CH 25: AMERICA MOVES TO THE CITY

CH 25: AMERICA MOVES TO THE CITY

THE URBAN FRONTIER From 1870-1900, the American population doubled Population of the cities tripled Cities grew up and out, Louis Sullivan was a famous architect who worked on skyscrapers, Bessemer steel process allowed this to occur Cities grow from small and compact to huge metropolis where one needs electric trolleys and other mass transit Electricity, indoor plumbing, and telephones were available in cities making them more enticing Of course you also had crime, uncollected, sewage, unwashed bodies, and droppings Department stores like Macy s and Marshall Field s provided not only jobs but also urban middle-class shoppers Mail order catalogs, like Sears or Montgomery Ward, made purchasing easy for everyone

Worst were the slums, which were heavily crammed Dumbbell Tenements were the worst. Dark, cramped, little sanitation or ventilation To escape, the wealthy city dwellers go to the suburbs.

THE NEW IMMIGRATION Until 1880s, most immigrants had come from British Isles and Western Europe Most were literate, accustomed to representative democracies, and the general culture After 1880, this shifts to the Baltic and Slavic peoples of southeastern Europe who had very different life experiences EX: Before 1880 immigrants from southeastern Europe accounted for only 19% of the total, but by 1900 were 60% Many Europeans came to America because there was no more room in Europe Industrialization had eliminated many jobs as well The American Dream was also believed by Europeans, who hear of freedoms, jobs, and eating every day Many in the States also promoted this idea to get additional immigration and thus cheap labor to come over

Many immigrants, if they stayed long or short term, were determined to retain much of their own cultures and customs Their children were often the ones who rejected the Old World cultures and embraced American life The federal government did little to help immigrants assimilate into American society Immigrants in larger cities were often controlled by political bosses who provided jobs and shelter in return for political support at the polls Gradually Americans began to wake up and started to assist the new immigrants Walter Rauschenbusch and Washington Gladden began preaching the social gospel Belief that churches were to be the center of assistance and help on social issues Jane Addams also believed deeply in helping the urban masses Opened the Hull House in 1889 to teach children and adults literacy and skills needed to succeed; Won Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 Others: Lillian Wald opened Henry Street Settlement in NYC in 1893

NARROWING THE WELCOME MAT Nativism and antiforeignism of the 1840s and 1850s came back in the 1880s The Germans and Western Europeans looked down upon the new Slavs and Baltics Worried that, besides jobs, the mixing of blood would ruin the better Anglo- Saxon races and create inferior offspring Native Americans blamed immigrants for the degradation of the urban government (which they forgot they too had been blamed as well) Trade unionists disliked the immigrants for their willingness to work for very low wages Many also didn t like them because they brought in new ideas of government like socialism and communism The American Protective Association (APA) was formed to go against the new immigrants Labor leaders were also quick to try to stop further immigration

1882 Congress passes first restrictive law against immigration Banned paupers, criminals, and convicts Also banned Chinese immigration 1885 another law banned importing contracted low wage workers 1917 Congress passed a law placing literacy tests on immigrants Immigrants coming into NYC were registered and inspected at Ellis Island

DAY 1 WRITE THE QUESTION IN THE SPACE PROVIDED A: Describe advantages and disadvantages of the urbanization in the late 1800s. B: How was the New immigration patterns of the 1880s different from previous? C: What was the social gospel and how did women like Addams attempt to help the urban masses? D: Explain reasons why the New immigrants of the 1880s were looked down upon by Native Americans and labor.

CHURCHES CONFRONT URBAN CHALLENGE For quite some time, churches had not attempted to tackle the urban poor issue A push for urban revival began to occur in the churches Dwight Lyman Moody wanted to adapt the old time religion to city life and created the Moody Bible Institute in 1889 Chicago Roman Catholics and the Jewish faith also gained considerable numbers during this new immigration By 1890, Americans could choose from nearly 150 religions Salvation Army was started to help the poor and unfortunate Mary Baker Eddy founded the Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science) Cities also began to see YMCA s and YWCA s start up

DARWIN / EDUCATION 1859, Charles Darwin publishes the On the Origin of Species which sets forth the theory of evolution Fundamental Christians were hotly against this new theory Modernist Christians began to take a step back and completely agree of the Bible s accuracy A new trend to create more tax payer funded public schools and free text books started By 1900, there were 6,000 high schools and Kindergartens were multiplying Besides public schools, Catholic schools were also growing in number Americans began to have faith in formal education as a solution to poverty.

BOOKER T WASHINGTON AND EDUCATION FOR BLACK PEOPLE The South in later 1800s was war-torn and super poor It lagged far behind in education, especially for blacks Booker T Washington, an ex slave, started a push for increased education He headed a black normal and industrial school in Tuskegee, Alabama and taught students useful skills and trades He avoided the issue of social equality, believing blacks helping themselves first before gaining more rights One of his students was George Washington Carver, who later discovered hundreds of uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans WEB Du Bois was the first African-American to get a PhD from Harvard He demanded complete equality for blacks and action In 1910, Du Bois founded the NAACP The separation of Washington and Du Bois is evidence of the vastly different experiences between southern and northern blacks.

HALLOWED HALLS OF IVY Colleges and universities spring up after the Civil War Included colleges for women, such as Vassar Colleges for both genders grew, especially in the Midwest Black colleges were also established (Howard University in Washington DC, Atlanta University, and Hampton Institute in Virginia) Morrill Act of 1862 provided generous public land grants to states for support of education and was extended in the Hatch Act of 1887 This provided federal funds for the establishment of agricultural experiment stations in connection with the land grant colleges Private donations also started to create colleges: Cornell, Leland Stanford Junior, and University of Chicago which was started by JD Rockefeller Medical schools also took off, especially following discoveries by Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister

THE PRESS Libraries opened across America, bringing literature into people s homes The invention of Linotype in 1885 allowed the press to keep pace Sparked a new type of competition called Yellow Journalism Newspapers would report on wild fantastic stories that were often false or exaggerated Two newspaper tycoons emerge: William Randolph Hearst (San Francisco Examiner) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) The Associated Press attempted to off set some bad journalism, but yellow journalism flourished

DAY 2 WRITE THE QUESTION IN THE SPACE PROVIDED A: Describe how the churches began to help the urban masses. B: Explain the divide between the views of fundamental Christians and Charles Darwin s theories. C: Compare and contrast the views of Booker T Washington and WEB Du Bois. D: What is yellow journalism?

REFORM AND POSTWAR WRITING Magazines began to be published, such as Harper s, the Atlantic Monthly, and Scribner s Monthly. Henry George wrote Progress and Poverty which looked at social issues and it was George that came up with the idea of the graduated income tax Graduated income tax is a progressive tax, the more money you make the higher your taxes Edward Bellamy published Looking Backward in 1888 Critical of social injustices of the day and advocated for a nationalized big business that served the public good (socialism)

The mass marketing of dime novels after the Civil War was huge Usually depicted the wild West or other romantic adventure settings Biggest author of dime novels was Harland Halsey who published 650 of them

Horatio Alger, wrote of virtue and honesty and hard work that was rewarded by success and wealth and honor Walt Whitman continued to publish and update his Leaves of Grass Emily Dickinson was a famed hermit poet whose poems were published after her death Mark Twain wrote many books (Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Gilded Age (coined the term), and the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County) Stephen Crane, Red Badge of Courage Jack London, wrote about the wild and wilderness (Call of the Wild) LITERARY LANDMARKS

Urban life was stressful on the family FAMILIES AND WOMEN IN THE CITY Not only did you have a new morality in the cities- Writings and articles that reflected new sexual freedoms, increased birth control, divorces, and often discussed frank sexual topics You also had families that were separated and everyone in the family having to work Children often did as young as 10 The birth rate had a reverse effect when comparing rural and urban On the farm, more children meant more workers, in the city it meant more mouths to feed and a greater chance at poverty. Feminism began to come out in writing and in politics

Charlotte Perkins Gilman published Women and Economics which called for women to abandon their dependent status and contribute to the larger community life She also advocated for day-care centers Feminists also rallied towards suffrage, forming the National American Women Suffrage Association in 1890 Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony Carrie Chapman Catt, another leader, stressed the desirability of giving women the vote if they were to continue to perform their traditional duties and homemakers Suffrage for women is first seen in Wyoming Territory in 1869 Ida B Wells advocated for the better treatment of black women as well and formed the National Association of Colored Women in 1896

PROHIBITION AND SOCIAL PROGRESS Concern over the popularity of alcohol was also increasing after the war The National Prohibition Party was formed in 1869 Other organizations such as the Women s Christian Temperance Union was also formed, calling for the national prohibition of alcohol, led by Frances E Willard and Carrie Nation 1893, Anti-Saloon League 1866, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed to discourage mistreatment of livestock American Red Cross was formed by Clara Barton in 1881, a former Civil War nurse

AMUSEMENT Phineas T Barnum and James A Bailey teamed up in 1881 to put on the Greatest Show on Earth (Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus) Wild West shows toured the nation with personalities like Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley Football and baseball became popular 1891, James Naismith invented basketball

DAY 3 WRITE THE QUESTION IN THE SPACE PROVIDED A: Describe three escapes that urban dwellers had during the late 1800s. B: Explain various struggles that families had living in the larger cities. C: Describe the role of women in the fight for suffrage and social progress. D: Why were women at the front of the prohibition movement?