America Moves to the City 1865-1900. The Urban Frontier 1900: NYC had 3.5 million people, 2 nd...
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Transcript of America Moves to the City 1865-1900. The Urban Frontier 1900: NYC had 3.5 million people, 2 nd...
The Urban Frontier1900: NYC had 3.5 million people, 2nd
largest city in worldSkyscraper allowed more people to live
in a small area Elevator made skyscraper usable
Americans were beginning to commuteMass-transit lines including subways and
electric trolley lines
New Ways of Living
Department stores attracted middle-class shoppersSupplied working-class jobs for women
Waste disposal a new issue as goods came in throw-away containers
Negatives: Criminal elements, insufficient sanitation
facilities, slums, “dumbbell” tenements
The New Immigration
1880s: Immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe Italians, Croats, Greeks, PolesLargely illiterate and poor Preferred industrial jobs
1900: composed 66% of total inflow Lived in “Little Italys” and Little Polands
Southern Europe Uprooted
Reasons for EmigratingEconomic troublesOvercrowding & povertyCrop failuresPersecution
US painted as land of opportunity US companies advertised for low-wage workers
in Europe Large number expected to work short-term in
US, then return home to families
Reactions to the New Immigration
Local officials promised jobs for votes Rauschenbush & Gladden
Preached the “social gospel”, insisting that churches tackle burning social issues
Jane Addams Established Hull House in Chicago, a settlement
house – 1889 Located in poor neighborhood, offered education,
counseling, and cultural activities
Advancement for Women
Established settlement houses in major cities
Lobbied for prohibition of child labor Over a million joined the workforce in
1890s Native women worked in white-collar jobs as
secretaries, store clerks, social workersImmigrant women worked in industry
Narrowing the Welcome Mat
New immigration created worry that old Anglo-Saxon stock would be outbred and outvoted Immigrants worked for lower wages
American Protective Association (APA—1887) Urged voting against Catholic candidates
1882—Congress banned immigration of paupers, criminals, convicts Expanded to include insane, polygamists,
prostitutes, alcoholics, anarchists
Churches Confront the Urban Challenge
Many worried about focus on materialism Immigration led to growth in Catholics and
Jews 150 denominations, 2 new faiths
Salvation Army—1879, opened soup kitchensChristian Science—1879, relief from disease
through prayer
Darwin Disrupts the Churches
On the Origin of Species (1859)—stated that humans had evolved from lower life forms
Cast serious doubts on literal interpretation of Bible
Created rifts in churches and colleges
The Lust for Learning
Public education gained popularity post-war By 1900—around 6000 high schools Teacher-training schools expanded Cities generally provided better facilities
Chautauqua Movement—1874 Series of nationwide public lecturesCourses for home studyFocused on adult education
Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People
Tuskegee Institute (1881): taught black students useful trades Avoided issue of social equality, but turned to
segregation for economic independence –separate black communities
George Washington Carver—became agricultural chemist by discovering uses for peanuts
W.E.B. Du Bois—disagreed with Washingtondemanded complete equality for blacksHelped found NAACP
Hallowed Halls of Ivy Morrill Act – 1862
Gave states land to sell to raise money for education
Many colleges & universities were established Started accepting minorities & women
Private Philanthropy
Many industrial millionaires donated money to educational facilities 1878-1898—gave away $150 million Cornell (1865), University of Chicago(1892)
Increase in professional and technical schools Johns Hopkins (1876)
Americans no longer had to go to Europe for quality higher education
The March of the Mind
“elective” system gaining popularity over classical education
Medical schools resulted in improved public health
The Appeal of the Press
Public libraries established Carnegie donated $60 million for libraries across
the country Newspapers turned to feature articles and
sensationalism Simply written, human-interest stories
Pulitzer leader in techniques of sensationalism, colored comics
Hearst built up newspaper chains starting with The San Francisco Examiner in 1887
Yellow Journalism
Yellow journalism referred to sensationalistic stories in Pulitzer’s papers
Flair for scandal and rumor
Apostles of Reform
New York Nation created by Edwin Godkin (1865) Crusaded for civil service reform, honesty in
government, moderate tariff
Henry George’s Progress and Poverty linked the growth of progress with the growth of poverty
Postwar Writing
Horatio Alger Wrote juvenile fiction with virtue, honesty, industry
being rewarded with success
Walt Whitman Poetry volume Leaves of Grass “Oh, Captain! My Captain!” on Lincoln’s
assassination
Emily Dickinson Reclusive poet known only after her death
Literary Landmarks
Romantic sentimentality gave way to rugged realism reflecting materialism of industrialized society Kate Chopin, Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Henry
James, Jack London African-American Writers
Paul Laurence Dunbar and Charles W. Chestnutt used black dialect and folklore to capture richness of southern black culture
Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie offended moral standards and pulled from circulation
The New Morality
Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly shocked society with free love and feminist leanings
Anthony Comstock confiscated “obscene” material from individuals and businesses
“New morality” reflected higher divorce rates, spreading use of birth control, frank discussions on taboo topics
Families and Women in the City
Urban environments difficult on familiesCities emotionally isolating
Dictated changes in work habits and family sizeMost family members worked Larger families meant more mouths to feed
Women growing more independent in cities
Women’s Suffrage
Carrie Chapman Catt Linked ballot to traditional roles as wives and
mothers in the city Wyoming Territory first to grant unrestricted
suffrage to women in 1869By 1890 most states allowed women to control/own
property after marriage Black women excluded from ranks of women
suffragists Ida B. Wells worked on antilynching crusade and
helped launch black women’s club movement
Prohibition of Alcohol and Social Progress
Liquor consumption increased post-warWomen’s Christian Temperance Union
(1874)Anti-Saloon League (1893)
Success with state-wide prohibition
ASPCA (1866)American Red Cross (1881) Clara Barton
Artistic Triumphs
Winslow Homer (1836-1910)Rugged realism in seascapes
Augustus Saint-Guadens (1848-1907)Robert Gould Shaw memorial in Boston
Popular music NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House 1883Spirituals led to new strains of music in
blues, jazz, and ragtime
The Business of Amusement
Variety of diversions including lodges, vaudeville & minstrel shows, theatre, circus
Baseball and football gained in popularity with creation of professional leagues
Basketball created by James Naismith in 1891 as a indoor winter sport
Overflow crowd at Baltimore watching Orioles versus Boston Beaneaters, 1897An overflow crowd watches the Baltimore Orioles play the Boston Beaneaters. Nestled in among the row houses, urban stadiums like this one drew huge crowds. (Library of Congress)
Overflow crowd at Baltimore watching Orioles versus Boston Beaneaters, 189
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.