Title: The 1900s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: The 1900s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview
The 1900s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview
The 1900s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview

Content: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and St. Louis, Missouri. Many of these newly arrived Americans could neither read nor write English and, therefore, were able to undertake only manual labor and factory jobs. Tensions between native-born Americans and others arose, especially when immigrants realized that America was not the idyllic land they had imagined. Schools struggled with educating immigrant children, who were unfamiliar with both the language and the American way of life. The business sector encountered its own struggles as labor unions fought to receive better wages and benefits from employers who were unaccustomed to negotiating with workers. Women made many advances during the century's first decade, as they built upon the accomplishments of those who had demanded more equal treatment during the 1800s. In the 1900s, women were increasingly joining the workforce at all levels. Immigrant and working-class females began to be employed outside the home as opportunities in manufacturing and retailing expanded. Educated women made greater advances in both the academic and professional spheres as they joined the ranks of doctors, lawyers, and professors who had previously been all male.