Chapter 25

America Moves to the City1865-1900

I. The Urban Frontier

Decades follow

ing Civil W

ar, population doubled, population of Am

erican cities tripled

By 1900 40%

of Americans w

ere urban dw

ellers

European peasants pushed off land

to cities by lure of industrial jobs, revolution in Am

erican agriculture fed grow

ing American and E

uropean cities

1860 no city in US had 1 m

illion people, by 1890 three cities had over 1 m

illion population (NYC

, C

hicago, Philadelphia)

Skyscrapers became a sym

bol of the grow

th of the American city

Americans becam

e comm

uters, mass

transit lines spread out from central

city to suburbs

City becam

e imm

ense, impersonal,

megalopolis

Different distinct enclaves em

erged for business, industry and residential living (often separated by race, ethnic and social class)

I. The Urban Frontier

Farmers (rural to urban m

igrants) – agriculture becam

e more m

echanized, m

aking a living farming becam

e harder, city life seen as m

ore exciting

Move to city w

as hard, worked on

schedule, confined factories

African- Americans left the south for

Midw

estern cities

Economic opportunity (factory jobs,

service industry)

More opportunity and prom

ise for w

omen and children (jobs, schools)

Variety, glamour- theaters, social clubs,

museum

s

Opportunity for people to raise their

standard of living

Departm

ent stores (Macy’s, M

arshall Fields) provided urban w

orkers jobs (m

any wom

en), ushered in age of consum

erism

Products available at lower prices,

advertising, money back guarantee,

trademarks, distinctive brands em

erged, contributed to m

ass culture of Am

ericans

I. The Urban Frontier

Grow

th caused cities to respond to new

problems

(water, sew

ers, schools, safety) N

ew technology developed to

meet challenges

Skyscrapers- more efficient

use of space, gave cities recognizable skylines

Technology- steel frames,

elevator, central heat, telephone, electricity

Architecture- em

erged as a specialized career, new

buildings used artistic design to m

agnify height

City Planning designed to m

ake cities m

ore beautiful, functional, control grow

th

Zoning laws- certain areas for

certain functions

Public libraries, public buildings, parks and recreational spaces

Fredrick Law O

lmsted designed

Central Park nations first urban

public park (1860’s)

I. The Urban Frontier

Overcrow

ding, poverty caused problem

s

Poor lived near their work

Lived in densely populated neighborhoods, tenem

ent building (low

-cost housing designed to house m

any families)

Cities w

ere filthy

Unpaved streets, trash, dead

horses, animal w

aste all left in the streets

Many tenem

ents had no indoor plum

bing

Late 1880’s government, city

planners regulate housing, sanitation, public health, w

ater quality

Developed police force and

firefighters, improved safety w

ith streetlights

Tension between ethnic groups,

race, class, neighborhood loyalties defined life for m

any generations

II. The New Immigration

Many E

uropeans migrated to

American cities at the end of the

19th century

Until 1880’s m

ost came from

B

ritish Isles and Western E

urope

Had high rates of literacy and

were fam

iliar with representative

forms of governm

ent

After 1880 character of im

migrant changed

New

Imm

igrants came from

E

astern Europe, m

any Jewish or

worshiped in O

rthodox churches, poor, illiterate

Cam

e to urban areas to seek jobs, som

e went back m

any stayed

Settled in ethnic neighborhoods and did not assim

ilate easily into Am

erican life

III. Southern Europe Uprooted

60 million left in the late 19th

and early 20th century, more

than half came to U

S U

S seen as land of opportunity, sent hom

e “America letters”

about freedom from

military

conscription, religious persecution

American industry needed their

low w

age labor, wanted buyers

for land grants, states wanted

more population

Advertisements in E

urope enticed m

any to come over,

persecution pushed many from

their hom

es

Jews had best experience w

ith city life and they assim

ilated and experienced success in cities

Many im

migrants that stayed

struggled to preserve their traditional culture, established schools, new

spapers and ethnic restaurants to preserve culture of hom

e

Children of im

migrants typically

adopted American language

and culture

IV. Reaction to New Immigrants

Governm

ent did little to w

eed out new im

migrants

or help them adjust to

American life

City governm

ent was the

most proactive force for

their assimilation and they

did very little

Political machines and

party bosses took care of m

any imm

igrants; they provided jobs, housing, food and public services in return for votes

Imm

igrants awakened

social consciences of Am

erican reformers, m

any used ideas of C

hristian charity to help im

migrants

(Christian Socialists),

paved the way for

Progressive movem

ent of early 20th century

IV. Reaction to New Immigrants

Jane Adam

s, reformer form

m

iddle class family

1889 opened Hull H

ouse in C

hicago

Settlement H

ouse movem

ent began

Located in poor neighborhoods; provided instruction in E

nglish, daycare, counseling on how

to cope w

ith new life, cultural

activities

Other settlem

ent houses were

opened in big cities

Becam

e centers of wom

en's activism

and social reform

Lobbied for wom

en’s protection in factories, battled for w

elfare for consum

ers, blacks

IV. Reaction to New Immigrants

Work of w

omen began new

career of social w

ork

Urban frontier opened up

more opportunities for

wom

en

Strict social codes prescribed w

ork for wom

en

Usually single and type of

job depended on race and ethnic class

Jobs brought working

wom

en economic freedom

and social independence

V. Narrowing the Welcome Mat

1880’s nativisim returned

New

imm

igrants seen as un-Am

erican in their ways

Com

petition was fierce for

American jobs

Worry about dangerous doctrines

of socialism, com

munism

, anarchism

Anti-foreign organizations grew

Hard to unionize new

im

migrants and they w

ere usually used as “scabs” during strikes

American w

orkers wanted to be

protected from foreign labor like

American industry w

as protected from

foreign competition

1882 Congress passes first

restrictive laws to check flow

of im

migrants, m

any more passed

over the next few decades

VI. Churches Confront the Urban Challenges

Protestant churches suffered under changing urban conditions Traditional doctrines seemed irrelevant, and were slow to raise voice

against changing social and economic values Concern with mounting emphasis on materialism New Gospel of Wealth said God allowed righteous to prosper 1875-1925 new liberal ideas and rise of liberal Protestants Adaptation to modern culture called for social reforms “Social Gospel” movement Message of forgiveness, community fellowship, focus on earthly

salvation and personal growth Roman Catholics strong in labor movement Salvation Army established, appealed to down and out Christian Scientist movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy found

converts in urban areas YMCA’s provided spiritual, physical education

VII. Darwin Disrupts Churches

Religion received blows from modern science

Darwin and natural selection, rejected dogma of “special creations”

Darwin and other new ideas loosened America’s religious roots; religion and personal faith became private matters

VIII. The Lust for Learning

More acceptance for tax supported public schools

Helped check abuses of child labor, schools Americanized immigrants and made them better citizens

1880’ and 1890’s high school education began to spread, idea of free education became a birthright of Americans

Teacher training and teaching as a science (John Dewey)

New Immigration allowed for expansion of Catholic parochial schools

For adults there were free public lectures, the Chautauqua Movement provided lectures and home study

Cities provided better educational facilities than rural areas but across the country literacy rates climbed throughout the century

IX. Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People

South lagged behind in public education (44% illiterate in 1900)

Champion of black education was Booker T. Washington

1881 began career at Tuskegee Institute in AL Taught trades as way to gain economic security Washington advocated economic progress as

path to social equality W.E.B. Du Bois condemned Washington’s

approach Du Bois was Harvard educated , founder of

NAACP (1910) Demanded A-A’s be given full and immediate

equality Ideas of each reflected life experience of southern

and northern blacks

X. Hallowed Halls of Ivy

Colleges and universities grew during period College education became noteworthy for success in the

modern world Women’s colleges, black institutes of education were

founded Growth of higher education can be traced to Morrill Act

of 1862 that granted public land to to states to support education

Hatch Act 1887 extended Morrill Act and provided funds to establish agricultural experiment stations for “land grant” colleges

New industrial millionaires gave money to colleges (Vanderbilt, Stanford, Duke, University of Chicago)

Increase in technical, professional and graduate schools Increase in elective system of education was due to

increasing specialization of workforce Medical schools were established that promoted public

health

XI. The Appeal of the Press

Books, magazines, newspapers all grew during the Gilded Age

More literate population was a factor Mechanization allowed presses to feed

word hungry public Public libraries opened in big cities,

Carnegie contributed millions toward the construction of libraries

Newspapers became less opinionated and began to publish sensational, scandalous articles

New journalistic tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer built powerful newspapers

“Yellow journalism” was name given to scandalous papers

Creation of press services like the Associated Press led to the standardization of news

XII. Postwar Writing

Dime novels about “wild west” first appeared Horatio Alger “rags to riches” stories, reward

of success because of hard work Novel writing reflected materialism of

industrial society (not rugged individualism of earlier in century), realism about problems of changing society

Mark Twain, satire about greed an corruption gave time period its name (Gilded Age 1873)

Twain humorist, satirist, foe of social injustice, captured frontier realism with American dialect

Stephen Crane wrote about life on streets of urban America, most famous novel The Red Badge of Courage, about Civil War life

Jack London wrote about contemporary life and social problems; Call of the Wild, about struggle between modern and older society

Black writers, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Charles Chestnut, different type of realism with black dialect and folklore that captured richness of southern black culture

Postwar Art

Modern realistic art replaced impressionism

Depicted scenes of urban life, slums and streets

At turn of the century New York group of artists known as the Ashcan School

XIII. The New Morality, Families and Women in the City

Battle between sexual attitudes and place of women continued

New opportunities for women became tools for liberation

Soaring divorce rates, use of birth control, discussion of sexual topics

Cities were isolating places for families, family only place for emotional, psychological satisfaction (no longer extended family)

Family work habits changed, more children meant more mouths to feed in uncertain urban environment, because of this marriage was delayed, family size dropped

1898- Charlotte Perkins Gilman called on women to abandon dependent status, became part of economy

Many feminists began to demand the right to women's suffrage

XIV. Families and Women in the City

New generation of feminist leaders emerged like Carrie Chapman Catt, demanded equality for women

Social responsibilities of women as head of family needed voice in community to vote for public positions

Women were increasingly giving right to vote in local elections and control their own property after marriage by the turn of the century

Excluded black women, Ida B. Wells took the lead for these women by launching an anti-lynching crusade

1896- formed National Association of Colored Women

XV. Prohibition of Alcohol and Social Progress

Temperance reform found a new life with influx of immigrants

Assault amounted to a type of class warfare (middle class reformers vs. working classes)

1869 National Prohibition Party formed

Carrie Nation was a leading reformer breaking into saloons and smashing them with a hatchet

Culminated in 1919 with passage of 18th Amendment

XV. The Business of Amusement

Music through the phonograph for the masses and the patronage of the newly rich became popular forms of entertainment

Vaudeville and its variety of acts was popular The first circus appeared (P.T. Barnum) Wild West shows traveled the country Baseball was emerging as a national pastime Basketball was invented by a YMCA instructor in

Mass. Spectator sports like football, boxing,

horseracing became popular Ethnic Americans supported athletes that

shared their background These forms of entertainment, the rise of cities

and their cultural attractions caused Americans to adopt a popular mass culture