Education and the Middle Class

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) The Growing Pains of Urbanization, 1870-1900 Education and the Middle Class The children of the professional class had possibilities for education and promotion that would establish their middle-class status since they were not required to drop out of school and find employment in order to support their family. Unlike working-class children, whose mothers usually put in the same hard hours as their dads, they also benefited from having stay-at-home moms. During this period, public school attendance skyrocketed, increasing from seven million pupils in 1870 to twenty-one million in 1920. Larger schools, as opposed to the traditional one-room schoolhouses, gradually started hiring distinct teachers for each grade, and some even started hiring instructors with specialized knowledge of a particular topic. During this time, there was also a surge of high schools; from one hundred in 1860 to nearly six thousand by 1900 nationwide. Through the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, the federal government promoted the expansion of higher education. These legislation reserved government cash and public property to establish land-grant universities that catered to middleclass budgets and provided degrees and courses relevant to trade, commerce, industry, and agriculture in addition to the professions. Compared to pricey, private Ivy League universities like Harvard and Yale, which still catered to the privileged, land-grant colleges offered lower-quality education. After Iowa became the first state to adopt the original Morrill Act's provisions, Iowa State University was established. The provision of an inexpensive college education spurred a spike in enrollment, which increased from 50,000 students nationwide in 1870 to over 600,000 students by 1920. Other states quickly followed suit. During this period, college curriculum also evolved. Students began to prioritize becoming ready for the modern workforce above enrolling in traditional liberal arts courses like rhetoric, philosophy, and foreign languages. Professional schools emerged to study business, law, and medicine. To put it briefly, middle-class parents' children received an education that suited to their interests and made sure they could easily establish themselves in the middle class. Urbanization in the late 19th century changed American culture significantly, especially in terms of education and the rise of the middle class. Professional class children were not had to drop out of school in order to support their family, thus they had access to educational possibilities that guaranteed their middle-class position. Their advantage over workingclass children was that their moms stayed at home with them. During this period, public school enrollment soared, rising from seven million students in 1870 to twentyone million in 1920. Traditional one-room schoolhouses were replaced with larger ones with dedicated grade teachers and subject matter experts. High schools proliferated, expanding from a mere hundred in 1860 to almost six thousand throughout the country by 1900. Through the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, the federal government contributed to the advancement of higher education. These laws provided public lands and government funding to create land-grant institutions catering to middle-class students. Land-grant institutions offered more reasonably priced education geared toward useful disciplines like trade, commerce, industry, and agriculture, while Ivy League universities like Harvard and Yale remained elite and costly. Iowa State University was founded as a result of Iowa becoming the first state to put the requirements of the Morrill Act into practice. Enrollment grew significantly as a result of the availability of reasonably priced higher education, rising from 50,000 students in 1870 to over 600,000 by 1920. Several states established such establishments in response to the increasing need for easily available education. During this time, college curricula changed, showing a move away from concentrating only on traditional liberal arts courses and toward training students for the modern workforce. Professional schools arose to provide specialized instruction in areas like law, medicine, and business. To put it simply, children from middle-class families were given an education that catered to their interests, which made it easier for them to move up the social scale and become middle-class members of society.