American Urbanization and New York City

Stephanie Kastner

HIST 141 (71154)

Order and Disorder From Farm Town to Metropolis

• 1800 to 1900 population grew by 50x in Manhattan – Going from a small farm town to a bustling city

• 1825 Erie Canal opened, creating it to become a port – Created areas solely for commerce

– Thousands of small factories; a metropolitan industrial site

• Created the first police department

• The newspapers told the best stories of New York – Printing house row created around city hall in response to the

increase of crime

• Barnum created a museum in New York with various sections to please all social classes and cultures, The American Museum, inside everyone's differences could be set aside

• According to history, New York was never interested in immigrants, they hated each new culture as they arrived

Order and Disorder In 1845 to 1855 1.5 million Irish immigrate to America as a

result of the potato famine

300 people per acre, more Irish in one location, besides Dublin, in the world

Irish and African Americans fought for the poorest living conditions and least paying jobs

No ethnic group would battle what the Irish fought

Neighborhoods were overrun by abandoned or orphaned children. Upper and middle class reformists saw this as a problem because eventually the children would grow up and vote. They were worried about how the kids would vote

1857 panic strikes Wallstreet

There were no socialized welfare to help those in need

Blacks and Irish were given eviction notices to make way for Central Park

“19th Century’s greatest work of art”

An environment were anyone could go to separate and release themselves from the chaos of the city

The wealthy enjoyed it more than the poor, who needed it, because it was too far away

Too many rules discouraged people from wanting to go

Order and Disorder • 1860 – Abraham Lincoln arrived in NY

from Illinois to discuss slavery and became a national celebrity

• The South was fearful of Lincoln and the North ruining their way of life. – The South was dependant on the North for

trade

– War eventually broke out between the North and South

– 1863 first federal draft in a war that asked whites to fight for the freedoms of blacks, unless you had $300 to pay off the feds

– The Irish became infuriated because they believe that this would provide better living conditions than what they had acquired

City of Tomorrow

• New York has always found a way to rebuild itself.

• After the “Roaring Twenties” New York again saw hardship. – The economy crashed in 1929, and the Great Depression began

• The Great Depression not only played a economic hardship, but a psychological hardship – 1/3 of the nations people were unemployed

– There were still no government socialized welfare systems

– The Empire State building charged $1 to visitors to pay for taxes

– Women and children would dig through trash piles for food

– Shanty towns or “Hoovervilles” sprang up along the East River and Central Park

• Eventually protests and strikes broke out due to the governments lack of support or aid.

City of Tomorrow

• The personal motorcar was the future of New York – Trolley car railways were tore up

– Interstates, highways, and bridges were built to connect cities

• The change in the transportation created public works programs that created jobs – Jobs were not only created in New York, but all around the

United States as supplies were needed to create the massive bridges

• Cities (and people) became connected in areas where nature had separated them

• Traffic congestion became a huge problem – Bridges were built to reduce congestion, but they ended

up causing bigger traffic issues

City of Tomorrow • Mayor La Guardia brought the first airport to New

York City during his first year; hence La Guardia International Airport

• New York’s 1939 Worlds Fair showed what the future would be like – Showcasing the automobile, architecture,

corporations, international cultures, and modern technologies

– Modern technologies like the car, a washing machine, and a vacuum would make life easier, thus make life happier

– Largest crowds gathered for General Motors “vision of tomorrow” tram ride and a large orb which contained a diorama of New York’s potential cityscape

– The future world was created not around people, but cars

• In 1939, war had begun to break out in Europe as Hitler invaded Poland

• Public works projects continued on full steam before their resources were put toward the war effort

A Merger That Puts New York on Top Written By: Mike Clough

A Merger That Puts New York on Top discusses the potential for revitalization

of New York as a result of AOL’s purchase of Time Warner. New York’s

success began with their location aiding in the economic trade center with the

creation of the Erie Canal and its connections with Europe and the South.

Additionally, the first telephone and electricity companies established their

headquarters in Manhattan. Eventually, other areas in the U.S. began to

advance (the steel industry in Pittsburgh, the auto industry in Detroit, the oil

industry in Houston, and the film industry in Hollywood) and New York’s fame

continued to grow as these companies created philanthropic ties. The biggest

challenge to New York has been the advancement of technology with the

digital age. From Redmond, Washington to Los Angeles, California the internet

and digital-age flourished with companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, and

Amazon.com. New York hopes to regain its status as internet subscription

based AOL joins with media giant Time Warner to merge not only two

companies, but two separate ideas.

The City in the Land of the Dollar Written By: Witold Rybczynski

• Compares American cities to the those of traditional cities in Europe.

• Portrays Chicago as the fastest growing city in America – Where the first skyscrapers were built

– Successful railroad industry

• On 10/08/1871 a huge fire destroyed much of the city, but the people saw it as an opportunity to rebuild and begin anew.

• Chicago may not have been the initial home of many inventions, but they put many technological advances to use; this included: – Telephone switchboard, electric lights,

cable cars, electric trolleys, streetcars, and the elevator

The City in the Land of the Dollar Written By: Witold Rybczynski

• Prior to the invention of the elevator, building were only a few stories high; or as high as people were willing to climb the stairs.

• Higher buildings had to be stronger, which led to the creation of steel-framed buildings – The first steel frame building was built in 1892 at

22-stories tall and was known as the Masonic Temple Building

• Industrial buildings, office buildings, and residential sites all intermingled

• Eventually, due to fire codes, residential areas moved to the areas around to outskirts of the city. – Neighborhood cottages eventually became

apartment buildings in order to house the increasing populations.

• This created the modern American city that we would see throughout the rest of the United States

The City in the Land of the Dollar Written By: Witold Rybczynski

• Chicago wanted to follow in the footsteps of New York and other great cities by creating a large urbanized park – The parks were to be planned by Frederick Law Olmsted

– These parks were also created around the World

– Instead of creating one large park, it was decided the eight smaller parks would be built • Parks contained lakes, canals, sports fields, band shells,

conservatories, arbors, zoos, and pathways

• Even though separate, the parks would be linked together

• Chicago’s success eventually led to it be chosen for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893

Photos • AOL Time Warner (x2)

– http://www.pcworld.com/article/165737/aol_and_time_warner_a_sympathy_note.html

• Erie Canal – http://www.fotowerks.com/pages/shop.php

• Abraham Lincoln – http://www.authorama.com/life-of-abraham-lincoln-1.html

• Central Park – http://www.central-park-maps.com/print.html

• Chicago Fire of 1871 aftermath – http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/10/great-chicago-fire-of-1871.html

• First Elevator – http://foggygates.blogspot.com/2010/03/ancient-gold-juan-gris-bubble-wrap.html

• Worlds Columbian Exposition Ferris Wheel – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Columbian_Exposition

• Great Depression (x2) – http://morganp11.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/the-great-depression/

• Triborough Bridge – http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/triborough/

• 1939 World’s Fair – http://www.google.com/imgres?q=1939+worlds+fair+car&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=AtpBKQGnZl

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