CHAPTERS 7-8 (p. 229—297) Urbanization and Immigration: Life at the Turn of the 20 th Century.
URBANIZATION AMERICA BECOMES A MELTING POT IN THE LATE 19 TH & EARLY 20 TH CENTURY.
-
Upload
clementine-gallagher -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
1
Transcript of URBANIZATION AMERICA BECOMES A MELTING POT IN THE LATE 19 TH & EARLY 20 TH CENTURY.
URBANIZATION
AMERICA BECOMES A MELTING POT IN THE LATE 19TH & EARLY 20TH CENTURY
THE CHALLENGES OF URBANIZATION
Rapid urbanization occurred in the late 19th century in the Northeast & Midwest
Most immigrants settled in cities because of the available jobs & affordable housing
By 1910, immigrants made up more than half the population of 18 major American cities
MIGRATION FROM COUNTRY TO CITY
Rapid improvements in farm technology (tractors, reapers, steel plows) made farming more efficient in the late 19th century
It also meant less labor was needed to do the job
Many rural people left for cities to find work- including almost ¼ million African AmericansDiscrimination and segregation were
often the reality for African Americans who migrated North
URBAN PROBLEMS
Problems in American cities in the late 19th and early 20th century included:
Housing: overcrowded tenements were unsanitary
Sanitation: garbage was often not collected, polluted air
Famous photographer Jacob Riis captured the struggle of living in
crowded tenements
URBAN PROBLEMS CONTINUED
Transportation: Cities struggled to provide adequate transit systems
Water: Without safe drinking water cholera and typhoid fever was common
Crime: As populations increased thieves flourished
Fire: Limited water supply and wooden structures combined with the use of candles led to many major urban fires – Chicago 1871 and San Francisco 1906 were two major fires
Harper’s Weekly image of Chicagoans fleeing the fire over the Randolph
Street bridge in 1871
PHOTOGRAPHER JACOB RIIS CAPTURED IMAGES OF THE CITY
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis
REFORMERS MOBILIZE
Jacob Riis was a reformer who through his pictures hoped for change– he influenced many
The Social Gospel Movement preached salvation through service to the poor
Some reformers established Settlement Homes
These homes provided a place to stay, classes, health care and other social services
Jane Addams was the most famous member of the Settlement Movement (founded Hull House in Chicago)
Jane Addams and Hull House
As cities grew in the late 19th century, so did political machines
Political machines controlled the activities of a political party in a city
Ward bosses, precinct captains, and the city boss worked to ensure their candidate was elected
ROLE OF THE POLITICAL BOSS
The “Boss” (typically the mayor) controlled jobs, business licenses, and influenced the court system
Precinct captains and ward bosses were often 1st or 2nd generation immigrants so they helped immigrants with naturalization, jobs, and housing in exchange for votes Boss Tweed ran NYC
MUNICIPAL GRAFT AND SCANDALSome political bosses were
corruptSome political machines
used fake names and voted multiple times to ensure victory (“Vote early and often”) – called Election fraud
Graft (bribes) was common among political bosses
Construction contracts often resulted in “kick-backs”
The fact that police forces were hired by the boss prevented close scrutiny
LIFE AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH
CENTURY
LIFE AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH
CENTURY
THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN AMERICA
SCIENCE AND URBAN LIFE• By the turn of the 20th
century, four out of ten Americans lived in cities
• In response to urbanization, technological advances began to meet communication, transportation, and space demands
Artist Annie Bandez
SKYSCRAPERS• Skyscrapers emerged after two
critical inventions: elevators & steel skeletons that bear weight
• Famous examples include; Daniel Burnham’s Flatiron Building in NYC, Louis Sullivan’s Wainwright Building in St. Louis
• The skyscraper was America’s greatest contribution to architecture and solved the issue of how to best use limited and expensive space
Flatiron Building - 1902
Another view of Burnham’s Flatiron Building
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
• New developments in communication brought the nation closer
• Advances in printing, aviation, and photography helped speed the transfer of information
AMUSEMENT PARKS• To meet the recreational
needs of city dwellers, Chicago, NYC and other cities began setting aside land for parks
• Amusement parks were constructed on the outskirts of cities
• These parks had picnic grounds and a variety of ridesConey Island was America’s most famous
amusement park in the late 19th century
SPECTATOR SPORTS• Americans not only
participated in new sports, but became avid fans of spectator sports
• Baseball and boxing became profitable businesses
• Mark Twain called baseball, “the very symbol of the booming 19th century”
1897 Baseball team picture Kansas State University
NEWSPAPERS• Mass-production printing
techniques led to the publication of millions of books, magazines, and newspapers
• Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst were two leading publishers whose competition led to more and more sensational newspaper reporting
Hearst (above) and Pulitzer initiated
what was known as “Yellow
Journalism”
Characteristics of Yellow
Journalism included huge,
sensational, exaggerated
headlines
GROWING CONSUMERISM
• The turn of the century witnessed the beginnings of the shopping center, department and chain stores, and the birth of modern advertising
THE DEPARTMENT STORE
• Marshall Field of Chicago brought the first department store to America
• Field’s motto was “Give the lady what she wants”
• Field also pioneered the “bargain basement” concept
Marshall Fields has been around for almost 150 years
CHAIN STORES• In the 1870s, F.W.
Woolworth found that if he offered an item at a low price, “the consumer would purchase it on the spur of the moment”
• By 1911, the Woolworth chain had 596 stores and sold $1,000,000 per week
ADVERTISING
• Expenditures for advertising was under $10 million a year in 1865, but increased to $95 million by 1900
• Ads appeared in newspapers, magazines and on billboards
CATALOGS AND RFD• Montgomery Ward and
Sears were two pioneers in catalog sales
• By 1910, 10 million Americans shopped by mail
• In 1896 the Post Office introduced a rural free delivery (RFD) system that brought packages directly to every home
The Changing American Labor Force
The Changing American Labor Force
Child LaborChild Labor
WORKERS HAD POOR CONDITIONS
Workers routinely worked 6 or 7 days a week, had no vacations, no sick leave, and no compensation for injuries
Injuries were common – In 1882, an average of 675 workers were killed PER WEEK on the job
LABOR UNIONS EMERGE
As conditions for laborers worsened, workers realized they needed to organize
The first large-scale national organization of workers was the National Labor Union in 1866
The Colored National Labor Union followed
Management vs. Labor
Management vs. Labor“Tools” of
Management“Tools” of
Labor
“scabs”
P. R. campaign
Pinkertons
lockout
blacklisting
yellow-dog contracts
court injunctions
open shop
boycotts
sympathy demonstration
s
informational picketing
closed shops
organized strikes
“wildcat” strikes
National Labor Union1866
• 1st attempt to unite all workers in all states
• Goals—8 hour work day / higher wages / social programs
• Chief Victory—8 hour workday for federal government workers
• Lost support in the late 1870s
Knights of LaborKnights of Labor
Terence V. Powderly
Leader of the Knights of Labor
An injury to one is the concern of all!
Knights of LaborMembership
• Unite all workers in one big union
• Skilled / non-skilled• Men/ women / Blacks• farmers
Goals of the Knights of LaborGoals of the Knights of Labor• Eight-hour workday.
• Workers’ cooperatives.
• Worker-owned factories.
• Abolition of child and prison labor.
• Increased circulation of greenbacks.
• Equal pay for men and women.
• Safety codes in the workplace.
• Prohibition of contract foreign labor.
• Abolition of the National Bank.
• Favored arbitration over strikes
THE HAYMARKET AFFAIR
• Labor leaders continued to push for change – and on May 4, 1886 3,000 people gathered at Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest police treatment of striking workers
• A bomb exploded near the police line – killing 7 cops and several workers
• Radicals were rounded up and executed for the crime
• Blamed the Knights of Labor
• Due to the Haymarket Riot and unsuccessful strikes the Knights of Labor lost support and declined in strength
CRAFT UNIONS
Craft Unions were unions of workers in a skilled trade
Samuel Gompers led the Cigar Makers’ International Union to join with other craft unions in 1886
Gompers became president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
He focused on collective bargaining to improve conditions, wages and hours
How the AF of L Would Help the
Workers
How the AF of L Would Help the
Workersù skilled worker only (white men)
ù Association of 25 craft unions
ù Goals—higher wages and improved working conditions.
ù Mediated disputes between management and labor (collective
bargaining)
ù Favored Strikes to accomplish goals
SOCIALISM AND THE IWW
Some unionists (including Debs) turned to a socialism – an economic and political system based on government control of business and property and an equal distribution of wealth among all citizens
The International Workers of the World (IWW) or Wobblies, was one such socialist union PROMOTIONAL
POSTER FOR THE IWW
WOMEN ORGANIZE
Although women were barred from most unions, they did organize behind powerful leaders such as Mary Harris Jones
She organized the United Mine Workers of America
Mine workers gave her the nickname, “Mother Jones”
Pauline Newman organized the International Ladies Garment Workers Union at the age of 16
STRIKES TURN VIOLENT
Several strikes turned deadly in the late 19th century as workers and owners clashed
The Great Strike of 1877: Workers for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad struck to protest wage cuts
Other rail workers across the country struck in sympathy
Federal troops were called in to end the strike
THE HOMESTEAD STRIKE
Even Andrew Carnegie could not escape a workers strike
Conditions and wages were not satisfactory in his Steel plant in Pennsylvania and workers struck in 1892
Carnegie hired Pinkerton Detectives to guard the plant and allow scabs to work
Detectives and strikers clashed – 3 detectives and 9 strikers died
The National guard restored order – workers returned to work
PULLMAN: A FACTORY & TOWN
In 1880, George Pullman built a factory for manufacturing sleepers and other railroad cars in Illinois
The nearby town Pullman built for his employees was modeled after early industrial European towns
Pullman workers felt his puritanical town was too strict
When he lowered wages but not rent – it led to a violent strike in 1894
THE TOWN
GEORGE PULLMAN
THE PULLMAN STRIKE After the Pullman Company
laid off thousands of workers and cut wages, the workers went on strike in the spring of 1894
Eugene Debs (American Railroad Union) tried to settle dispute which turned violent
Pullman hired scabs and fired the strikers – Federal troops were brought in
Debs was jailed
The “Bread & Roses” Strike\1912
The “Bread & Roses” Strike\1912DEMANDS:
ù 15¢/hr. wage increase.
ù Double pay for overtime.
ù No discrimination against strikers.
ù An end to “speed-up” on the assembly line.
ù An end to discrimination against
foreign immigrant workers.