GROWTH OF THE CITIES

We remember that… (cont.)

• Federal troops withdrew from the South following Reconstruction.

• Legalized discrimination, intolerance, and violence toward African-Americans was common in The South

• In 1890, the U.S. Census bureau proclaimed that the frontier was essentially closed. This diminished land “giveaways”, such as the 1862 Homestead Act.

Growth of the Cities: Late 19th CenturyVocabulary

• Urban area- A densely-settled areas (many people per square mile)

• Rural area:sparsely populated areas (few people per square mile)

• Urbanization- becoming densely populated and acquiring the common traits of densely settled areas

• Immigration - Moving to a new country for the purpose of living there

• Emigration - Leaving one country to move to another

Growth of the Cities: Late 19th CenturyVocabulary, cont.

• Migration - Movement of people from one place to another. Can be intercontinental, interstate, or interregional (such as rural to urban)

• Refugee - a person who is living outside their country of origin due to fear of persecution due to race, religion, group membership, political opinion.

• Push Factor - Reason for emigrating

• Pull factor - Reason for immigrating

Growth of the Cities: Late 19th Century

Causes of the Growth1. Farmers migrate to cities - Between 1880 and

1920, 11 million Americans left farms and went to the cities*. Why?

• New farm technology meant less human labor

• 1893 financial crisis results in thousands of farms being lost due to mortgage foreclosures

• Off-spring of farmers cannot all “inherit the farm”. Many go to cities

* Although many left their farms during this period, the actual number of farms continued to increase for quite some time. Keep in mind that population was growing rapidly.

Causes of the Growth, cont.2. Migration of African-Americans from South to the cities• After reconstruction, legal discrimination and violence toward African-

Americans escalates in southern states.

a. Jim Crow Laws - legalized discrimination1. literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather taxes prohibit most African-Americans from voting

2. enforced segregation of public facilities

3. Black Codes - behavioral rules

Causes of the Growth, cont.Migration of African-Americans from South to the cities, cont.

b. Poor treatment, mob violence, and lynching (severe punishment of an accused person, without benefit of a trial) reach all time highs in the 1890’s.

• Thousands of African-Americans leave the South and head for employment in northern cities

• This migration stream intensifies after the turn of the century and becomes known as the Great Migration.

Causes of the Growth, cont.

3. Immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans to American industrial cities

• This “Great Wave” of immigration was different from earlier immigration streams-Italians, Poles, Austrian, Czechs, Hungarian, Slovaks, Russian, Greeks, and others-most of the new immigrants did not speak English-many of the new immigrants were uneducated peasants-many were Catholic, Orthodox, or Jewish

Causes of the Growth, cont.

Immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans to American industrial cities, cont.

• Most left poverty, famine, and/or political unrest. They sought economic opportunities, some fled religious persecution

• From 1890-1914 approximately 15 million immigrated to U.S. Most settled in cities

• 70% came through New York City

URBANIZATION OF AMERICA

• Shift from primarily rural to primarily urban

• By 1890, 90% of manufacturing occurred in urban areas and 1/3 of Americans lived in them.

• Most populous:

1. New York City. 1.5 million

2. Philadelphia, 1 million+

3. Chicago. 1 million +