A Hundred Years Ago

One hundred years ago – 1909. How the world has changed since then. It’s always fun to look back at some basic information on an era and extrapolate reasons and thoughts about why things were like they were. The following is some information about life in 1909 that you might be able to utilize in the classroom. The primary resource used was my hardbound copy of the Statistical Abstract of the United States (1978). Any accurate information you can add to this entry would be appreciated, and perhaps useful by our staff.

Statistics:
The US population was a whooping 90,490,000, of which 46,545,000 were male and 43,945,000 were female.
The US was made up of 46 states. New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii had not yet joined the Union.
Average life expectance: 52.1 years, with males averaging 50.5 years and women averaging 53.8 years.
There were 751,786 immigrants, with Italy being the largest single contributor: 183,218.
Our military was 141,000 strong. That included the Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard... and a fledgling air corps - the first contract with the military was signed by the Wright brothers in 1909.
41.9% of our population lived on farms, with the average farm size 147 acres.
Average pay: 25 cents an hour, with an average of 56.8 hours of work a week (no overtime). This breaks down to $14/week; $56/month; $672/year.
Average yearly income for: farmers ($302); factory workers ($571); skilled manufacturers ($699). The President of the U.S. received a raise: his salary went up to $75,000 annually. It would remain the same until 1949.
School: 79.1% of eligible students were enrolled, age 5 – 17. The average school year was 155 days, of which the average student attended 112 days. Latin was the most popular foreign language (49,000 enrolled) followed by German (23,700) and Spanish (700). More females graduated (84%) than males (57%). There were 3.4 female teachers to 1 male teacher. The average teacher salary (public school) was $450 annually - a little more than farmers, but less than the average factory worker.

Prices:

First Class Postage: 2 cents. The price had remained constant since at least 1885, though it would increase a whooping 50% - to 3 cents - in 1917.
Sugar: 4 cents/lb.
Flour: 5 cents/lb
Pork chops: 7 cents/lb
Eggs: 29 cents/dozen
Butter: 32 cents/lb
Milk, delivered to your doorstep in ½ gallon bottles: 16 cents
Bacon: 22 cents/lb
A pair of shoes for a dollar and a half
A dozen work shirts for four-fifty.
A top-of-the-line gramophone cost $45. It played the new disc records. The older Edison cylinder machines were cheaper. It was hand cranked for a reason: most homes had no electricity

Consumption:

The average person consumed:
Ice cream: 1.6 lb
Eggs: 293
Coffee: 9 lbs
Chicken: 14.7 lb
Beef: 81 lb.
Pork: 67 lb.

Odds and Ends:

The 1909 Ford Model T featured a then-novel ‘left hand’ steering wheel placement.
Speaking of Ford: On June 23, 1909, a Ford automobile arrives in Seattle from New York City in 23 days flat, completing the first transcontinental automobile race across North America. (picture at top of this blog.) This Model T Ford arrives first but is disqualified because the drivers changed the engine during the race. The winner (the second to arrive) is a Shawmut. The race is part of Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A-Y-P). Initially as many as 35 autos were going to enter the race, but when the race started in New York City on June 1, 1909 at 3:00 p.m., the exact moment that President Taft officially opened the AYP, only six vehicles crossed the start line. They were an Itala, Shawmut, Acme, Stearns, and two Model T Fords.

It was the centennial of Lincoln’s birth, and Congress approved the coinage of a one-cent piece bearing his likeness. He became the first real person – as well as the first American president – to have his face appear on a regular-issue American coin.

Citrus County:

For a map of Citrus County in 1909 visit here.

Essentail Question: How can we use information from 100 years ago to create understanding on the part of the students on how people lived then, and to draw conclusions on how people live today?