AP
Eurpean
History
Life in the Emerging Urban Cities
Industrialization promoted the development of new classes in the industrial regions of Europe
As Europe was becoming better and better everyday, the class structure became more complex and diverse. The society of the city started to develop distinct social groups, all of which were in continuous change to be better than each other. There was this gap between the rich and the poor that still remained distant, but there was a good massive change between them.
The different classes throughout this period was the Upper Middle class which consisted of the most successful business families from banking, industry, and commerce. They lived an aristocratic life of luxury and were well off. The other class was the middle class. This class consisted of architects, chemists, accountants, and surveyors. The middle class was much less wealthy and were much larger than the upper middle class and were greatly diversified. At the bottom was the lower middle class which was also the working class. This class was made up of people whose livelihoods depended primarily on physical labor and didn't own any servants such as the classes above them.
All of these lifestyles were taken from the way previous people have lived. For example the Upper middle class took an aristocratic lifestyle of leisure, great behavior, and wealth. Each class had its rules and guidances to make sure that they weren't acting inappropriately. The middle class was somewhat to an extent like the upper middle class, they had enough money to afford good food and paid great attention to outward appearances especially their clothing, because they couldn't go out in public in a certain way. It is the way that these classes distinguish themselves that lead to their standing in political and social associations among the classes.
Europe experience rapid population growth and industrialization, leading to social dislocations
As times were getting better and new and better ideas were progressing in agriculture and society itself, there was more expected from the world people were living in. One great barrier that people during this time overcame was the life expectancy of children. With their mothers now working at home making sure that all of the chores were done, they had enough time to care for their children and make sure that they had everything they needed and even more. There was a time in which there was great overcrowding in the urban areas, but not due to the fact of more children being born, but people migrating from rural areas. With new methods ranging from new and improved sewage systems, to street cars transporting people and even better medical offerings, there were many people coming from all over to have an urban life. On the other hand the rural societies were experiencing great decline in available labor because people were moving and even some of its communities were weakened due to so little people living there. With new technologies and factories in agriculture it was only right to move on and proceed to somewhere where there was more to be given.
Over time the Industrial Revolution altered the family altered the family structure and relations bourgeois and working class families
By the 1850's the family had stabilized dramatically after the great disruption of the eighthteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Along with this improvement there came new ideas about courtship and marriage, family and gender roles that affected both men and women. Women during this time was the main focus. There jobs were to work at home and make sure that the house was perfect when her husband came home from work. They did such things as cook and clean. Another great importance to these women was to have great care for their children. At this point in time women of middle class weren't having as many children as they did before they moved to urban areas. Back when they were in rural areas it was common because it meant more hands to help, but now in urban areas it was just too much and the average couple would have about 2, providing them with better education and just a better life than they once had. Men on the other hand was the one to bring the wages to support their family's needs. The space of the workforce, education and politics was all for the men. Others such as the working class started to adapt to these new ideas making it a part of their lives as well.
This new and improved family structure took important steps into leisure. Some families would take trips and some would even would be involved in sports. Sports was the new attraction for middle class families. The sports consisted of soccer, rugby, and cricket, which all started as school games but then evolved to major competing sports for adults. Another major activity that was incorporated into family lives was bicycling. This was more taken over by men, as it was seen as unwomanly for women to participate in. Families would also have big dinners at their house. It was this sense of being together and actually having time for all their hard work that really allowed families to do such things.
A heightened consumerism developed as a result of the Second Industrial Revolution
Traveling and communicating became way easier in the 19th century. New innovation such as the telephone, telegraph, and the combustion engine played great roles in an easier life. Sailing ships were now being replaced. More and more people were now traveling by train to go places. The most great invention was the department stores. Merchants discovered this new idea to sell their merchandise. They attracted people by mailing nice catalogs and displaying good merchandise. It was almost as if there was this coat of varnish over this new society.
