The New OrderChanges in America’s economy and society.

Dictoglos It is in hot weather, when life indoors is well-

nigh unbearable with cooking, sleeping, and working, all crowded into the small rooms together, that the tenement expands, reckless of all restraint. Then a strange and picturesque life moves upon the flat roofs. In the day and early evening mothers air their babies there, the boys fly their kites from the house-tops, undismayed by police regulations... ◦ Jacob Riis. In The Slums. (1890)

Tenements and inner city slums begin as massive numbers of immigrants and farmers pushed into the cities

1860- 20% of US population lived in cities 1900- 40% lived in cities

Shame of the Cities

Urbanization- The growth of cities Factories open in center of cities near

railroad tracks. New York, Chicago, St. Louis populations

explode in the crush of new citizens and workers.

Suburbs- communities on the outer reaches of the main city.

Urban Growth

Luxuries- Plays, concerts, indoor plumbing, electricity, and fine restaurants all were located in cities.

Easy to get lost in (especially when hiding from friends and family).

Hardships on the frontier and on the farms.

Other reasons for the shift

Between 1880-1920: more than 25 million people immigrated to the US.

Most were from Italy, Greece, Poland, and Russia.◦ Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Jewish

faiths. Ellis Island- opened in 1892 and more than

20 million immigrants would pass through its doors until 1954.

Most if not all immigrants settled in cities where large numbers of other immigrants lived.

Immigration

Drug use, illegal activities, and violence all rise heavily with the increases in populations.

Cities were completely unprepared for influx of citizens. Too few firefighters, police, waste management systems, and too little housing were all major issues.

Most apartments were divided among several families.

African Americans and African immigrants were segregated to a small section of the city and faced horrible conditions.

Social Problems

Politicians held the contracts to all public works projects and made those that wanted them to pay.

Companies added bribes into the contracts and paid the politicians for their assistance in getting the contract.

Many politicians had what was called a political machine, which went out into the city and bought votes for them through charity, intimidation, and work.◦ These parts of the machine were also politicians and in

return for their work were handsomely rewarded with their own kickbacks

Political Corruption

1910- the wealthiest 2% accounted for almost 20% of the total income of the US.

Mergers and buyouts led to trusts (a combination of companies dominating an industry) which reduced the amount of competition in the cities.

However, as the wealthy became richer through these practices, materials and products became cheaper for the poor.

Industrial Disorder

Falling prices were due to the modernization of the practices of companies. Machines and other technology were making the production of goods cheaper than ever.

Poor wages and high costs of all goods made it very hard for many workers to live well.

Divide between the rich upper class and the poor working class was filled by the middle class.◦ Clerks, managers, college professors, small-business owners,

clergy members, lawyers, and other professionals fell into this class.

Middle class felt threatened by both the upper and low class and felt that the values of America were being stripped away, began a movement to return to the economic opportunity, religious morality, political honesty, and social stability called the Progressive movement.

Industrial disorder

Political Cartoons