Development of the middle class
Growth of consumerism
While the material standard of living for most Americans in the late 19th century would not compare favorably with contemporary American living standards, Americans in the late 19th century enjoyed more consumer opportunities than before. With the development of mass production techniques and improved shipping reliability and time, Americans in many parts of the country could obtain new conveniences cheaper and faster. Furthermore, as the average number of hours worked gradually decreased, Americans, with higher real incomes and more leisure time, sought new ways to spend both their time and money.
Department stores
While several department stores opened in New York and other major American cities before the Civil War, the real growth in department stores began in the Gilded Age. Still primarily confined to larger American cities, department stores expanded to more parts of the United States bringing what had previously been luxury items for wealthier people to the emerging middle class.
Sears Roebuck catalog
For many Americans, the greatest expansion of consumer culture in the late 19th century was the introduction of the Sears Roebuck catalog, an annual publication advertising clothes, tools, musical instruments and early appliances with deliveries to many previously isolated areas. Founded in 1886, Sears began selling watches and within a decade launched its mail order catalog, an institution of American consumer culture for nearly a century.
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Sports and the great outdoors
With greater leisure time Americans sought out new opportunities for recreation and fresh air. While baseball predated the Civil War, the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, debuted in 1869 with the National League of Major League Baseball beginning play in 1876. Football was primarily a college sport until the early 20th century, while basketball debuted in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts as Dr. James Naismith’s creation featured players shooting leather balls into peach baskets ten feet above the gymnasium floor. More Americans also followed horse racing and boxing, cheering and betting on the outcomes of these contests in greater numbers. With increasing numbers of Americans cycling and going for extended walks or hikes, American cities and states began developing more parks for recreation and urban and natural beauty. In New York City, Central Park, designed primarily by Frederick Law Olmsted, opened in 1876 after nearly 20 years of design and construction, and Yellowstone, the first national park, opened in 1872 in western Wyoming and southwestern Montana.
The development and growth of the American middle class transformed the country demographically and geographically.
Increasing consumerism spurred sustained, although uneven, economic growth, creating new industries and prompting greater demand for land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.
With greater disposable income and more leisure time, Americans sought new recreational activities, spurring the development of parks and the creation of new sports including baseball, football, and basketball.