The New American City By 1900 – 40% of pop. lived in cities

NYC pop. of 3.4 mil = total U.S. urban pop. 1850

Growth from migration and immigration11 million immigrants 1870-1890

Immigrants & native-born competeRapid growth sparked manufacturing &

production but strained city servicesled to housing & sanitation problemsUnderscored class differences

Reformers sought to improve cities & Americanize immigrants

Migrants and Immigrants Pull factors – good wages & broad range of

jobsMigration from countryside & overseas

Rising # of farmwomen came to citiesCompeting for jobs with immigrants, blacks,

urban women

“Old” & “New” ImmigrantsOld = Northern & Western EuropeNew = Southern & Eastern

Both periods also saw growing numbers of Asians1890 – 4 out of 5 in NYC foreign-born or

children of foreign-born parents

Asian and European ImmigrantsLiving in the Western Hemisphere and Hawaii in 1900

Percent of Foreign-born Whites and Native Whites of Foreign or Mixed Parentage in Total Population, by Countries, 1910

Source: D.W.Meinig, The Shaping of America—A GeographicalPerspective of 500 Years of History. Yale University Press. Volume

3.

Migrants and Immigrants Push factors include overpop., crop failure

& famine, religious persecution, violence, or economic hardships

Many Italians & Chinese returned to their homelands after becoming successful in U.S.With no long-term residency plans, they

frequently made little effort to assimilateFamily members often waited in old country

for family “breadwinner” to get a job & save $ to pay for passage of others

Traveled to U.S. by shipCramped, poor food, often poor sanitationImmigrants arrived tired, fearful, and often sick

Ellis Island - 1892Customs officials inspected

newcomers’ healthThose with contagious

diseases refused admittance

Difficult names frequently Anglicized

Ellis Island built to accommodate huge #’s enteringAngel Island performed same

function on West CoastThose with money travel to

other destinations in U.S.Poor immigrants remained in

eastern cities (Boston, NYC, etc.)

NYC – Lower East Side of Manhattan

Adjusting to Urban SocietyChain Migration and Culture Shock

Ghettos and Ethnic IslandsOften settled by nationality & even by

village or regionSpeaking English provided an advantageEthnic groups that formed a high

percentage of a city’s pop. (e.g.. Irish in Boston) also had advantageDominance of politics & churches helped

in upward mobilityNativism was strong at start of 20th

Century

Fashionable Avenues & Suburbs

“Nice” neighborhoods intermixed with slums

Fashionable areas with good conditions & technologyContrasted sharply with trash, noise, etc.

Those with enough $ moved out to emerging suburbsStately homes, sprawling lawns, quiet

Street cars allowed many to move further out from the city centers

As cities expanded, they enveloped outlying areas into the city boundaries

Middle and Upper-Class Society and Culture Manners and Morals – Key Assumptions

People could be improved through reformHard work builds discipline and advances national

progressImportance of good manners & cultivation of

literature and art as marks of civilized society Good breeding & following Victorian Code

The Cult of Domesticity Women responsible cultural improvement of familyMiddle- & Upper-class women devoted time &

energy to decorating their homes Some focused on participating in reform movements,

settlement house work and women’s club activities

Middle- and Upper-Class Society & CultureThrifty consumers had to be convinced to spendMerchandisers stressed quality & low prices

Products once made at home now purchased from storesDepartment Stores

Giant stores with beautiful featuresMeant to create an exciting experience for shoppersStores employed lower classes & attracted middle- &

upper-The Transformation of Higher Education

Wealthy donors endowed universitiesCollegiate football – popular but dangerous – a character-

building activity for players – a fall ritual for fans150+ new colleges – founded by wealthy donors, federal

govt. programs, and religious denominations

Football

UniversitiesIncreased women’s enrollment

Co-ed & Women’s UniversitiesFormally educated women able to compete with men &

break Victorian expectationsFemale enrollment rose from 30% to 71% btwn 1880 &

1900Reforms in programs

Greater focus on professional schools for law & medicine

Deeper training in subjects key to the professionsProfessional training increased skill + trust by public

Research UniversitiesWider variety of courses Faculty more involved in research in their fields

Working-Class Politics and Reform Political Bosses and Machine Politics

Major influence over politics & city governmentBoss Tweed & Tammany Hall political machine – NYCMachines controlled taxes, licenses, contracts, etc.Wide-spread corruption – great efforts made to stop

themPress & Reformers attack machine politics (Thomas Nast)

Battling Poverty Some focused on improving conditionsOthers focused on moral reform – YMCA &YWCA

New Approaches to Social ReformSalvation Army – offer food & shelter along with preaching

The Moral-Purity Campaign – Anthony ComstockFighting “vice” incl. obscenity, gambling, prostitution

ReformThe Social Gospel

Washington Gladden – true Christianity means fighting social injustice

Walter Rauschenbusch – churches should unite to combat poverty & exploitation

The Settlement-House Movement Hull House – Jane AddamsProvide various social services for

immigrantsSchooling, medical care, recreation, etc.

S.H. workers lived in neighborhoods in which they worked

Working-Class Leisure in the Immigrant City Working classes needed diversions

Neighborhood streets were a gathering placeSaloons were a place for men to gather to

drink and socialize – to discuss politicsThe Rise of Professional Sports

Rules of modern baseball developed – major league formed – profitable franchises in big cities

Large fan followings – first sports pages in papers

Boxing enjoyed a strong working-class following

Baseball

Baseball in the City Streets

Boxing

Entertainment Provides EscapeVaudeville

Highly popular variety showsAmusement Parks

Coney IslandDance Halls Ragtime

Originated with black musicians in saloons & brothels

Widely popular with working class but eventually a national sensation

Scott Joplin - a major composer Music provides a challenge to Victorian

propriety

Vaudeville

Cultures in Conflict The Genteel Tradition and Its Critics

Literary conventions (rules) vs. gritty realismStephen Crane – Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (slums)Mark Twain – Huckleberry Finn (South)Theodore Dreiser – Sister Carrie (end of innocence)

Modernism in Architecture and PaintingSome women reject “cult of domesticity” & Victorian

CodeWoman’s Christian Temperance Union fights against

alcohol abuse and works toward better access to power by women

Physical fitness – bicycling clubsRising divorce rate

EducationPublic Education as an Arena of Class ConflictReformers stressed punctuality, centralized

administration, compulsory attendance, teacher tenure By 1900 – 31 states required attendance for

kids 8-14 years oldSome critics of formal public education

Working class parents who relied on their kids’ labor

Catholic immigrants who objected to protestant oriented public schools

Upper-class parents who didn’t want their kids mixing with immigrant kids – willing to pay for private schooling