Higher Education and American Society: Post-Civil War to Early 20th Century

Higher Education Development

  • Post-Civil War, emergence of female and black colleges.

  • Moral Act of 1862: Federal land granted to support agriculture and technical education.

  • Hatch Act of 1887: Further support for agricultural experiment stations.

  • Washington vs. Du Bois: Vocational education vs. higher education and advocacy.

Financial Contributions to Education

  • Carnegie and wealthy donors funding universities.

  • Critique of wealthy contributions: "Steal privately, give publicly" mentality.

  • John Hopkins University established as first high graduate school in 1876.

Changes in Educational Language and Philosophy

  • Harvard's motto shift from "Christ and Church" to "Truth"; reflects scientific rationalism.

  • William James' Pragmatism (1907): Truth tested through practical consequences.

Rise of Mass Media and Sensationalism

  • Library of Congress established, advancement in newspaper production (linotype).

  • Sensationalism leads to the rise of yellow journalism (e.g., Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst).

Gender Issues and Activism

  • Victoria Woodhull promotes female sexual expression against double standards.

  • Anthony Comstock enforces Comstock Law censoring obscene materials.

  • National American Women's Suffrage Association founded in 1890; pushes for women's voting rights but excludes black women.

Women's Rights and Marriage

  • Divorce revolution noted: Divorce rate rising from 1 in 17 to 1 in 2 from 1890 to 1990.

  • Charlotte Perkins Gilman advocates for economic independence for women.

African American Activism

  • Ida B. Wells and the National Association of Colored Women focus on anti-lynching laws.

Prohibition and Temperance Movements

  • Prohibition rise led by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and Carrie Nation.

Cultural and Literary Developments

  • Increase in literacy leads to a rise in novel reading.

  • Realism in literature: Mark Twain exemplified American realism.

  • Naturalism emerges, focusing on scientific objectivity in literature.

Regionalism and American Art

  • Focus on regional character and experiences in literature and art (e.g., Kate Chopin's "The Awakening").

Racism and Immigration Concerns

  • Anti-immigrant sentiments rise, particularly against Japanese immigrants.

U.S. Foreign Policy and Imperialism

  • Expansion into overseas territories post-Spanish American War (1898).

  • Acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines; tension between imperial interests and local desires for independence.

  • Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine emphasizes U.S. intervention in Latin America to maintain order.

Eugenics Movement

  • Eugenics as a socially harmful movement defined by controlling reproduction under the guise of improving population.

  • Buck v. Bell Supreme Court case (1927) legitimizes forced sterilizations; laws still in effect in some states.

Evolution in Christianity

  • Shift towards a more liberal vs. conservative viewpoint in American Christianity post-Darwin, moving away from rationalistic faith to a faith accepting of spiritual truth without empirical evidence.