daily life in the cities america’s birth as an urban society

DAILY LIFE IN THE CITIES

America’s Birth as an Urban Society

Goals for this presentation… Understand the growing role of urban areas in

shaping American culture in the late 19th Century

Describe the causes and effects of growing literacy in urban areas.

Explain the role of newspapers and other forms of mass literature in shaping the opinions and attitudes of Americans

Discuss how sports and entertainment were transformed in urban areas supporting the birth of a mass culture

The Hook and Key Questions Hook: “ Growing cities developed many of the

habits and institutions that we take for granted today in modern America .”

Key Questions: What factors would support the growing influence

of books and newspapers in the late 19th century? How did the growing wealth and influence of

cities support changes in American culture? How did the institutions of sports and entertainment create the beginning of opportunities that many of us hope to enjoy today in the 21st century?

Cities and the Rise of Mass Society: 1880 to 1910

In 1880, America was still a primarily a rural nation Percentage of population living in urban areas

1850- 15% 1900-39% 1950-59% 2000- 79%

Urban- Incorporated areas (such as cities and townships) with over 2500 people

Since 1900, most of America’s population growth has been urban

Cities grow in power and influence relative to rural areas

America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

The Emergence of Cities, 1880


The Emergence of Cities, 1920

America’s Move to Town

We have noted the some of the challenges faced by the rapid growth of urban areas driven by the demands of the industrial revolution and fueled by a wave of immigration.

It is in these cities we see some very important changes in American society that would eventually spread across the nation Mass education and literacy Mass leisure and spectator sports Mass entertainment


Urbanization and the environment


Urban mass transit


Mulberry Street, Little Italy, New York City, ca. 1900

Mass Education in the late 19th Century

Social reformers saw education as a way to improve the lives of urban poor Teach immigrants patriotism and the American

way of life Civil loyalty and democratic values American history to unite people- fear of foreign

ideas and revolutionary ideas Compulsory Education Laws spread

1870- 57% of school age children were attending school

1900- 72%

What does this table tell us about the growing role of education in America?

Table 1: Average Years of Schooling in the Labor Force

1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 United States 1.14 2.10 3.56 4.91 6.24 8.34 9.94 11.8 13.1 New England 2.61 3.98 4.77 5.64 6.95 8.65 10.2 12.2 13.6 Middle Atlantic 1.54 2.88 4.36 5.50 6.47 8.15 9.83 11.8 13.2 South Atlantic 0.65 1.22 2.04 3.76 5.18 7.71 9.53 11.5 13.0 E. South Central 0.36 0.93 2.30 4.20 5.58 7.48 9.43 11.1 12.7 W. South Central 0.35 0.74 1.92 3.51 5.04 7.70 9.41 11.3 12.7 Mountain - 0.93 3.33 4.58 6.32 9.06 10.4 11.9 13.1 Pacific - 2.50 3.69 5.13 6.72 9.27 10.4 12.4 13.1

From: Income and Education of the States of the United States:1840-2000Scott Baier, Sean E. Mulholland, Robert Tamura and Chad Turner∗October, 2005


Italian Immigrants and Social Education


Vocational education


Women as students

Mass Literacy, Popular Journalism and Literature

Growing literacy rates increasing leisure time and improved printing technology supported the first mass media and popular literature Number of newspapers in circulation multiplied 5X between

1865 and 1910 Cites and most towns had many newspapers competing

with each other Attracted readers though features, comics, advice columns, serial

stories Inflammatory reporting called yellow journalism lured readers with

sensational stories (Like the Weekly World News today)

This marks the beginning of a truly mass media where millions of people experience the same thoughts and ideas at roughly the same time- Begins the process of homogenizing American experiences

Leisure and the Cities

The concentration of population with a diverse background and talent helped support Vaudeville Included comedians, singers, musicians and dancers- a live

variety show Would gradually be replaced by the movies in the 1920’s Nickelodeons- Father of movie theatres- short “films”

viewed through a hand cranked machine Wild West shows presented a romanticized view of the

disappearing frontier Rag time music became the rebellions rock music of the

“Gay Nineties” (The traditional meaning of gay is happy)

Dance music with heavy rhythms Scot Joplin's Maple Leave Rag recored on a piano roll

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAtL7n_-rc




Vaudeville


The Kenetoscope: The Featured Technology at a Nickelodeon


The King of Rag Time


A workingman’s social center

Parks and Leisure Time

As cities grew, a movement to manage growth and reserve public spaces grew The Cities Beautiful Movement

Create wide open streets and public parks for people to gather

New York Central park- an attempt to maintain a rural landscape in a growing city

Amusement Parks cater to Middle Class and increasing number of middle class Apply new electrical technology to provide an

enchanted experience Coney Island- The Grandfather of Disney Land


Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

Participatory Sports: The Bicycle Bicycling began in the

late 19th Century Recreation and later a

form of transportation Introduced in 1870 Became widely popular

by 1880


Tandem tricycle

America’s Three major spectator sports took shape in the late 19th Century

Baseball- America’s Past Time Football- Too Violent to be Legal? Basketball- America’s gift to the world

Baseball: America’s Past Time

Based on British game rounders Grew widely popular during the Civil War-

rules regularized 1869- First Professional team: Cincinnati

Redstockings 1876- The National League formed

Reflected the trend of professionalization and regimentation

Drew crowds in the thousands Grew segregated due to “The gentlemen's

agreement” First World Series in 1901 between National and

the new American League (Sometimes called the junior circuit)


Baseball card, 1887


America’s Past Time

Football

Based on the British game of rugby Grew in popularity in the “Ivy League” colleges of

the Northeastern United States Walter Camp- player at Yale attempted to fix rules

for a unique game Line of scrimmage, snap, center and quarterback added Emerges distinct from rugby and soccer Professional teams by the late 19th century- in the

shadows of baseball Incredibly violent- talk of outlawing it (18 college

and 46 high school players killed in games in 1905)


America’s Past Time

Basketball: The Most American of Sports

Baseball is the most international of the three sports that rose in the late 19th Century- Wholly developed in America

Dr. James Naismith- Physical Education instructor in Springfield MA invents a sport that could be played indoors Placed peach baskets on two ends of a gymnasium First rule change- cut out the bottom of the baskets!

Game grew international as Dr. Naismith had students from around the world

Grew more slowly as a spectator sport than football and baseball


Basketball

daily life in the cities america’s birth as an urban society

Documents

urban cities

mass culture slide

growing cities

urban society

growing role of urban

environment slide

urban incorporated areas

emergence of cities