The Gilded Age 9/18/13

URBANIZATION: LIFE IN THE CITIES

Announcements•Friday Sept 20, 2013•Quiz over Gilded Age notes •Wednesday Sept 25, 2013•Exam 1•Material covered so far• Founding of the USA•Westward Expansion• Civil War/Reconstruction•Gilded Age

Bell Ringer•What trends do you see in this chart?•What factors contributed to these trends?

Main Ideas: UrbanizationMain Idea: During the thirty years following the Civil War, the U.S. transformed rapidly from a rural nation to a more urban one.• Cities grew around immigration and industrial centers• Cities were crowded and living conditions were often

unhealthy• Ethnic neighborhoods were established in cities where

immigrants settled• Pollution of cities and waterways increased due to

overcrowding of cities• Human health and quality of life decreased due to

overcrowding

Social Issues• Children• Many children worked in factories performing dangerous

jobs• They were sometimes paid lower wages than adult

workers•Women• Many young women worked in factories that made

textiles• They tended to be young and single• Often wages were lower than men’s wages

• Skyscrapers - lack of space; needed to “build up.”

• Mass transit - needed to move large numbers of people quickly.

BostonSubway

San Francisco Cable Car

Trolley Car

Horsecar

New Urban Environment

Socioeconomic ClassesA. High Society - Upper Class

1. Rich; usually lived in the center of the city.

2. Ex: Vanderbilt Mansion B. Middle-Class

1. Fast-growing social group.2. Doctors, lawyers, engineers,

social workers, architects, teachers, etc.3. Not enough salary to keep up with

upper class.

C. Working Class1. Majority2. Often lived in tenements - crowded multi-family dwellings.3. Many sent their children to work in factories.

Today’s Activity• Fill in the chart on social issues of the Gilded Age• Use your textbook or technology• Work quietly• You may listen to music