Section 2 - Urbanization

Explain the technological developments that made the growth of cities possible.

Evaluate the role that political machines played in urban politics in the late 1800’s.

SkyscrapersLouis SullivanTenementsPolitical MachineGeorge PlunkittGraftWilliam “Boss” Tweed

- Urban population of the US grew from 10 million in 1870 to over 30 million by 1900

- Immigrants largely remained in the cities- Rural Americans move to the cities

- Why might this be so?

- Engineers and architects have plenty of work- Land prices go up- Skyscrapers

- Chicago’s Home Insurance Building (1885)- NYC

- Louis Sullivan- “What people are within, the buildings express without”

- Mass Transit- Horse cars to cable cars to electric trolley car

to elevated trains to subways- LOTS of changes were made during this time

as far as transportation went

- Wealthy and poor live in different areas of town- Still evident today.

- Originally, wealthy families lived in the heart of the city.- Why do you think this is

so?- Where might middle class

live?- A majority of urban

dwellers live in tenements.- boarders

- Increase in crime, fire, disease, pollution- Why might this be so?- Murder rate quadruples

- Who might catch the blame for these bad things?

- Alcohol also contributed to the problem

- With so many people living so close together, political systems needed to cope w/ new urban problems.

- Political machine- Party bosses- George Plunkitt- Urban poor vote for

these political machines

- Many of these urban politicians became wealthy through graft

- Tammany Hall and William “Boss” Tweed- The corruption he was a part of landed him in

prison in 1874.