Mark Twain's "Roughing It" on the Chinese
The gentlemen's book of etiquette, and manual of politeness: being a complete guide for a gentleman's conduct in all his relations towards society
This book describes what exactly makes a gentleman a true gentleman. The book is a guide on how a young man should choose his friends, how to dress, and even how to dress. The book has has French influences such as using words like "tete a tete." A large majority of the book relates to what to do and what not to in the presence of ladies. For example, A gentleman must escort ladies to wherever they need to go, They mustn't smoke in front of them, and when talking to a group of ladies one must talk to the eldest first and make their way to the youngest and then finally to the gentlemen.Also the book talks about how in the art of conversion, it is okay for young men to discuss politics but only in the drawing room but not in the presence of ladies. Its strange to think that being polite back then was not to include young women in discussing controversial topics.
Nowadays, its looked down upon if, not only women, but everyone if one if ignorant about politics and world news. Being a gentleman was such of huge importance because since there was new products in technology, that caused an improved middle class life. People could now worry about themselves, their appearance, etc. because now people had the luxury not to stress out about just living by their means. People didn't have to live paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about surviving. It was nice that young men were expected to be kind to, not only other men, but to young women. Men, even though they had somewhat of a respect for women back then, it was emphasized even more during this time period. The importance of chivalry was stressed as well making a huge cultural impact then and even still today.
-Catherine B.
Nowadays, its looked down upon if, not only women, but everyone if one if ignorant about politics and world news. Being a gentleman was such of huge importance because since there was new products in technology, that caused an improved middle class life. People could now worry about themselves, their appearance, etc. because now people had the luxury not to stress out about just living by their means. People didn't have to live paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about surviving. It was nice that young men were expected to be kind to, not only other men, but to young women. Men, even though they had somewhat of a respect for women back then, it was emphasized even more during this time period. The importance of chivalry was stressed as well making a huge cultural impact then and even still today.
-Catherine B.
Trigger Words
American Federation of Labor (AFL):This union formed in 1886 organized skilled workers along craft lines and emphasized a few workplace issues rather than a broad social program.
Carnegie, Andrew:Carnegie organized the Carnegie Steel Company that dominated the industry for years. In his later years he turned his time and great wealth to philanthropic pursuits.
Compromise of 1877: Settled the controversy that was the 1876 election and also withdrew all union troops from Confederacy territory.
Gilded Age:The Gilded Age was Mark Twain's label for the post-Civil War decades. The term refers to a facade of proper and civilized behavior covering waste, corruption, and individual greed in late nineteenth-century America.
horizontal integration:Horizontal integration refers to the merger of competitors in the same industry.
Jim Crow laws: A set of rules and regulations designed to keep restrictions on newly freed slaves.
Knights of Labor:The Knights of Labor was organized in 1869 and headed by Uriah Stephens and Terence Powderly. It enjoyed brief success as a national labor organization, especially in the 1880s. It combined the roles of labor union and reform society, and its basic demand was for an eight-hour day. It declined when its advocacy of the eight-hour workday led to violent strikes in 1886
National American Woman Suffrage Association:This organization, formed in 1890, to coordinate the ultimately successful campaign to achieve women's right to vote.
new immigration:America's "new" immigrants in the late nineteenth century came predominantly from southern and eastern Europe. They came in unprecedented numbers, were usually poor peasants, and were usually non-Protestant.
patronage:Patronage is the power to appoint individuals to government positions.
Plessy v. Ferguson:In "Plessy v. Ferguson" (1895) the Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated places of public accommodation (like schools) were constitutional if they were of equal quality. This "separate but equal" doctrine led quickly to wholesale segregation, and equal facilities were rarely provided for blacks. The doctrine was overturned in 1954.
Populist (or People´s) Party:Also known as the People´s Party, the Populist Party held its first national convention in Omaha in 1892. Combining disgruntled farmers workers engaged in several industries (especially mining and timber), and social reformers, the Populists emerged as a major party in the plains states and in the West. In 1892 the Populists nominated James B. Weaver for president; in 1896, they struck an unofficial truce with the Democratic Party in support of William Jennings Bryan for president.
Rockefeller, John D.:Rockefeller was an unusually skillful business organizer. He founded Standard Oil Company and the Standard Oil Trust, which dominated American oil refining. Like others of his ilk, he sought to stabilize his industry, reduce competition, and maximize profits.
settlement house:Settlement houses were community centers located in poor urban districts of major cities. They were usually run by single, young, college-educated women. They tried to Americanize immigrant families and provided social services and a political voice for their neighborhoods.
sharecropping:During Reconstruction, southerners adopted the sharecropping system. In it, the landowners provided land, tools, housing, and seed to a sharecropping farmer who provided his labor. The resulting crop was divided between them (i.e., shared).
Sherman Antitrust Act:The 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, the nation's first antitrust act, made any concentration (monopoly) in restraint of trade illegal. This already weak law was emasculated when the Supreme Court ruled in "U.S. v. E. C. Knight" (1895) that manufacturing was excluded from the antitrust law. The Sherman Act was often used to break up labor unions.
Social Darwinism:Natural scientist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was thought by some to apply to business and social relationships. The "fittest" business or individual would succeed if left unrestricted. Social Darwinism promoted the values of competition and individualism.
Tuskegee Institute:In 1881 Booker T. Washington founded this educational institution in rural Alabama to train blacks in agricultural and industrial skills.
vertical integration:The term vertical integration refers to the consolidation of numerous production functions, from the extraction of the raw materials to the distribution and marketing of the finished products, under the direction of one firm.
waving the bloody shirt:"Waving the bloody shirt" was a campaign tactic used by post-Civil War Republicans to remind northern voters that the Confederates were Democrats. The device was used to divert attention away from the competence of candidates and from serious issues. It was also used to appeal to black voters in the South.
yellow press:The term yellow press, or yellow journalism, referred to the deliberately sensational journalism of scandal and exposure designed to attract an urban mass audience and increase advertising revenues.
Carnegie, Andrew:Carnegie organized the Carnegie Steel Company that dominated the industry for years. In his later years he turned his time and great wealth to philanthropic pursuits.
Compromise of 1877: Settled the controversy that was the 1876 election and also withdrew all union troops from Confederacy territory.
Gilded Age:The Gilded Age was Mark Twain's label for the post-Civil War decades. The term refers to a facade of proper and civilized behavior covering waste, corruption, and individual greed in late nineteenth-century America.
horizontal integration:Horizontal integration refers to the merger of competitors in the same industry.
Jim Crow laws: A set of rules and regulations designed to keep restrictions on newly freed slaves.
Knights of Labor:The Knights of Labor was organized in 1869 and headed by Uriah Stephens and Terence Powderly. It enjoyed brief success as a national labor organization, especially in the 1880s. It combined the roles of labor union and reform society, and its basic demand was for an eight-hour day. It declined when its advocacy of the eight-hour workday led to violent strikes in 1886
National American Woman Suffrage Association:This organization, formed in 1890, to coordinate the ultimately successful campaign to achieve women's right to vote.
new immigration:America's "new" immigrants in the late nineteenth century came predominantly from southern and eastern Europe. They came in unprecedented numbers, were usually poor peasants, and were usually non-Protestant.
patronage:Patronage is the power to appoint individuals to government positions.
Plessy v. Ferguson:In "Plessy v. Ferguson" (1895) the Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated places of public accommodation (like schools) were constitutional if they were of equal quality. This "separate but equal" doctrine led quickly to wholesale segregation, and equal facilities were rarely provided for blacks. The doctrine was overturned in 1954.
Populist (or People´s) Party:Also known as the People´s Party, the Populist Party held its first national convention in Omaha in 1892. Combining disgruntled farmers workers engaged in several industries (especially mining and timber), and social reformers, the Populists emerged as a major party in the plains states and in the West. In 1892 the Populists nominated James B. Weaver for president; in 1896, they struck an unofficial truce with the Democratic Party in support of William Jennings Bryan for president.
Rockefeller, John D.:Rockefeller was an unusually skillful business organizer. He founded Standard Oil Company and the Standard Oil Trust, which dominated American oil refining. Like others of his ilk, he sought to stabilize his industry, reduce competition, and maximize profits.
settlement house:Settlement houses were community centers located in poor urban districts of major cities. They were usually run by single, young, college-educated women. They tried to Americanize immigrant families and provided social services and a political voice for their neighborhoods.
sharecropping:During Reconstruction, southerners adopted the sharecropping system. In it, the landowners provided land, tools, housing, and seed to a sharecropping farmer who provided his labor. The resulting crop was divided between them (i.e., shared).
Sherman Antitrust Act:The 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, the nation's first antitrust act, made any concentration (monopoly) in restraint of trade illegal. This already weak law was emasculated when the Supreme Court ruled in "U.S. v. E. C. Knight" (1895) that manufacturing was excluded from the antitrust law. The Sherman Act was often used to break up labor unions.
Social Darwinism:Natural scientist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was thought by some to apply to business and social relationships. The "fittest" business or individual would succeed if left unrestricted. Social Darwinism promoted the values of competition and individualism.
Tuskegee Institute:In 1881 Booker T. Washington founded this educational institution in rural Alabama to train blacks in agricultural and industrial skills.
vertical integration:The term vertical integration refers to the consolidation of numerous production functions, from the extraction of the raw materials to the distribution and marketing of the finished products, under the direction of one firm.
waving the bloody shirt:"Waving the bloody shirt" was a campaign tactic used by post-Civil War Republicans to remind northern voters that the Confederates were Democrats. The device was used to divert attention away from the competence of candidates and from serious issues. It was also used to appeal to black voters in the South.
yellow press:The term yellow press, or yellow journalism, referred to the deliberately sensational journalism of scandal and exposure designed to attract an urban mass audience and increase advertising revenues.
Child Labor in U.S. History
The document discusses how child labor in America has changed since the early 19th century. The document also gives us a timeline to reference the advancements and occurrences of the child labor issue in America. One of these occurrences is when unions condemned the use of child labor in New England in 1832. This was the first in a long list of steps that needed to occur in order to create a child labor free country. The timeline shows the lengthy process that was required to finally achieve Federal regulation on this pertinent and crucial matter. It still took almost 30 years to achieve reform after the national Child Labor committee was founded.
According to the timeline, it took over 100 years of relentless work to achieve regulation of child labor, which to me is just sickening. Why would the American government be so stingy on such an important issue? Children have no place in the workforce except to save these greedy business owners money. Children had no idea what a typical wage should be so these business owners were able to drastically under pay them and not hear a complaint from these innocent children.
-Wisdom H.
http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/us_history.html
According to the timeline, it took over 100 years of relentless work to achieve regulation of child labor, which to me is just sickening. Why would the American government be so stingy on such an important issue? Children have no place in the workforce except to save these greedy business owners money. Children had no idea what a typical wage should be so these business owners were able to drastically under pay them and not hear a complaint from these innocent children.
-Wisdom H.
http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/us_history.html