kingdom of God to the social and economic order.
* * *
The Decade at a Glance
The clock strikes midnight. With the turn of a calendar page, a new century begins. From the pioneering spirit of Robert Peary, the first man to stand on the North Pole, to the Wright brothers' success with the first "flying machine" --that was the decade, the century, when anything was possible. The new century began with optimism, confidence, peace and prosperity.
The 1900's was the decade of beginnings. Although less than 150 miles of American roads were paved, the automobile arrived and caught the imagination of the country. The cost of sugar was 4 cents a pound, butter was 24 cents a pound, and a dozen eggs cost 14 cents. The majority of households didn't have bathtubs (1 in 7 homes) or telephones (1 in 13), but that didn't hinder the spread of electricity that began to flow into homes during this decade. Evolving inventions included the telephone, typewriter, and sewing machine. Sear and Roebuck, catering to a mostly rural country, continued building a direct mail empire that would last through the entire century. Indeed, there was no limit to what humanity could accomplish--or so it seemed.
But where light shines brightest, shadows are inevitable. American had its dark side: child labor, scandals, corruption. A woman might have nine children with the hope that two would survive. The major cause of death were diphtheria, typhoid, and malaria. Pneumonia was often fatal. Yet the political, social, and moral problems were not enough to shake American's faith in the inevitability of progress. The new century gave birth to Pentecostalism, the Salvation Amery, and what came to be called the "social gospel"--programs of social reform by those who believed they could bring the Kingdom of God to the social and economic order.
* * *
The Decade at a Glance
1900 Sigmund Fred publishes The Interpretation of Dreams in Germany.
1900 L. Frank Baum writes The Wizard of Oz.
1900 Eastman Kodak starts selling a $1 Brownie camera.
1901 The first electric typewriter goes on sale.
1901 Marconi sends a radio signal across the Atlantic.
1901 President William McKinley is assassinated; Theodore Roosevelt becomes president.
1903 In England, Queen Victoria dies, ending the longest running British monarchy in history.
1903 Wilbur and Orville Wright make flight a reality at Kitty Hawk.
1904 The Great Train Robbery launches the film industry.
1904 Construction begins on the Panama Canal.
1904 New York City opens the first portion of its subway system.
1905 A woman is arrested in New York for smoking in public.
1905 The Yellow Pages are born.
1906 Albert Einstein develops his theory of relativity.
1906 Sears and Roebuck opens the largest business building in the world.
1906 Upton Sinclair writes The Jungle, exposing the meat packing industry.
1907 An earthquake hits San Francisco, killing more than 2,500.
1907 Picasso shocks the world with the painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
1908 The Boy Scouts are founded.
1908 Henry Ford starts selling the Model T for $850 each--available only in black.
1909 William Howard Taft is elected president.
1909 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is organized to fight social injustice toward blacks.
1909 An expedition led by Robert Edwin Peary reaches the North Pole.
