The Victorians Make the Modern, 1880–1917

P.T. Barnum

Promoter of family-friendly circuses.

Sierra Club

Early conservation organization.

Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

Advocated for prohibition and women's rights.

Social Darwinism

Applied Darwin's theories to human society.

Social Gospel

Religious movement emphasizing social reform.

Thomas Edison

Innovator in consumer technologies, such as the lightbulb and phonograph.

Frances Willard

WCTU leader who linked temperance to broader social reforms.

Jacob Riis

Photographer and journalist exposing urban poverty.

The Rise of Department Stores

Revolutionized shopping experiences for middle-class women.

YMCA Movement

Promoted health and fitness among young men.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Legalized segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

1880s-1890s

Expansion of consumer culture and department stores.

1896

Plessy v. Ferguson entrenched racial segregation.

1916

Establishment of the National Park Service.

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

Exposed conditions in the meatpacking industry.

Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives

Documented urban poverty through photography.

WCTU Publications

Advocated for temperance and women's suffrage.