Curated category
Social classes
- SlaveryPeter, a slave from Louisiana in 1863, bore scars on his back from a whipping by his overseer. These marks tell the story of an economic phenomenon where…
- Upper classIn 1920, Edith Wharton published a novel set in upper-class New York City that captured the rigid social codes of her time.
- Working classConstruction workers stand at the base of St. Paul's Hospital Cardiac center in Ethiopia during 2017. They represent a group often labeled as working class…
- Social classThe word class comes from the Latin term classis, which census takers used to categorize citizens by wealth. This ancient classification determined military…
- Middle classJames Bradshaw published a pamphlet titled Scheme to prevent running Irish Wools to France in 1745. This document contains the first known attestation of the…
- PeasantA 1909 photograph by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky shows young women offering berries to visitors at their izba home. Those who had been serfs among the Russian…
- SerfdomIn the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire faced a severe labor shortage. Large landowners began relying on Roman freemen acting as tenant farmers instead of…
- NobilityThe Latin word nobilis first appeared in ancient Roman society as an informal designation for the political governing class.
- Class discriminationIn the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, merchants were explicitly ranked below peasants. This historical detail contradicts modern assumptions about economic…
- Aristocracy (class)In ancient Athens, the word aristokratia first described young citizens who led armies at the front line. These men were called the best born because martial…