Chapter 23—Mass Society in an “Age of Progress” (1871-1894)
OVERVIEW: Please read the excellent introduction to this unit in Spielvogel, pp 464-465
I.
The Growth of Industrial Prosperity (Second Industrial Revolution)
 First IR had concentrated in areas of textiles, railroads, iron ore, and coal...Second IR focused on steel, chemicals, electricity,
and the internal combustion engine
A.
New Products and New Markets
1.
2.
3.
4.
B.
The Substitution of Steel for Iron...Henry Bessemer...made for lighter, smaller, faster machines and engines, as
well as railways, ships, and armaments
Chemicals...Germans and French...alkalies (textile, soap, & paper industries), dyes, photographic plates and
film, fertilizers
Electricity, the New Source of Energy...powered homes, shops, and industrial enterprises...led to new inventions
[lightbulb—Edison and Swan; telephone—A.G. Bell; radio—Marconi]...illuminated houses, cities, and
factories...used to power streetcars and subways...in factories, conveyor belts, cranes, machine
tools...electricity allowed countries w/o big coal reserves to industrialize
The Internal Combustion Engine...widespread use after developments in refining gas and oil (petroleum)...gave
rise to automobile and airplane...coupled with interchangeable parts (Eli Whitney)  assembly line of
automobiles by Henry Ford
New Patterns in an Industrial Economy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
 in population   demand...faster transportation   in transportation costs   in prices   spending on
consumer products b/c more disposable income...mass marketing leads to stores in which a vast array of
products are offered (department store)
Germany Surpassed Britain as Industrial Superpower of Europe; both lag behind US
The Union of Science and Technology...importance of technical education
The Creation of Two Europes...western Europe more industrialized...central/eastern Europe less industrialized
A World Economy dominated (Exploited by???) by Europeans
  competition for foreign markets for raw materials and markets to buy manufactured goods...New
Imperialism
 protective tariffs at home in most countries to protect domestic markets
 Cartels to stifle competition and potential for cheaper consumer prices
C.
Women and New Job Opportunities
 worked in white-collar low wage jobs (clerks, typists, secretaries, file clerks, sales clerks)...teachers (more needed b/c
of compulsory education laws)...nurses (creation of modern hospital services)...some lower-class women had to still turn
to prostitution to make it (legal but regulated by governments in most European countries)
D.
Organizing the Working Class
1.
2.
3.
4.
II.
Socialist Parties...desire to improve their working and living conditions led many industrial workers to form
political parties and labor unions (German Social Democratic Party...inspired many SDP’s throughout Europe)
A Revision of Marxist Thought...Eduard Bernstein
a.
Evolution, Not Revolution...Marx was wrong on the imminent collapse of capitalism and worsening
conditions of proletariat...discard emphasis on revolutionary socialism...instead work within the
political process to elect own candidates and have them pass legislation to help working classes
(importance of expanding suffrage)...gradualism
b.
The Divisiveness of Nationalism...Marx thought “the working men have no country”...in reality,
socialist parties varied from country to country and remained tied to national concerns and issues
and not to a worldwide struggle
The Role of Trade Unionism...often tied to socialist parties...worked for better wages, benefits, and working
conditions...
The Anarchist Alternative...Michael Bakunin...prominent in less independent and democratic countries...turned
to assassination
The Emergence of Mass Society
A.
Population Growth
1.
2.
3.
B.
Improved Public Sanitation (clean water and better sewage systems); vaccination programs
An Improved Diet (food hygiene)
Increased Emigration (60 million leave Europe b/w 1846-1932) [see 5.26]
Transformation of the Urban Environment [industrialization + pop explosion = urbanization]
1.
2.
The Growth of Cities...many driven to cities by rural unemployment, hunger, physical want; lure of the big city 
jobs, better living conditions
Improving Living Conditions...SYNTHESIS B/W LIBERALISM AND SOCIALISM!
3.
C.
The Social Structure of Mass Society (see 5.35)
1.
2.
3.
D.
a.
Sanitation...water and sewage
b.
Housing...government intervention and codes
Redesigning the Cities...at times at the expense of lower class housing
The Elite (5%): Wealth and Status...blending of aristocracy and new wealthy industrial classes...aristocrats buy
city houses; wealthy industrial class buy country homes [think Howard’s End!]
The Middle Classes (15%): Good Conduct...middle class values  progress, science, hard-work, churchgoers,
propriety in everything [think Howard’s End!]
The Lower Classes (80%): Skilled, Semiskilled, Unskilled...importance of education
The Role of Women [“Woman Question”...reminiscent of Querelles des Femmes]
 gender-defined social roles: legally inferior, economically dependent, largely defined by family and household roles
1.
The Cult of Domesticity...woman glorified in their role as mother and wife
2.
Birth Control... in birthrates [coitus interruptus, abortion, infanticide, abandonment]
3.
The Middle-Class Family...employed servants...women thus have more leisure time and time to care for
children...”togetherness” (Xmas, July 4th)...education of females important so they can be competent mothers
4.
The Working-Class Family...whenever possible, followed middle class customs; if need $ everyone
works...eventually, children viewed as dependents and not wage earners (due to compulsory education laws
and child labor laws)...10 hour workday/Saturday afternoon off
E.
Education and Leisure in An Age of Mass Society
1.
2.
III.
Primary Education for All...”being educated became a state enterprise”
a.
For a More Efficient Work Force...need to be more technical
b.
For a More Intelligent Electorate...because of  suffrage
c.
Means of Social Control (conservatives); a better, richer life (liberals)
d.
A Demand for Teachers
e.
The Increase in Literacy...mass “literature” like newspapers, magazines, and pulp fiction
Mass Leisure...leisure as the opposite of work (what people did for fun after work)
 Leisure time = evenings after work, weekends, vacation
a.
Dance Halls, Amusement Parks (experience technology like Ferris Wheels), and Beaches on the
Weekend (via improved transportation)
b.
Tourism...recreational and relaxing travel
c.
Sports...strictly organized w/ sets of rules...professionalization...primarily for entertainment...becomes
itself a big business...passive mass audiences (well, usually!)
The National State
A.
Political Democracy in Western Europe
1.
2.
3.
B.
British Reform...the growth of political democracy was one of the preoccupations of British politics after 1871,
and its cause was pushed along by the expansion of suffrage...agricultural workers enfranchised...members of
the House of Commons given a salary...gradual reform through parliamentary institutions had become the way
of British political life
France’s Third Republic...Second Empire collapsed after humiliating defeat in Franco-Prussian War...the
Constitution of 1875 created the Third Republic but only after the National Assembly had crushed the Paris
Commune
Italy’s Instability...differences b/w north and south; trouble with the papacy; government corruption widespread
(a problem that still haunts Italy); lost colonial possessions in Africa to Ethiopia
Persistence of the Old Order in Central and Eastern Europe
1.
2.
3.
Germany: Bismarck’s Conservatism...German parliament dominated by the army (considered themselves loyal
to the emperor) and Bismarck (not responsible to the Parliament, but the emperor)...Kulturkampf (“struggle for
civilization”  distrustful of Roman Catholic loyalty to new German state)...tried to minimize socialist gains by
spearheading the most progressive social security system the world had ever seen (sickness, accident, and
disability benefits as well as old-age pensions...financed by compulsory contributions from workers, employers,
and the state)
Austria-Hungary...problem of minorities continued to plague AH
Absolutism in Russia...autocratic rule the norm...revolution fomenting