Rich and Poor & Those Inbetween

Jessica Barbery Jessica Chilingerian

Austin FauniJoey DhillonKaitlin Lopez

Social Structure

• The standard of living for the average person increased.

• Wages for British workers rose dramatically between 1850 and 1906

• These increases also occurred in continental countries as the industrial movement started to grow.

• Although there were improvements, it didn’t completely eliminate poverty and hardship, wealth and income did not significantly change.

• The community was diverse because the gap between the rich and the poor was very large. - created more social classes, resulting in less unity

• The patterns of inequality has remained the same

The Middle Class• The 20th century urban middle class diversified• At the top was the wealthy business, banking, industrial families

- Lived aristocratic, secular lives - Influenced politics greatly - Wealth could be shown off by the amount of servants they owned or things such as personal carriages and coaches

• The “Middle” Class was the larger subgroup - This class included the successful industrialists, merchants, and

professionals in law and medicine - They were satisfied with their solid amount of wealth

Middle Class cont.

• The Lower Middle Class - This subgroup was made up

of the independent shopkeepers, small traders, and manufacturers

• The expansion of industry and technology also brought in people like engineers, architects, chemists, accountants, nurses, and more into the middle class

Middle Class Culture

• Food was very essential for middle class. They usually held feasts once every week.

• 25% of the income was spent on food and drinks

• Early 1900’s middle class started to rent apartments instead of owning homes, the servants would live with them

• The keys in culture were books, music and travel

• Middle class were united by the expected behavior and mortality

• Knowing right from, self-discipline, and personal achievement

The Working Classes• 4/5 people were in the working class - most were small land owning peasants• There was a range of working class skills, earnings, and

experiences. • Economic development, and increased specialization formed this

distinction• the gap between the manual workers and the highly skilled

workers began to decrease, it was seen in their lifestyles and cultures

• 15% of the working class composed of highly skilled workers became a labor aristocracy

• The highly skilled workers earned twice as much income as the unskilled workers.

The Labor Aristocracy

A School For Servants

• Construction bosses and foremen were the most aristocratic

• Skilled laborers were always under constant pressure

- skilled workers were easily replaced by semi-skilled workers that agreed with lower wages

• Upper working class began to develop better working conditions and behaviors

- committed to family and economic improvement

- lead to the upper class putting money towards children education

Leisure

• Drinking was a favorite leisure-time activity of working people

• As the 19th century progressed, drinking became more public and social as cafes and pubs became increasingly friendly and welcoming

• Also, pubs were used for political activities within the working-class. Sports and music halls were also utilized for leisure

• Bets were placed on popular sports such as racing and soccer

Religion • provided the working people with meaning and purpose • The 19th century symbolized religious revival • However, there was a decline in church attendance in

19th century suggesting a decline in faith and religion • Working class families still had their children baptized so

they could call themselves "Christian" • Religion continued to diminish in the daily life. • Catholic and Protestant churches were seen as

conservative institutions defending social order and customs

• People became anti-church, but not anti-religion