How America Tried (and Failed) to Solve Its “Servant Problem”
In the early part of the twentieth century, most middle-class American homes had at least one servant. Then the "servant problem" arose.
When Dieting Was Only For Men
Today, we tend to assume dieting is for women, but in the 1860s, it was a masculine pursuit.
Babies on Display
In the mid- to late nineteenth century, people showed off their infants at baby shows.
The Checkered History of Colleges, Unions, and Scabs
In the early twentieth-century, some aristocratic college men were eager to prove their masculinity by working as strikebreakers.
When Mexico Was Flooded By Immigrants
In the early nineteenth-century, Mexico had a problem with American immigrants.
The Invention of Retirement
Retirement as a mass phenomenon didn’t start as a way for older people to enjoy themselves.
When Marriage Was Part of The College Curriculum
Marriage education, seeking to teach dating and marriage on campus, was a reaction to urbanization, industrialization, and the new autonomy of the young.
How 19th-Century Cotton Mills Influenced Workplace Gender Roles
The spinners' union made it nearly impossible for women to secure reliable work in the cotton mills, instituting their proper role in the workplace.
