Life in the Big City

Life in 1900

• Life expectancy– 1900: – 46.3 yrs for men– 48.3 yrs for women

• Family size– 5.7 kids for laborers– 5.2 children for skilled workers

• Top 12% of nation controlled 86% of wealth in 1900; lowest 44% controlled 1.5%

Urbanization

• Major cities developing during this time are Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore

• From 1860 to 1910 city population increases dramatically.

• By 1920, majority of Americans move from rural to urban areas.

• One of the major factors for this growth was eastern European immigrants.

Immigration

• 1860-1890: Large amount of Irish and German immigrants.

• 1890: NYC has as many Germans as Hamburg, 2x as many Irish as Dublin.

• Some came for religious freedom others for a better way of life.

• After 1890: Immigrants flow in from Italy, Poland, Greece

• http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm

Immigration (Con’t)

• 4 out of 5 New Yorkers were born abroad or were children of immigrants

• Discrimination by native-born Americans– Some stopped speaking native language

for fear of being prosecuted

Family Life

• Everyone in the family contributed in one way or another:– Women did laundry and took care of boarders– Children went to work as young as 10 years old

• Most children stopped their education to help support the family.

Housing in Urban Cities

NYC Slums

Water Becomes a Problem

• Skyrocketing population; not enough clean drinking water

• Poor (or no) indoor plumbing• Disease (cholera, smallpox, diphtheria,

tuberculosis, typhoid fever, whooping cough, measles, scarlet fever)

• 20% infant mortality rate in Chicago in 1900

• Filtration and chlorination introduced in late 19th and early 20th century

Crime Runs Wild

• Pickpockets and thieves, murder• Ethnic street gangs• NYC: first police department, 1853• Widespread corruption and

cooperation between criminals and police

Final Questions

• Whose responsibility is it to deal with these problems?

• How does reform and positive change usually happen in America?