1900 PATENT MEDICINE WINE OF CARDUI

Back in 1900 there really weren't that many medicines available to relive menstrual cramps and pain. Aspirin had just become available as a bitter powder, but was not widely known, so there weren't too many products available. I can't imagine this contained an effective pain killer but it did have plenty of alcohol, which is a pain reliever of a sort and it was respectable to drink a medicine, maybe not so acceptable to take a drink. How much do you think was sold to people looking for a buzz rather than pain relief? Probably a lot.

CRACKER JACKS

In 1871 F. W. Rueckheim opened a popcorn stand in the city of Chicago. The stand was a success and Rueckheim soon started making candy including taffy made from molasses. He also started selling caramels, marshmallows and peanuts. Peanuts became popular after the Civil War when Northern troops brought them back from Confederate territory.

In 1890, Rueckhem came up with a new candy recipe. He combined popcorn, molasses and peanuts to make Cracker Jack. It was basically a variation of a popular recipe for popcorn balls, with peanuts added. The product was sold in a small cardboard box.

Cracker was a popular slang term of the day, meaning excellent or great. Jack was also a popular term of the time, it meant buddy or pal. A friend of Rueckhelm, when he tried the new candy, exclaimed “Cracker Jack” and that became the name of the product.

Cracker Jack was a Chicago favorite, but the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair introduced the treat to a national audience. Cracker Jack was inexpensive and portable and became a fair favorite. In 1913 toys were added to the package with baseball cards starting soon after. These cards are extremely valuable today.

In 1916 Cracker Jack got their mascot, Jack the Sailor was modeled after Rueckhelm’s grandson who died very young. Jack soon got a sidekick, his dog, Bingo and the pair was on all of the packages and appeared in most advertisements. It was so popular that Rueckhelm had the pair engraved on his tombstone.

THE FIRST AUTOMAT

I think of Automat restaurants as a 1950's invention so I was surprised to find out that the first one opened in 1902.By 1912 the owners had a chain of 85 restaurants in several different American cities.

1900 MEAT AND POULTRY PRICES

Even at the turn of the century, many people raised at least some of their own meat. Even if they lived in town, a family might keep poultry and maybe even a pig. Hunting was less common for city residents, but many families still ate wild game, which was available in some stores.

Bacon, Veal and Sausage could be bought by the pound. But the poultry was sold whole, with feathers and entrails removed. In some stores, you could buy poultry that hadn't been dressed, for cheaper prices. It might still be alive and the butcher would kill it, the buyer would do the rest.

Meat Type	Price
Chickens	.07 per pound
Turkey	.10 per pound
Duck	.10 per pound
Goose	.05 per pound
Veal	.10 per pound
Sausage	.13 per pound
Bacon	.13 per pound
Round Steak	.13 per pound
Pork Chops	.12 per pound
Fresh Fish	.12 per pound
Salted Fish	.10 per pound

1900 food prices

The average wage for an American man was about 13 dollars a week. What could a man buy for his family for that amount? What could they afford to eat? Below I have listed some prices typical for that era. Of course there were regional differences and many families still grew their own produce and raised their own vegetables. But these numbers will give you a rough idea.

Keep in mind that the typical families diet had less variety than today, except in the case of meat, where wild game was still sold in many butcher shops. Some fruits such as Oranges were becoming more common in stores, due to the more rapid ships and the transcontinental railroad.

Prepared foods, such as breakfast cereal, were becoming available. But many families still ate last night’s leftovers for breakfast or eggs and sausage rather than corn flakes.

By 1900 bread was usually available for purchase, but many housewives preferred to make their own. A mark of a good wife was the ability to make a good loaf of bread.

Below is a list of some basic foodstuffs, the next posts will concentrate on specific types of food.

Grocery	Price
Macaroni	.10 per pound
Rice	.07 per pound
Tea	.50 per pound
Coffee	.15 per pound
Cocoa	.25 per pound
Hominy Grits	.10 per pound
Breakfast Cereal	.15 a box
Gelatin (not Jello)	.15 per package
Wheat Bread	.05 per loaf
Vinegar	.28 per gallon

1900 MOST COMMON PROFESSIONS

Agriculture was just starting to be mechanized, but many hands were needed to grow crops. Servants were paid little and every middle class family had at least one, so they formed the second most common profession. Telephone operators and nurses were typically women, the other common profession of females was teachers.

About 23 million men were in the labor force along with about 5 million women. The unemployment rate was 5 percent. Most employees worked about 60 hours a week and the average wage was about 13 dollars a week.

Profession	Total workers
Agriculture	10,710,000
Manufacturing	6,340,000
Servants	3,210,000
Trade/realty/finance	2,760,000
Transportation/Utilities	2,100,000
Construction	1,660,000
Mining	766,000
Dressmaking (not factory)	413,000
Blacksmiths/Ironworkers	220,000
Forestry/Fishing	210,000
Barbers/Beauticians	133,000
Doctors	131,000
Bartenders	89,000
Milliners	75,000
Electricians	51,000
Phone Operators	19,000
Nurses	12,000

CHARLES DANA GIBSON'S CLASSIC AMERICAN BEAUTIES

Charles Dana Gibson was an American artist who became famous for his pen and ink sketches that were published in magazines started in 1886. He illustrated many different subjects but he became best known for his tall, elegant American beauties which were dubbed the Gibson Girl.

Currier and Ives 19th century prints

The Currier and Ives lithograph group offered reasonably priced, colorful prints for sale. The factory was in business from 1834 until almost the turn of the century and many of the prints offer glimpses into life in the United States at that time.

These prints are based on views of New York City, which is where the factory was based.

1900 MAJOR CAUSES OF DEATH

At the turn of the century the birth rate was 32.3 per thousand and the death rate per thousand persons was 17.2. In 1900 less than 100 people were killed by an automobile accident, surely the lowest statistic of the century. Unfortunately there were approximately 115 lynchings.

Below is a list of the leading causes of death for 1900. Note most of the causes have declined significantly with the exception of cancer,influenza/pneumonia, suicide and heart disease,all of which are still on today's list. Gastrointestinal diseases were those linked to tainted food or poor sanitation. Stroke, Alzheimer's and diabetes didn't even make the list in 1900, but are now in the top 10.

The average male life expectancy was 46 years for men and 48 years for women. Even with deaths for childbirth accounted for, men's more dangerous professions lead to a lower male life expectancy.



CAUSES OF DEATH (per thousand deaths)

Heart and Kidney disease	345
Influenza/Pneumonia	202
Tuberculosis	194
Gastrointestinal diseases	143
Cancer	64
Diphtheria	40
Typhoid	31
Malaria	19
Measles	13
Whooping Cough	12
Suicide	10
Appendicitis	7
Childbirth	6

1900 IMMIGRATION COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Almost half a million people immigrated to the United States in 1900, this yearly total rapidly rose to one million. Most came from Europe. The total of immigrants from Asia was quite a bit less due to immigration restrictions.

Austria-Hungary also included Czechoslovakia and Poland, which were still part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.



COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN

Austria Hungary	114,847
Italy	100,135
Russia/Baltic states	90,787
Ireland	35,730
Scandinavia	31,151
Germany	18,507
Japan	12,635
Great Britain	12,509
Romania	6,459
Caribbean	4,656
Portugal	4,234
Turkey	3,962
Greece	3,771
China	1,247
Canada	396
Mexico	237
Australia/New Zealand	214
South America	124
Central America	42
Africa	30

Privacy Policy

This blog does not collect your personal information or share it with third parties. However cookies are used by blog advertisers to ensure your receive ads of interest to you. You can of course turn off cookies by changing your browser settings.

We are not responsible for content from this blog republished on other sites and we do not give permission for this to be done, unless contacted at wcascade40@yahoo.com for permission.

This privacy policy was last updated on January, 27 2013 and is subject to change without notice, if any questions contact me at the above email address.

1900 UNITED STATES POPULATION

1900 was the beginning of the American Century. The United States started the century as a mostly rural country, still relatively unimportant in terms of world influence and power. McKinley was president and there were only 45 states. Immigration continued to increase and the cities were growing but more people lived on farms or small towns.

These statistics provide a glimpse of what the United States was like during the turn of the century.





A urban area was a town or city containing more than 2500 residents. This did not include most small towns, which are considered rural.



POPULATION URBAN VS. RURAL

TOTAL	76,094.000
URBAN	30,160,000
RURAL	45,835,000

ETHNICITY

Native born Caucasian	56,595,000
Foreign born Causian	10,214,000
African American	8,834,000
Native American	237,000
Asian American	114,000

Privacy Policy

This blog does not collect your personal information or share it with third parties. However cookies are used by blog advertisers to ensure your receive ads of interest to you. You can of course turn off cookies by changing your browser settings.

We are not responsible for content from this blog republished on other sites and we do not give permission for this to be done, unless contacted at wcascade40@yahoo.com for permission.

This privacy policy was last updated on January, 27 2013 and is subject to change without notice, if any questions contact me at the above email address.