Gilded Age Urbanization, Immigration, and Culture Reference Ch18 AMSCO
Gilded Age Urbanization Urbanization Population increasingly moving to cities Mechanization of agriculture Economic opportunities with increased industrialization Increased infrastructure Streetcars, bridges, subways Skyscrapers, elevators, radiators City Layouts Business centers Older sections Immigration and minorities Suburbs Middle and upper class moved outside of cities to escape urbanization Urban reform developments
Urban Problems Overcrowding Tenement Living Pollution Crime Sanitation/Water Treatment Disease
Municipal services Social Gospel Urban and Social Reforms Apply Christian values toward social problems and issues Josiah Strong, Walter Rauschenbusch, Richard T. Ely Settlement Houses Jane Addams and Hull House YMCA Salvation Army Social Criticism Jacob Riis - How the Other Half Lives (1889) Henry George - Progress and Poverty (1879)
Working Conditions Typical 12 hour days, 6 days a week Conditions Poor ventilation and heavy equipment In 1882, average of 675 workers killed each week Injured = fired No benefits, such as vacation days, sick leave, health insurance, workers compensation, pensions Women Earned half of what men earned in comparable or same jobs Child Labor As young as 5 years old 12-14 hours for $.27 ($6.65)
Immigration Population 16.2 million immigrants between 1850-1900 8.8 million during 1901-1910 Pushes Mechanization removing jobs, esp. in rural areas Overpopulation Persecution Pulls Political and economic freedoms and opportunities Old Immigrants Northern and Western Europe New Immigrants Southern and Eastern Europe; Asia Catholics, Jews
Immigrant Issues Sociopolitical Enemies Nativists Josiah Strong - Our Country Legislation Page Act of 1875 Forbade forced labor Asians, prostitutes, convicts Immigration Acts of 1882, 1891 $0.50 tax Forbid convicts, lunatics, idiots, diseased, disabled Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) Chinese immigration ban for 10 years Chinese prevented from becoming citizens United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) All people born in U.S. are citizens Political Machines Employment, housing, social services for votes Ethnic Neighborhoods Little Italy Chinatown
Ellis Island Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore Emma Lazarus - The New Colossus, 1883
Consumerism Wide variety of mass produced goods led to new marketing and sales Brand names and logos Department stores R.H. Macy s Chain stores Woolworth s Grocery stores Mail order catalogs Montgomery Ward Sears, Roebuck, Co.
Henry Ford and Model T Assembly Line Mass production of products through sequential assembly Worker Treatment Paid decent wages Provided benefits Model T (1908) Low-cost product for affordable price
Gilded Age Religion American Christians focused values toward consequences of industrialization and urbanization Social Gospel Increases Catholics, Jews New Christian Sects Christian Science Spiritual life over material Pentecostals Baptism in spirit; speaking in tongues Salvation Army Jehovah s Witnesses Millenialist
Temperance and Reform Alcohol and vices blamed for urban problems Regulating Morality Comstock Law (1873) Temperance Organizations National Prohibition Party (1869) Women s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) (1874) Frances E. Willard Antisaloon League (1893) Carrie Nation Hatchetations Reform Groups Planned parenthood Humane societies Anti-prostitution
Gilded Age Academics Educational Reforms Compulsory Education Most states required 8-14 year olds to attend schools Kindergartens Public Education Dramatic increase in high schools and adult education Comprehensive education Led to 90% literacy rate Colleges and Universities Increased through federal legislation and philanthropy Science Darwin and Natural Selection (Evolution) Technological Innovation Social Sciences Scientific method applied to behavioral sciences Development of psychology, sociology, political science William James s Principles of Psychology
Gilded Age Entertainment and Leisure Causes Urbanization, less working hours, advertisements Vaudevilles Popularized with family-friendly subjects and material Saloons Amusement Parks Coney Island Circus P.T. Barnum Sports Spectator Baseball, boxing, football, basketball Amateur Golf, tennis
Realism Objective reality Depict accurate and true characters and settings Absent of emotional embellishment Naturalism Depiction of objects in natural settings Time and place accuracy Realism and Naturalism Brooklyn Bridge at Night Edward Willis Redfield 1909
Ashcan School Depiction of New York City urban life George Bellows James M. Whistler Winslow Homer Mary Cassatt Gilded Age Art Both Members of This Club George Bellows 1909
Winslow Homer s Breezing Up
George Bellow s New York
James Whistler s Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (Whistler s Mother) (1871)
Mary Cassat s The Child s Bath (1893)
Gilded Age Architecture Victorian Influence Henry Hobson Richardson Louis Sullivan Father of Skyscrapers form follows function Frank Lloyd Wright organic architecture Foursquare Homes
Richardson s Trinity Church
Frank Lloyd Wright s Fallingwater
Foursquare Home
Gilded Age Press and Literature Press Joseph Pulitzer s New York World & William Randolph Hearst Sensationalism and scandals Magazines Editorial style based on investigative journalism Forum Non-Fiction Toward facts, investigations, American expansion Helen Hunt Jackson s A Century of Dishonor (1881) Alfred Thayer Mahan s The Influence of Sea Power on History (1890) Josiah Strong s Our Country Literature Authors focused on character development and realism over plot Lewis Wallace Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today Stephen Crane The Red Badge of Courage Jack London The Call of the Wild; White Fang
Gilded Age Music Mainstream Music John Philip Sousa The March King The Washington Post Stars and Stripes Forever Semper Fidelis Screamers Circus Marches Entry of the Gladiators Circus Bee Popular Music Ragtime Originated from black communities combining African syncopation and classical music Scott Joplin Maple Leaf Rag The Entertainer The Blues Originated c. 1890 from Deep South based on ballads among slaves Lyrics mostly soulful and melancholy