What was teenage life like in the early 1900s?

Answer 1

It was very difficult living in the 1900s. Most teens didn't go to school but helped their parents on the farm or mills. If they did go to school they went to a crowded and unwealthy school. Only the rich and wealthy had a good life. Very few had good transportation and many families had to resort to walking. Your life today is much more survivable than back in the early 1900s.

Answer 2

If you were white, and especially if you were middle or upper class, there were some exciting new technologies to enjoy: amateur radio was a big fad, and numerous "boy engineers," as well as a few girls, were sending and receiving voice and Morse Code messages. Some high schools set up radio clubs. They were very popular. So were such after-school activities as the Dramatics Club (which put on plays), the Marching Band, and the Debating Club. Because more people were moving to the cities, this meant more things to do-- the shopping districts were expanding, as there was more of a demand for places to buy goods, rather than making them yourself. You probably went to the theater on a day when there was no school: movies were silent, but you would still have enjoyed going to them because you didn't expect them to have any talking. You also enjoyed sporting events: boys dreamed of being professional Baseball players, and many teens saved up their money to see a game (tickets cost much less then). More young women were graduating from high school and going to college; some wanted to enter non-traditional fields like law and business, but society was still very traditional and girls were expected to become teachers or nurses or office workers. Recorded music (phonograph records) had many fans, and so did going to dances. (There was no rock-and-roll or hip-hop, but there were certainly lots of hit songs that young people enjoyed.) Society had a lot more rules, and teens did not have the kind of freedom that is common in our modern world. Also, fashion had not changed completely: girls were still expected to wear long dresses and have long hair, although some girls were already rebelling against those customs. And even teenaged boys were expected to dress up for school (jacket and tie, for example) or for a social event.

But if you were black, your life was still very restricted. America was segregated, and while up north, you could have more choices about where to go to school or where to shop, many neighborhoods refused to let you live there, movie theaters expected you to sit in the section reserved for blacks; and pro baseball teams wouldn't even consider you. There were some black young men who became interested in ham radio, but in many cities, the white radio clubs barred blacks from being members, so they started their own clubs. Sports were popular in black high schools, as were the extra-curricular clubs white kids enjoyed, but black schools tended to be given fewer resources; and with less money, the black schools couldn't offer as many activities to their students. Also, a large number of colleges refused to accept black students, under the prejudiced (and false) belief that white kids were born smarter. Still, with the continuing migration from the country and rural life to the city and urban life, a number of black people found new opportunities. In fact, some of the most popular songs of the 1910s were by black performers. And some black students did get accepted into majority-white colleges, with some excellent results. It should also be noted that the decade wasn't all going to school and then having fun with friends: black teens, like their white counterparts, were concerned about the war in Europe. America didn't enter the war till 1918, but when we did, many young men of both races had to go overseas to fight.