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Title: Ethnicity, Gender, and Social Mobility in 1910

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 1997

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Abstract: The belief that the social class position an individual inherits at birth is not itself a prime determinant of subsequent personal achievement is a cherished part of the American democratic tradition. Social historians attempting to measure whether the mobility opportunities so eagerly sought by immigrants were in fact realized have looked at the occupations of immigrant men and their sons. Evidence from such diverse areas as Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York City indicates that at the turn of the century many men did experience upward occupational mobility; some groups, notably blacks, did not fare as well as did white immigrants, and not all white immigrants experienced the same rates of occupational improvements (Bodnar et al. 1982; Lieberson 1980; Model 1988; Thernstrom 1964, 1973; Zunz 1982). This essay turns to the first decade of the twentieth century to explore some of the factors contributing to socioeconomic mobility.

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Authors: Sassler, Sharon; White, Michael J.

Periodical (Full): Social Science History

Issue: 2

Volume: 21

Pages: 321-357

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration

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