AMERICAN SOCIETY IN TRANSITION

Gilded Age

Urbanization: The Growth of Cities

Key Terms Urbanization Demography Cyrus McCormick

The process of American industrialization led to urbanization The movement of people from the

countryside to towns and cities.

The Growth of Cities

Demographics illustrate the change. New York, Chicago and Philadelphia had

populations of more than 1 million by 1900

Factors in the Growth of Cities

Introduction of new farm machinery such as the reaper by Cyrus McCormick.

New industries were being created to offer jobs. Factories Mines Workshops

People were attracted to cities because of Cultural experiences Museums Entertainment, etc.

Unprecedented levels of immigration.

Cities Face New Problems

Terms Tenement Political Machine Political Bosses Boss Tweed Tammany Hall Municipal Jacob Riis

Overcrowding and Congestion

No planning for growth. Streets not wide enough. Horse-drawn cars made movement almost impossible.

Factories and trains polluted the air Sewage sometimes contaminated drinking water spreading

disease. Cities could not deliver essential services – clean water,

garbage collection and public schools. Whole families lived in tenements. Transportation was inadequate until subways and electric

trolleys Social tensions.

Rich lived next to poor. Seeing the luxuries of the wealthy poor people were stressed and

led to tensions and crimes.

Living Conditions

Political Machines (308-309)

Rapidly growing cities were difficult to manage Increased taxes to pay for necessities More taxes=more money=more power

Political Machine Unofficial city organizations designed to

keep a particular party/group in power Usually headed by a single “boss”

Worked through the exchange of favors for votes

Tweed in Cartoons: William Macy Tweed

• Most infamous “boss”• Controlled Tammany

Hall• Ran NYC’s Democratic

Party• Illegally accessed city

treasury and stole millions of dollars

Immigration

Why did immigrants come to the US? PUSH and PULL Factors

1. Economic opportunities 2. Freedom3. Religious/Ethnic persecution 4. War 5. Oppression 6. Cultural ties 7. Poverty

Push Pull

Old Immigrants / New Immigrants (299)

Old: Those who came before 1880 came mostly from Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany.

New: Those who came later (after 1800) were from Southern and Eastern Europe

Differences

Old Immigrants Skilled workers Could speak English Protestant

New Immigrants Unskilled workers Did not know English Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox

Life for New Immigrants

Traveled in cheap accommodations Steerage (298)

Large area beneath ship’s deck Ellis Island (297)

NY harbor Settled

Large cities Ethnic Ghettos (300)

Neighborhoods with one ethnic or racial group dominates

Isolated from mainstream America Living conditions were bad but were often

worse in their home country.

Americanization

Public education was instrumental in the Americanization of the immigrant children who would in turn assist parents. They were “assimilated”

Soon the US became a “melting pot” in which immigrants were melted down and reshaped.

Conflict and generational problems sometimes occurred in the homes

Nativists (104,314)

Those born or native to the United States

Believed that people of other races, religions and nationalities are inferior.

Argued that working for low wages took jobs away from “real” Americans.

Do we see this today?

Immigration is Restricted (302) The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Banned immigration of Chinese for 10 years

New requirements placed on those already in US

Courts could not grant citizenship Got help from Chinese government

Other Asian groups are similarly restricted.

The Last American Frontier (260) Define “frontier”: Another point of view is the dividing line

between the native groups and more technologically advanced people.

First Industry to Draw People to West

California Gold Rush (1848-1849) Klondike Gold Rush (1896) In Alaska As people rushed to the west, many

failed to complete the trip and settled in other areas of the west.

More metals found in Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills of North Dakota

The Indian Wars

Native Americans were already living on the land After the Civil War, Union troops were sent to

protect the miners and others moving onto Indian land.

As they attempted to move Indians to reservations, a series of wars were fought.

Battle of Little Big Horn (Custer’s Last Stand) with the Sioux was only Indian victory.

Most outrageous was the Battle at Wounded Knee, SD where 300 unarmed natives were slaughtered with machine guns.

Impact of the Railroads

As new track was laid, it was also on Indian Territory leading to more conflict.

Buffalo herds were destroyed by sharp shooters traveling on the trains.

Getting rid of buffalo would insure the departure of the Indians.

Lots of Land

Federal government encourages settlement by offering cheap land

During the Civil War many bills were passed as a result of the absence of the Southern states.

Homestead Act (1862) 160 acres free to a person who would work

the land for 5 years 1.400,000 homesteads granted.

Cattle Industry and Open Range Started in Mexico and settled in Texas Herds were driven each year to the

railroad lines and shipped to Chicago for slaughter.

Cattle drives vanished with additional rail lines, severe droughts, overgrazing of land and the addition of barbed wire by farmers.

Farming

Railroads made it possible to farm the plains and ship to the East.

At first faced difficulties with the Indians and cattlemen.

Groups were formed to help farmers (The Grange and Farmer’s Alliance)

As numbers grew these difficulties lessened.

Natural Obstacles on the Plains Drought

(windmills) Few trees (sod

houses) Hard soil (steel

plow) Extreme

temperatures Plagues of

grasshoppers Personal isolation

Fate of the native Americans US government systematically followed a

policy of pushing the Indians onto reservations in the West

Natives could not resist Technological superiority of the U.S.

government Flood of settlers Destruction of the natural environment.

Reservations

Were much smaller than the tribal lands Federal government promised food,

blankets and seeds Against tribal customs as most were

hunters, not farmers

Dawes Act, 1887 (266)

Attempt at “Americanization”. Abolished native American tribes Each family given 160 acres of

reservation land. Private property was to replace tribal

ownership. Each would become a farmer. If you were good you could be a citizen

in 25 years.

Further Legislation

American Indian Citizenship Act, 1924: Granted immediate U.S. citizenship to all Native American Indians born in the United States.

Ten years later the Dawes Act was replaced by a new law that guaranteed tribal self-government.