1900 Andrew Carnegie, the
steel industrialist, spent $2 million to start Pittsburgh's Carnegie
Institute of Technology.
1900 Restaurants, drug,
department, and food stores began to prosper in urban areas, drawing many
people away from agricultural centers.
1900 The United States puts
on a "World's Fair" to exhibit contributions of different
cultures. On display were such attractions as Japanese gardens, American
airships, and new technologies. This great cultural and technological
interchange would affect the cultural education of people in the United
States in this decade.
1901 Joliet Junior College,
the first junior college in the United States, is founded.
1903 Orville and Wilber
Wright made their first powered aircraft flight at Kitty Hawk.
1904 The Daytona Normal
School was founded.
1904 The first section of the
New York subway system, which became the largest system in the United
States, was completed.
1905 President Theodore
Roosevelt gained international prominence by arranging a peace conference
between Russia and Japan. The countries had been at war since February,
1904. For his efforts Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906.
1906 Gary Plan
1906-1907 In England,
provision of meals for poor children, and of medical inspection of all children
is passed, thus making the connection between health and education for the
first time.
1907 Maria Montessori opens
the first Children's House in Rome, Italy.
1908 Case of Berea College
vs. Commonwealth of Kentucky makes segregation in a private institution
constitutional.
1908 The Model T Ford was
introduced. It originally cost $850.00 but within 25 years the price
dropped to $310.00.
1909 The 16th Amendment to
the Constitution was passed by the Senate and submitted to the states for
ratification. The amendment authorized Congress to impose income taxes.
Coeducation in secondary
schools began to be promoted during this decade.
There is a large growth of
the United States economy that leaves business offices floundering in
paperwork. Therefore, women are brought into the workplace as clerical
workers, requiring their development of new technological skills such as
typing.
Nine million immigrants pass
through Ellis Island into the United States during this decade, especially
in 1907 when 1 million people came through this particular port of entry.
This phenomenon would affect the student demographics in the public school
system of the United States profoundly.
Publishing czar William
Randolph Hearst made popular a new kind of children's reading material
called the comic strip. As a result, large numbers of children became new
consumers of periodicals.
Contributors Natalie Aguirre, Linda DeAngelo, Elena Guerrero & Sujata
Dube
