Week 18/Chapter 18: The Age of the City

Transcription

1 Week 18/Chapter 18: The Age of the City I. The Urbanization of America A. The Lure of the City 1. By 1920, over ½ of Americans lived in urban areas of 2, People flocked to cities because of job opportunities and better modes of transportation allowed them to get there. 3. Cities like New York grew from 1 million in 1860 to 3 million in B. Migrations 1. Many different groups migrated to cities including: a. Women searching for work and community b. Southern blacks escaping poverty, debt and violence c. Immigrants were the most important source of urban population growth (see chart p. 502) 1. between million 2. between million 3. after 1880, Europe, the most prominent source of immigration included groups from Italy, Greece and Russia C. The Ethnic City 1. By 1890, most of the major cities had 80+ % immigrant populations 2. Diversity was pronounced with groups coming from all over Europe, Asia and Mexico (see Global Migrations p. 503) 3. Ethnic islands or Immigrant Ghettos developed where groups of people began living among others from their country. 4. Advancement and success depended on a variety of factors including: Prejudice, skill, starting capital, etc. D. Assimilation 1. Foreigners, although diverse, had many things in common a. most shared the experience of city life and had to adapt b. most were young (15-45) c. for most it was strength of ethnic ties v. assimilation 2. Many foreigners work hard to become Americanized 3. The urge to assimilate put a strain on male/female relationships 4. Assimilation was encouraged by schools, employers, churches E. Exclusion 1. The huge influx of immigration, each with different cultures created fear and prejudice among native-borns 2. The rising nativism provoked a political response a Henry Bowers founded the American Protective Association to slow influx of immigration b the Immigration Restriction League was formed in Boston c Congress restricted Chinese immigration d. Immigration restrictions eventually fizzled out because of political pressure of those who felt immigrants helped the economy.

2 II. III. The Urban Landscape A. The Creation of Public Space 1. Planners and organizers began to call for more ordered cities a. Urban Parks, such as Central Park were developed b. Great Public Buildings sprang up (libraries, museums, theatres) Columbian Exposition was a monumental undertaking, rebuilding Chicago the Great White City 3. New landscapes were developed some of America s major cities. B. Housing the Well-to-Do 1. the availability of cheap labor, tools and materials made housing affordable to the moderately wealthy 2. suburbs began to crop up in the late 1800 s 3. choices were widespread for the rich, who built huge estates in the cities and suburbs C. Housing Workers and the Poor 1. Population density of over 140 people per acre and in some cases, 700 people per acre in cities made for crowded conditions in the streets and in apartments 2. many lived in run down row house, triple deckers and tenements 3. tenements were miserable with no windows, plumbing or heating 4. Jacob Riis How the Other Half Lives, 1890, depicted tenement life. D. Urban Transportation 1. transportation was difficult because streets were not paved and the population was too large. 2. This led to the development of mass transportation such as street cars, NY s EL in 1870, SF s cable cars and Boston s subway D. The Skyscraper 1. Developments in cast iron and steel made it easier to built taller buildings. 2. Chicago architect Louis Sullivan was a central figure in the development of the skyscraper. Strains of Urban Life A. Fire and Disease 1. Fire, as most homes were made of wood, was a serious hazard a. Boston and Chicago suffered great fires in b. Fires encouraged the construction of fireproof buildings and the development of fire departments and forced cities to rebuild using new technology and methods. 2. Improper sewage disposal and water contamination led to diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera B. Environmental Degradation 1. Improper disposal of human waste contributed to the pollution of rivers, lakes and drinking water. 2. Air pollution led to respiratory diseases 3. Eventually, new sewage and drainage systems were developed and pioneers like Alice Hamilton identified pollution in the workplace.

3 IV. 4. In 1912, the Fed created the Public Health Service which became the precursor to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. C. Urban Poverty 1. Poverty in the cities was widespread and there were no relief organization to help people with their plight. 2. The Salvation Army began in D. Crime and Violence 1. Crime rates rose steadily in the late 1800 s 2. Highest rates were in the South and areas of the West. 3. Rising crime rates led to the development of professional police forces and the formation of Urban National Guard Units. E. Fear of the City Theodore Dreiser s Sister Carrie(1900) exposed the plight of single urban women. F. The Machine and the Boss 1. Urban Political Machines came into existence for a couple of reasons: a. the tremendous growth of cities left a power vacuum b. immigrant communities provided a powerful voting block 2. at the head of the machine was a political boss whose mission was to win votes for his organization through favors and patronage 3. Money and corruption were at the heart of Tammany Hall, led by George Washington Plunkitt and later, William M. Tweed 4. their actions also expanded the role of government, created stability and modernizing the cities infrastructure. 5. Boss rule was made possible by several factors. a. the power of immigrant voters b. the link between political organizations and the wealthy c. the structural weaknesses of city governments The Rise of Mass Consumption A. Patterns of Income and Consumption 1. Rising incomes, new techniques in production and distribution led to cheaper consumer goods & higher demand (eg. ready-made clothing) 2. Between , the salaries of white collar workers rose by a 1/3 and working class income also rose. 3. refrigerated rail cars and caning made many food items available to the a large segment of the people, improving diets, health and life expectancy B. Chain Stores and Mail-Order Houses 1. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company 1850 s 2. F.W. Woolworth s Five and Dime Stores These stores provided a greater variety of goods at much lower prices than the local stores. 4. Mail order stores also emerged Montgomery Ward, 1887 Sears and Roebuck. Making consumer goods available to people in rural areas.

4 C. Department Stores 1. Department stores such as Marshall Field, Macys and Wanamakers transformed shopping in certain ways: a. brought together a vast array of goods under 1 roof b. strove to create an atmosphere of wonder and excitement c. took advantage of economies-of-scale to lower cost D. Women as Consumers 1. womens clothing styles changed as did their shopping and cooking habits 2. women got more employment opportunities as sales clerks and waitresses 3. The National Consumer Protection League, formed in 1890s by Florence Kelley began to mobilize the power of women behind consumer causes, which led to other causes. V. Leisure In The Consumer Society A. Redefining Leisure 1. views of leisure went from the idea that it was lazy to the idea that free time was a right and a contribution to ones emotional health 2. Economist Simon Patten in The Theory of Prosperity (1902) and The New Basis of Civilization (1910) argued that we are in transition from pain economy (scarcity) to pleasure economy. 3. Americans made increased use of traditional form of leisure and also searched for new form of entertainment. (see Coney Island p ) B. Spectator Sports 1. By the end of the Civil War, there were more than 200 amateur and semiprofessional baseball clubs. 2. The Cincinnati Red Stockings were formed in 1869 and the National League formed under Albert Spalding in 1876 in 1901 the American League formed to replace the American Association. 3. In 1903, the Red Sox beat Pittsburgh in the 1 st World Series. 4. First college football game was between Princeton and Rutgers in The Western Conference Big Ten formed in The NCAA was formed in 1910 to revise rules of the game in order to make it safer and honest. 7. Basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr. James A. Naismith. 8. Boxing and horse racing also became very popular. 9. Gambling became common-place and led to some problems (Chicago Black Sox Scandal ) C. Music and Theater 1. Ethnic Theaters developed in the major cities. (Italian Opera) 2. Urban Theaters introduced the musical comedy. (George M. Cohan- Yankee Doodle Dandy, Over There, You re a Grand Old Flag & Irving Berlin s musical theaters featuring Alexander s Ragtime Band & God Bless America 3. Vaudeville also emerged (Florenz Ziegfield)

5 VI. D. The Movies 1. Thomas Edison created motion picture technology in the 1880 s and movies became the number one source of entertainment till the radio and television. 2. D.W. Griffith s Birth of A Nation (1915) was the world s first silent film. It included racist images, celebrating the Ku Klux Klan. E. Working-Class Leisure 1. for this group, much time would be spent hanging out on the streets and or the saloon 2. Saloons became important political venues. 3. Boxing was a major source of entertainment for the working class. F. The Fourth of July 1. this day was the only full day of leisure available to Americans 2. the 4 th was celebrated differently in different regions of the country G. Private Pursuits 1. novels and poetry became the most popular private pursuit 2. music (listening and playing) also became important H. Mass Communications 1. Between , the circulation of daily newspapers increased ninefold from under 3 million to 24 million. 2. Telegraph communication also grew. 3. William Randolph Hearst controlled 9 newspapers and 2 magazines and he along with Joseph Pulitzer popularized Yellow Journalism 4. Edward Bok took over the Ladies Home Journal in High Culture In The Age Of The City A. The Literature of Urban America 1. The trend was for writers to present a realistic portrait of city life, i.e. Crane s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and Dreiser s Sister Carrie. 2. Norris The Octopus(1901) and Sinclair s The Jungle(1906) exposed oppression and the depravity of capitalism B. Art in the Age of the City 1. Artists also began to depict the perils and grim realities of city life (John Sloan & George Bellows) of the Ashcan School 2. Their efforts marked the beginning of modernism, embracing new subjects and new forms. C. The Impact of Darwinism 1. Darwin s theory of Natural Selection became widely accepted. 2. This theory met widespread resistance but the theory eventually was engrained in universities and schools. 3. While Darwinism picked up steam in the cities, religious fundamentalism continued to dominate in rural communities. 4. William and Henry James ushered in Pragmatism which held that modern society should rely for guidance not on inherited ideals and moral principles but on the test of scientific inquiry. No idea was valid unless it stood the test of experience.

6 C. Toward Universal Schooling 1. In 1860, there were 100 public high schools, by 1900 there were 6,000 and by 1914, over 12, Laws made education compulsory but rural areas lagged behind Richard Henry Pratt s Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an attempt at assimilating Indians. 4. The Morrill Land Grant Act of the Civil War Era led to the increase of colleges across the country. D. Education for Women 1. Colleges began to admit women after the Civil War. 2. Women s Colleges were more significant (Holyoke became a full fledged college in 1880s) 3. Other female colleges emerged such as Wellesley, Smith, Byrn Mawr, Vassar. 4. Female colleges led to the emergence of a distinctive women s community and a spirit of sorority and commitment among women.