Victorian America  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Shop Featured: Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci

While the Victorian Era is a name for the period from 1837 to 1901 in the United Kingdom, American Victorianism was an offshoot of this period and lifestyle that occurred in the United States, chiefly in heavily populated regions such as New England and the Deep South from roughly 1875 to 1910 after the Civil War. The name was derived from the reign of Queen Victoria, which reflected the heavy British cultural influence on the nation during the time. As American business people of the Second Industrial Revolution created sprawling industrial towns and cities in the Northeast, the growing upper class of the Gilded Age mimicked the high society of their former mother country in dress, morality, and mannerisms. The period included various activities—the Second Industrial Revolution, the Women's suffrage movement, and Republican political domination.

Culture

Victorian America was a time of uncertainty for the Americans with "old money." The wealthy were not yet sure what it was to be an American and they showed their uncertainty by borrowing heavily from European culture, especially French culture. These old moneyed families ate French cuisine prepared by French cooks imported from France and drank French wines. Often these families would buy up the entire stocks of a French vineyard for their house. In religion the rich were also European. Most of these families were Episcopalian. This church was very ritualistic, showy and British, consequently it had a somewhat foreign feel.

These wealthy families were always striving to keep ahead of the middle-class as the middle-class continually tried to imitate those who were wealthier. In the mid 1800s only the rich owned private carriages, but by the 1840s the middle class had begun to imitate this behavior. The rich then began to move to the suburbs called, "uptown," to get away from the noise, congestion, crowds, and dirt of the inner cities. As streetcars become more popular, the middle-class also move to the suburbs and the rich move further out in the 1860s to places like Long Island. Here the rich built large country estates similar to those found in England with orchards and gardens. Now in the countryside, the rich must take trains into the cities. As the rich do not work, but instead hire middle-class managers, the expense of trains is not prohibitive. By the 1890s the cost of a train ticket has dropped far enough that the middle class can afford to commute on trains. To set themselves apart, the rich found communities such as Newport, RI, where there are few economic opportunities. The rich also begin to winter in warm states, like Florida. As this behavior begins to catch on in the middle class in the 1900s, the rich begin to vacation overseas in Europe.

These old rich did not just show off for the middle class, there was also heavy competition among themselves. Houses in Victorian America were elaborate fantastical affairs with a combination of different architectural styles. Turrets, gables, bright colors, false fronts and false chimneys were common. The rich also competed in the community to prove their wealth. Unlike in Europe, all arts funding was through private donations and not government funding. These wealthy people donated money to found opera houses, symphony orchestras and art museums. Two competing art museums were founded in San Francisco by two competing families, each trying to best the other through their museum. The rich also funded charities and institutions such as hospitals and colleges.

The Industrial Revolution was partly responsible for the lifestyle of the wealthy. Through the Industrial Revolution there arose a body of new rich who threatened the status of the old rich. Culturally these new rich were very different. They grew up with American food that was simpler then the French cuisine of the old rich. However, many of the new rich did convert to the Episcopalian Church. To distance themselves from the new rich, the old rich created "society" made up of "proper families." The new rich could not easily join society, except perhaps in New York City where they could buy their way in, but their children could if they married into an old family.

Events

The Victorian era followed the Civil War by about ten years and began at the very end of Reconstruction. The Civil War was a time of awareness and change in American culture. 750,000 Americans died during the war out of a population of 31 million. Among men aged 18–35 about 20% had died by the end of the war. The Victorian culture in the United States was very much a reflection of the aftermath of the war. Victorian architecture clearly reflects this point. Victorian homes were very elaborate and evoked romantic fairy-tale images with the many turrets, gargoyles, and bright colors. The interiors were dark with mahogany, curtains and wall to wall carpeting. Houses were the only place where the "stiff upper lip" attitude was relaxed and emotion could be displayed. .

Entertainment

Attitudes toward work and working greatly changed entertainment in Victorian America. Before the Civil War, everyone worked, even the very wealthy. To not work was scandalous. However, after the Civil War, this attitude changed and the wealthy began to hire middle-class managers to manage the day-to-day affairs of business leaving the wealthy to laze. The combination of more time coupled with larger cities with a higher concentration of wealthy lead to the creation of Society. Society membership basically required one thing: old money. New money was only acceptable if the individual was very wealthy or if the individual was the child of new money and had married into an established family. Religion was also very important, with most of the old money belonging to the Episcopalian Church. Very few Catholics were allowed in; most members were some form of Protestant. Members also had to be white. New York City was less choosy about the religions or origins of their society members compared to Boston. Society members were often related by blood, marriage, or business to one another. Society also held debutante balls (still held in parts of the US) where young women would "come out" at 18 and be introduced to all the eligible young society men. In one season there would be 18 or 20 balls.

Parties held by society members were very elaborate with each party trying to out do every other party. At one party all the women received diamond necklaces as party favors while the men were given cigars made out of dollar bills to smoke. Most Victorian mansions had ballrooms with orchestras. Reports of the parties were published in the social papers in newspapers.

Religion

Most of the old money were Episcopalian and as individuals became wealthy from the Industrial Revolution they converted to Episcopalian. Episcopalian churches had a British feel and were very ritualistic. Some of the old money were Unitarian or Quaker and only a few were Catholic. New York City tended to be more open about religion than cities like Boston.

Architecture and Furnishing

Architecture of the Victorian era was very elaborate, romantic, and emotional. The architecture of the house advertised the amount of money that the owner had. Houses were very large with many small rooms: each room had a particular function "a place for everything and everything in its place." Houses had ballrooms, morning rooms, sitting rooms, libraries, piano rooms... Houses often were set in the middle or towards the back of lots. The exteriors of houses were often brightly colored with false fronts and false chimneys. The interiors were dark with heavy drapes, dark wood, dark wall paper, and wall to wall carpeting. Many houses had two hallways and two staircases, one grand for company, and one plain for the children and servants. The staircase for guests allowed for dramatic entrances. The back halls and private rooms were not decorative and plain with whitewash and plain wood floors. The public areas of the house were displays of wealth and virtue. With the industrial era had come materialism and Victorian houses were correspondingly larger. The Victorians also despised pragmatism and hid the functions of furnishings.

Poverty

The Victorian Era in America was also a time of massive immigration. This wave of immigrants, referred to as the 3rd Wave (1880–1914), consisted of immigrants mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe. German and Scandinavian were very common.

Cities expanded rapidly under the onslaught of immigrants and from 1880-1900 New York City grew from 1.9 million to 3.4 million. These immigrants settled in the North and obtained poorly paid jobs in factories. Housing was crowded, poorly ventilated, and unsanitary. Some blocks in New York City had as many as 10,000 residents all living in buildings no higher than six stories. Some rooms in tenement houses had no outside windows or air ducts. Cities grew much faster than resources, so indoor plumbing and sewage were inadequate. Tenement buildings often had their own well in the basement, also where the sewer drained, that tenants could use for water. However in the summer the water table often dropped below the level of the pump for many hours of the day. Child labor was common due to intense poverty.

Child labor

See Child labor laws in the United States

See also

• Gilded Age
• Victorian era
• Victorian architecture
• Victorian decorative arts
• Victorian fashion
• Victorian morality
• Victorianism
• Victorian literature