The Emergence of Urban America

Chapter 7 and 8

Introduction

American society changed in 5 fundamental ways from the 1860s to 1900: Industrialization Close of the Western frontier Urbanization Immigration Intellectual challenge

The Modern City

The modern city was the product of industrialization. Cities contained the great investment banks, mills, sweatshops, railroad yards, housing tenements, mansions, department stores, and skyscrapers.

During the 50 years after the Civil War, the population of the United States increased from 31 million to 91 million.

In 1860, one American in six lived in a city with a population of 8000 or more; in 1900, one in three did. By 1920 more than half the nation lived in cities.

The Modern City

Before industrialization, cities were not as common. Cities at the time of the American Revolution, for example, all had small populations. Philadelphia was the largest with 30,000.

Move ahead to 1870, Los Angeles barely had 6,000 people. By 1900 it was the second largest city on the Pacific coast with 100,000 residents.

Large urban centers began to dominate whole regions, tying the country together in a vast urban network. Who were the people contributing to this urban explosion?

Population—the Great Global Migration

People came from places as near as the countryside and as far away as Italy, Russia, and China.

Between 1820 and 1920, some 60 million people across the globe left farms and villages for cities. In Europe the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 launched a cycle of

baby booms that continued at 20-year intervals for the rest of the century.

Improved diet and sanitation reduced deaths. Meanwhile the machinery cut the need for farmworkers. Surplus

farmworkers became a part of a vast international labor force, pulled by industry to cities in Europe and America.

“New” Immigration

Earlier European immigrants to the U.S. had come from northern western Europe.

In the 1880s, immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe. Ex. Russians, Polish, Italians, etc. Few spoke English Most were not Protestants.

Ex. Catholic, Russian Orthodoxy, Jewish, etc. Difference in culture, language, and religion brought new

problems with assimilation.By 1900 immigrants made up about 15

percent of the population.

“New”Immigration

Ellis Island in New York/New Jersey Opened in 1892 near the Statue of Liberty (1886) By 1902, it was processing 5,000 immigrants per

day Purpose to process immigrants, not welcome them They had to pass a medical examination, have their

names recoded by customs officials, and pay an entry tax. At any point, they could be detained or shipped home.

Angel Island in San Francisco

NativistResponse

Nativism A defensive and fearful nationalism New immigrants viewed as a threat Attacked Catholics, Jews, and foreigners Many immigrants were illiterate or appeared to be

because they could not speak EnglishImmigration restriction

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) The urgent need for railway labor had ebbed Chinese made up one-ninth of Calif. population in 1880 Not repealed until 1943

In 1917, Congress excluded illiterates

The Cities Take Shape:Patterns of Settlement

In colonial days, “walking cities” developed ringed patterns of settlement. Shops and upper classes in the city center and poor along the fringe. By the late 19th century, industrialization had reversed that

order as the middle and upper classes moved out of the growing industrial core.

Evolving system of urban transportation San Francisco developed trolley cars pulled by steam-

driven cables in the 1880s. Electric trollies were introduced in 1888. Boston had the

first subway in 1897. Allowed cities to grow horizontally.

Bridges and Skyscrapers

Bridges connected parts of cities that grew along rivers. The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 (13 years to build)

Steel and elevators allowed buildings to become skyscrapers, thus combating the growing congestion – came to symbolize the modern industrial city. Allowed cities to grow vertically.

Slum and Tenement

Below the skyscrapers lay the slums and tenements of the inner city were the city poor lived. Often places of disease, filth, and cramped living conditions.

Perils of a slum neighborhood Congestion: average block had 4,000 people Sanitation: sewers dumped in rivers used for drinking

water; communal water closets (16 families would share 2 toilets), no windows

Epidemics: cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis 25% of children born in American cities in 1890 did not

reach their first birthday

Running and Reforming the City

Running cities became a full-time job Schools and houses had to be built, streets

paved, garbage collected, sewers dug, fires fought, etc.

A new breed of full-time politicians rose to the task.

Problem: city governments were often decentralized and at odds with one another

Boss Rule (Urban Political Machines)

Boss Rule (Urban Political Machines)

Furnished cities with the centralization needed A crude welfare system (Adjust to city life)

A Christmas turkey, a load of coal for winter, jobs for the unemployed, English-language classes for recent immigrants, sports teams, etc.

In return, citizens expressed their gratitude at the ballot box and the boss became wealthy with kickbacks and payoff money. Example: Boss William Tweed (New York)

A Culture of Consumption

The city spawned a new material culture built around consumption Affluence enabled many to enjoy greater leisure time

and rising discretionary incomeMass consumption was giving rise to a

mass culture – department stores, chain stores (working-class), and mail order

Urban Middle-Class Life The home as haven and status symbol

Over 1/3 of middle class urbanites owned homes The middle-class homemaker

A woman was judged by the state of her home

City Life: Mass Entertainment

Civic leaders built museums, libraries, and public parks (Central Park)

Cities also offered dance halls (rise of popular music)and sporting events, amusement parks and vaudeville (variety) shows

Barnum and Bailey’s traveling circus and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show crisscrossed the U.S. and the world.

City Life: Mass Entertainment

Leisure Croquet and tennis courts Bicycles Saloons offered pool tables, bowling alleys,

and dart boardsSpectator sports for the urban

masses Horse racing and boxing College, football, basketball, and baseball Sports and class distinctions

Baseball

America’s national pastime Started in 1845 in New York by Alexander

Cartwright First professional team was the Cincinnati Red

Stockings in 1869Most democratic sport in America

All social classes attended the game A common loyalty to a city baseball team

and a sense of belonging Adapting to America (Assimilation) Blacks played in “Negro leagues”

Education

Public Education in an Urban Industrial World “Americanize” immigrant children Spread of secondary schools

1860: 100 public high schools 1900: 6,000

Higher Learning Postgraduate education

1870: 52,000 1920: 600,000 Higher education for women Graduate School

By the 1890s the Ph.D. was becoming a requirement for professors

Professional schools for theology, law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.

Professional licensing began

Victorianism and the Pursuit of Virtue

Victorianism dictated that personal conduct be based on orderly behavior and disciplined moralism. Reformers attempted to address the disorder of a rapidly

industrializing society: increasing alcoholism, venereal disease, gambling debts, prostitution, and unwanted pregnancies.

Women’s Christian Temperance Union No alcohol and promote sexual purity

Comstock Law (1873) Banned from the mail all materials “designed to incite

lust.”

Conclusion

As the 19th century drew to a close, the city was reshaping the country, just as industrialization had reshaped the economy.

Cities stood at the center of the new industrial order.

Some celebrated the city as “a great melting pot.” Others feared the attack on traditional American values.

All Americans had to search for ways to make that world work.

1870 Elevated rail begins operation in New York City

Significant Events

Chapter 20

1873 Comstock Law enacted 1874 Women’s Christian Temperance Union founded 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act 1883 Brooklyn Bridge opens 1885 World’s first skyscraper constructed in

Chicago

1889 Hull House opens in Chicago 1892 Ellis Island opens 1894 Immigration Restriction League organized 1897 Boston opens first subway