American History question

[Scotty]

I'm not sure exactly why, but my father is trying to find info on what American life was like 50 and 100 years ago. Things like statistics (lifespan, salary, etc) and descriptions of life in general.

Does anyone know of any websites where I might find this kind of information?

[djwalker]

I'm not sure exactly why, but my father is trying to find info on what American life was like 50 and 100 years ago. Things like statistics (lifespan, salary, etc) and descriptions of life in general.

Does anyone know of any websites where I might find this kind of information?
PBS has done two specials where people voluntarily lived like people did in frontier and colonial days. They were then judged by history experts as to whether they would have lived or died, based on how well they grew food, made shelter, etc.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/

I've seen Frontier House and it was pretty compelling.

[Iceblink]

I'm not sure exactly why, but my father is trying to find info on what American life was like 50 and 100 years ago. Things like statistics (lifespan, salary, etc) and descriptions of life in general.

Does anyone know of any websites where I might find this kind of information?

Can't vouch for the validity of the information, but here's some stuff:

http://www.rfcafe.com/miscellany/humor/100_years_ago.htm

[needs]

I'm not sure exactly why, but my father is trying to find info on what American life was like 50 and 100 years ago. Things like statistics (lifespan, salary, etc) and descriptions of life in general.

Does anyone know of any websites where I might find this kind of information?

I'm not sure of websites with those stats off the top of my head, but if he wants books that go into the descriptions of life in general... (and he can go as far in depth on this as he would want to).

50 years ago would be 1954...
For histories he might read Lizabeth Cohen, _A Consumer's Republic_. Or he could go to the library and read through a bunch of old _Life_ magazines. Those won't tell him absolutely what life was like but will give a good idea of the expectations of middle class culture. (He could also look at old copies of _Ebony_ to get an interesting contrast).

100 years ago would be 1904...
For histories he could read the 2 chapters in Eric Foner's _The Story of American Freedom_ that deal with the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. He could also read The Jungle, or any Henry James book, or WEB DuBois (each will tell what life at the turn of the century was like, from very different perspectives).

[elainemichelle]

The Jungle
I also recommend this for a description of American life at that time.

[Glenwood Lane United]

I also recommend this for a description of American life at that time.

Definitely for what it was like for as an immigrant and how immigrants were manipulated.

What life was life 50 or 100 years ago is an extremely broad subject.

[elainemichelle]

Definitely for what it was like for as an immigrant and how immigrants were manipulated.

What life was life 50 or 100 years ago is an extremely broad subject.
Exactly. There were so many little niches (I suppose you could word it) and the divides b/t rural and urban were much larger than they are now. The life of a farmer was much different than that of a shipbuilder or a doctor or a teacher, etc, etc, etc.

[Glenwood Lane United]

Scotty,

Did he have any particular region or profession in mind? If it coinciding with an area I have read up on, I'd be happy to recommend something.

[_chachi]

head over to your neighborhood retirement home and talk to the residents.

[Iceblink]

head over to your neighborhood retirement home and talk to the residents.

This is actually phenomenal advice.

Too many people ignore the elderly. They can seriously be a font of information.

In one of my classes, I always assign a set of interview questions to be asked to the students' grandparents or great aunts or uncles if the grandparents aren't available...

It's wonderful.

I was assigned this for a psych. class many years ago. I still have the audio tape of my grandparents answering the questions. It's a prized posession now that they're both gone.