More Options

While cities are growing in importance, other factors are also at work to expand possibilities for Americans. One is the growing list of educational options, with a new emphasis on engineering, medicine and the arts.

Medical schools have doubled in the past 20 years, and dental schools have tripled. Male college graduates have increased by 50%, while female graduates have doubled. Masters and Doctoral degrees are suddenly being awarded.

In public school, there are twice as many pupils as 20 years earlier. High schools, which had previously only existed in cities, are producing three times as many graduates. As towns grow into cities, more high schools are built.
Technical and medical schools, 1890

  Experts Wanted
Factories are growing larger (top left), and placing more emphasis on scientific management. The increasing reliance on technology results in a raft of new technical (top right) and medical schools. More children than ever are graduating from urban high schools. Meanwhile, colleges now offer classes in technical subjects, medicine, and the arts (lower right).

Engineering schools, 1890

  Learning to Calculate
Civil engineering has been taught for years, but new classes in mechanical, electrical and even sanitary engineering are suddenly being offered (center top). This reflects the need for a greater understanding of mechanics, mathematics, and the properties of materials. There are well over 100 schools with engineering programs, most with laboratories. Professors are expected to engage in advanced research, while graduates are eagerly snapped up by manufacturers intent on improving efficiency.


Corporate trusts and Rockefeller, 1890

  Too Big to Care
All states prohibit companies from owning stock in other companies, in an effort to limit their size. John D. Rockefeller, and others, begin evading this limitation using a legal construct called a 'trust.' Trusts are normally only used temporarily, to manage assets owned by a person who has recently died. Rockefeller creates something called the Standard Oil Trust to gobble up all competitors. In theory, it's just a similar grouping of disparate assets under one management. It turns into an unregulated monster.