The Age of the CityCh. 15

Immigration23.2 Million in 1850 and 76.2 Million in 1900.

Reasons for Immigration: (Pushes and Pulls)• Poverty in Europe• Overcrowding and joblessness in Europe• Religious persecution.

• Old Immigrants: Western Europe, Germany, British Isles, & Scandinavia.

• New Immigrants: Eastern Europe, Italians, Greeks, Croats, Slovaks, Poles, and Russians.

• 25% of immigrants were “birds of passage”, young men contracted for unskilled labor that would move back to Europe once they made decent wages.

• African Americans- Move north to resist oppression and to find job opportunities.

Restricting Immigration1870- Very few restrictions on immigration1886- Congress had passes new laws restricting

immigration. • Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882- Ban on all new

immigrants from China.• Restrictions on “undesirable” persons (criminal

acts or mentally incompetent)• Law in 1885 prohibited contract labor in order to

protect American workers. • Ellis Island opens in 1892-More medical and document examinations-Pay entry tax to come into the US.

Support of Restricting Immigration•Labor Unions- WHY???•Nativist society called the American

Protective Association•Social Darwinists-WHY???

•Immigrants still came in great numbers and the Statue of Liberty becomes the emblem of hope for many people.

Urbanization•Urbanization and Industrialization

become almost inseparable.•People start moving from the rural life to

the city life.•1900 40% of Americans lived in cities or

towns•1920 more Americans lived in urban

instead of rural communities.

Changes in the Nature of Cities • Streetcars- Horse-drawn streetcars, by 1890’s

replaced by electric trolleys, elevated railroads, and subways. Building of the Brooklyn Bridge.

• Skyscrapers- William Le Baron Jenny built the first true skyscraper (Home Insurance Company Building)

Electric elevators and steel make it possible

Parks in the City• Frederick Law Olmsted- Famous landscape

designer who designed Central Park and many other famous parks.

• Tried to bring nature into the city. • “Great White City”- Nickname for the good-side of

the city.

• The Wealthy in the city invest in museums, theaters, art galleries, etc..

Ethnic NeighborhoodsDowntown mostly consisted of the poor.-Landlords would make housing as small as

possible without windows to make more profit. -Overcrowding led to spread of disease and

sicknesses.-New York City passed a law in 1879 to require

a window in every house.

-Ethnic groups gather in their own neighborhoods and preserve their culture.

-Many immigrants assimilate to American culture

(Americanization)

Suburbs •Wealthiest in the US start moving outside

the city (unlike in Europe)Why?1) Abundant land2) Inexpensive transportation by rail.3) Low-cost construction methods4) Ethnic and racial prejudice. 5) American fondness for grass, privacy,

and detached individual homes.

Rise in Mass Consumption • Rising Income (White Collar Jobs)• Rise in Middle Class• Mass production = cheaper goods• Purchase of clothing (Big Deal)

• Department stores and Mail-Order- Change America• Everyone, even farmers are influenced by consumption. • Women greatly increased consumption of clothing and

most all of them could afford to.

Private versus Public City•People wanted a city with little

government involvement•Problem: Waste, pollution, disease,

crime, etc…

•Solution: Water purification, sewerage systems, waste disposal, street lighting, police departments, zoning laws, etc…

Boss and Machine Politics• Political parties in cities started getting controlled by

tightly organized groups of politicians known as political

machines.

• Political machines had a boss, the top politician who gave orders and opportunity to those who were loyal.

• Tammany Hall- New York City, would provide many favors to businesses, immigrants, underprivileged in return for a vote. Used corruption and graft

• Many corrupt political machines would steal public funds such as Boss Tweed.

Awakening of Reform•Henry George wrote “Progress and

Poverty”-Examined the effects of laissez-faire

economics (argued it caused inequalities)

•Edward Bellamy wrote “Looking Backward, 2000-1887.

-Predicted a future America without poverty, greed, and crime.

•Books help shift American opinion toward greater government regulation.

Settlement Houses•Hull House in Chicago•Jane Addams started this settlement

house to help relieve the effects of poverty on immigrants.

•Addams taught English, pioneered early childhood education, taught industrial arts, and established neighborhood theaters and music schools.

Religion in Society

•Social Gospel- 1880’s and 1890’s- Protestant clergymen argued for social justice for the poor.

• It is a Christians obligation to serve the poor.

Families and Women in Urban Society• Severely hurt families because it kept them

from extended family.• Divorce rates increased going into the

1900’s.• Birth rate decreased significantly.

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony start the National American Woman Suffrage movement and 1869 Wyoming became the first state to grant full suffrage to women.

Temperance and Morality• Women argued drinking was a main cause for

poverty. • Women’s Christian Temperance Union was formed

in 1874 to help with this problem. • Antisaloon League (1893) convinced 21 states to

close down all saloons and bars.• Carry A. Nation of Kansas went around raiding

saloons and smashing barrels of liquor.

• Anthony Comstock of New York started a movement to end vice, obscenity, and prostitution.

• Comstock Law (1873)- Prohibited the mailing or transportation of obscene and lewd materials and photographs.

Leisure Time •Why was leisure time new to most

Americans?•Why were they hesitant to have leisure

time?

•Spectator sports (Gambling) •Baseball (America’s national pastime) •Basketball•Football•Boxing

•Fourth of July held great significance, why?

Forms of Entertainment Vaudeville• Form of theater adapted from French models• Included musicians, comedians, magicians, jugglers, etc…• Extremely popular and even allowed blacks to be a part of it.

Movies- Edison made these possible. • Birth of a Nation- 1915: Celebrated the KKK and racist

messages.

Newspapers- Huge increase in newspapers in the late 19th century.

*Telegraph made it possible for newspapers to standardize their product and news throughout the US.

Yellow Journalism- Sensationalize information to draw more interest.

DarwinismMany Americans start to follow the idea of

“natural selection”

Pragmatism- Theory that called for a reliance on scientific inquiry instead moral principles.

Public Education •Spread of free public primary and

secondary education.

•Colleges increasing in great numbers

•Morrill Land Grant- Helped produce “land-grant institutions”

•Introduction of women colleges.