A hundred years ago the U.S. would be considered a third world nation by today's standards. A hundred years ago 4 generations of the du Pont family lived stuffed in a house that would be considered average by today's building standards. The du Ponts were the richest family in Delaware 100 years ago.
So...Comparing living standards of today with those of 100 years ago is comparing apples to oranges.
In the 1890’s my great grandmother was married at age 15. For her wedding her family gave her a pair of **real** shoes...and..this was a successful ** middle class** family in upstate New York!
Given the poverty, yes, I think Americans did very well educating their children. My great grandfather owned a livery and shipping business. His son ( my grandfather) was an assistant to the manager of Exide batteries. My mother's father was the general manager of the nation's largest toy companies. And...none of these men went to college. I doubt if they went to high school.
I'm not comparing living standards; I'm comparing educational systems. Also, you'll notice I used a specific part of the country. The north had compulsory education laws sooner.
And...none of these men went to college. I doubt if they went to high school.
A high school education didn't become commonplace in most parts of the country until the Great Depression. At that time, teenagers were encouraged to go to high school in large part to keep them out of the labor market.
Even thirty years ago, someone could drop out of high school and have a chance at a good industrial job with chances of advancement. That's much more difficult now. A lot of the industrial jobs have gone overseas, and the employers that remain generally have higher standards. Where 30 years ago they might have trained you to do a job, now they expect you to come from tech school already trained.
If you don't have a high school education, you're pretty much stuck with those "jobs Americans won't do"....