Linda MarshallSpring 2011

HIST 141 - Dr. ArguelloOnline 31296

American UrbanizationAnd

New York City

One of the 3 greatest harbors in the world

Founded as New Amsterdam and used as a trade colony by the Dutch

Evolved into a multicultural city of immigrants with the city’s need for a growing workforce

The British, expanding their American colonies, decided to take New

Amsterdam in battle - but the residents were happy to accept British rule and the city becomes New York

New York brought England a port connection that helped them become the greatest maritime empire on earth

Slavery was a vital part of the workforce of New York - public opinion was divided on this issue

Mysterious acts of vandalism were blamed on a slave conspiracy in 1741, causing a public reaction worse than the Salem Witch Trials

The Country and The City

During wartime for the British in the 1750’s, New York merchants prosper - after the military

withdraws, Britain wants to tax New York threatening the merchant culture

Alexander Hamilton comes to New York from the West Indies and while in college begins to

write and speak against British rule

As the Revolution begins, New York’s vulnerability to attack forces 80% of the population to evacuate giving the British the opportunity to take the city and divide the colonies

George Washington knowing the importance of the city, attempted to defend Brooklyn and Manhattan until he had to retreat, ceding New York to the British

With help from the French and Dutch, the U.S. was able to win the Revolution and take back a

devastated New York

Hamilton returned to the city and set up his law firm, opened the first bank of New York, and

created a society to emancipate slaves

The Country and The City

The first Federal Capital is established in New York. The arguments to the benefits of city to country; commercial and agrarian societies begins

When the Capital is relocated, New York is free to focus on becoming an economic and

cultural force

The city attracts business and innovation

Real estate becomes a major source of profit for J.J. Astor who becomes the wealthiest man in

America

New York governor, Dewitt Clinton proposes a grid system to organize Manhattan in to an actual level playing field, flattening the natural landscape into manageable streets and lots

Governor Clinton also connected New York to the Midwest with the Erie Canal making New York city the chief U.S. port, increasing trade throughout the nation by opening eastern and overseas markets to Midwestern farm products and by enabling migration to the West

The Country and The City

After the Civil War, New York became the financial clearing house of the nation the the richest city in the world

Boss Tweed, the leader of the political institution of Tammany Hall, was the most corrupt politician in American history

Tammany Hall provided the immigrant community with services and support in exchange for political support

Boss Tweed’s powers gave him access to city funds and contractors for public works enabling him to have access to defraud taxpayers of millions of dollars

Thomas Nast attacked Tweed’s reputation through a series of political cartoons, inciting people to come forward with details of kickbacks bringing Tweed’s downfall

Tweed ultimately took the fall for the system that had allowed him and others to take advantage of their power

Sunshine and Shadow

The Brooklyn Bridge was conceived as a solution to travel and commerce being dictated by the weather

John Roebling and his son, Washington Roebling, designed and began building the bridge

Shortly into construction John died due to an accident on the construction site leaving Washington in charge

Washington contracted Caisson’s disease which left him unable to be physically on site, so he watched through binoculars and worked with his wife, Emily, who became his liaison and supervisor of the project

The bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883 - the opening ceremony was attended by several thousand people - President Chester A. Arthur and New York’s mayor, crossed the bridge and were greeted by Brooklyn’s Mayor

The bridge included a raised promenade that had never been part of a bridge before, which offered people the highest view of the city

Sunshine and Shadow

Poverty was considered a character flaw

From 1865 to 1898, New York is home to the greatest concentration of wealth and poverty in human history dividing the city into 2 opposite worlds

The steady influx of immigrants to the city continued to surpass the city’s ability to provide social services

Jacob Riis had come to New York as a Danish immigrant and initially experienced poverty himself

He became a police reporter and for 10 years reported on the experience of the lower Eastside

As he wrote articles detailing the conditions of the people, he felt that he could not tell the story without pictures, which became possible with the invention of flash photography

The photos Riis took brought to light conditions that many people didn’t know existed, even prompting Theodore Roosevelt to offer his help

Sunshine and Shadow

New York has used its advantages to ensure its continuing status as the industrial capital of the world

Innovations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries solidified that position by housing the headquarters of the major companies formed by these innovations

The advent of the internet and e-commerce threatens New York’s advantages of real space with e-space

The internet’s center is based on the West Coast

A merger of AOL with Time Warner could give New York that piece of the information economy

A Merger That Puts New York On Top

Between 1870 and 1914 the U.S. took in the largest number of newcomers in history

From 1900 to 1941 over 3/5s of all European immigrants came to the U.S.

The U.S. was not the only destination as all of the New World could claim to be nations of immigrants

Most immigrants were job seekers, predominantly male, who followed family or friends, and settled in ethnic enclaves

U.S. immigrants came from all over Europe, no one group dominant, mixing with other groups and native-born people to start the American “melting pot”

In 1924, a restrictive quota law brought on by fear, greatly limited immigration

Immigrants and Cities

Steam-powered transportation decreased the time it took to get to the U.S. also decreasing the exposure to contagious diseases aboard ship which contributed to the death of passengers - ships were also bigger and regulated as to health and safety standards

People heard of better opportunities from family or friends that had gone to the Americas - farmland was available along the railroads and the railroads companies recruited Europeans to homestead and become customers

Industrial jobs in the Americas created a chance for improvement of life at home - people would come to work to acquire wages and return home

The new technology of travel greatly extended the possibilities of labor-seeking migration

Patterns of Transatlantic Migration

Migration to the U.S. was more than six times the number, and came from more places compared to any other country in the Americas

In the Midwest and West there were agricultural opportunities as railroads had land to sell and the government had homesteads to give

The wages in factories, on railroads, in construction, or in mines surpassed European levels while the cost of living was the same or lower

The migrant “birds of passage” were thought to be taking advantage of the U.S. without pledging allegiance and would eventually overrun the population

The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 and then the Great Depression ended transatlantic migration

Immigration to the U.S.In Comparative Perspective