America Moves to the City APUSH Ms. Weston 1/20/10

Pop Quiz! Give three advantages and three disadvantages to life in the city.

The Growth of the City Between 1870-1900, population of US cities tripled Many US cities now boasted over a million people KEY FEATURES OF THE CITY Skyscrapers—form follows function, ELEVATOR Commuters—electric trolleys, cities radiated outward

The Lure of the City Industrial jobs Urban lifestyle Electricity Indoor plumbing Telephones Skyscrapers and bridges Department stores

Negatives of City Life Increased consumerism Everything is disposable Leads to huge problems with waste Crime Lack of sanitation Large gap between social classes SLUMS 1879 “Dumbbell tenement” Crowded, lack of ventilation, filth and disease Largely populated by immigrants

Images from How the Other Half Lives

New Immigration Immigrants coming in faster than ever before--in 1882: 2,100 came each day! Old Immigrants (before 1880): From British isles and Western Europe, fair-skinned, usually Protestant, literate and used to representative government. Easily fit into American society. New Immigrants (after 1880): From Southern and Eastern Europe, Jews and Catholics, not used to democracy, illiterate and impoverished. Moved to cities, fears they couldn’t assimilate.

Why New Immigration? Europe overcrowded, people moved to many different countries Persecution of Jews in Russia led to settlement of urban Jews in America. America seen as “land of opportunity”—in letters from friends, advertisements

Immigrants in America Many returned home after making money (about 25%) Most strove to preserve their traditional culture: established schools, newspapers, neighborhoods, social clubs. Political machines helped immigrants assimilate (because governments failed to do this) Traded jobs and services for votes

Assistance to Immigrants Social Gospel Movement: Churches had to deal with problems of the day, especially conditions for immigrants Jane Addams—middle class, college-educated, set up Hull House—settlement house for immigrants Offered English classes, counseling, cultural activities Center of women’s activism and reform Led to establishment of more settlement houses, activism such as anti-sweatshop campaigns Early form of social work

Chinese Immigration PULL Flocked to frontier towns on Pacific Coast to help build railroad. PUSH Tumult and suffering in China. In America, very male society, settled mainly in Chinatowns. Mounting anti-Chinese sentiment CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT (1882)

Rising Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Nativism on the rise in 1880s—saw new immigrants as culturally and religiously inferior Feared high birthrate of immigrant communities Believed immigrants responsible for corruption in urban government, for driving down wages American Protective Association Denis Kearny against Chinese immigrants Organized labor joined fight against immigrants RESULT NEW IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS

Changes to the Church in the City Growth of cities posed challenges to traditional church Church seemed too traditional, not responding enough to new challenges of city life “Social Gospel” Movement: applying church principles to modern social problems YMCA and YWCA New denominations Salvation Army Christian Science—Mary Baker Eddy Curing disease through prayer

Darwin Challenges the Church Darwin’s On The Origin of Species (1859) Evolution challenged traditional stories of creation By 1875, split in the church Conservative minority rejected Darwinians, asserted authority of bible (these would become FUNDAMENTALISTS) Accomodationists—tried to reconcile Christianity with Darwinism. Religious teachings were becoming more of a private matter

Growth of Public Education Growing belief that society will only function if people somewhat educated More compulsory education laws Continued growth of schools, especially high schools By 1900, large amount. Increasingly free textbooks Better teacher training Kindergartens Adult education Chautauqua Movement Decline in illiteracy

African-American Reformers Booker T. Washington Ex-slave, grew up in poverty Began teaching at Tuskegee Institute in 1881, later became head of school Focused on teaching blacks useful trades so they could get jobs, and therefore respect Accepted segregation if blacks could get economic and educational resources Accused of being an accomodationist—accepting white racism.

African American Reformers ctnd. W.E.B. DuBois Accused Washington of being an “Uncle Tom,” selling out the race First African-American to get his PhD from Harvard Demanded complete equality for blacks—economic and social Founded NAACP in 1910 (National Association for Advancement of Colored People) Wanted “talented tenth” of black population to lead the rest into full equality

Expansion of Higher Education College increasingly seen as necessary to success Growth in women’s colleges and co-ed colleges Growth in black colleges Morrill Act of 1862 and Hatch Act of 1887—responsible for this growth Gave land grants to states to support public education (how the UC system began!) Private philanthropy also funded college growth (Stanford, Rockefeller and University of Chicago) Growth of professional schools (Graduate school)

Intellectual Achievements College curriculum increasingly separating facts from morality More choice in curriculum, more specialization (majors) Medical schools and medical science prospered BETTER PUBLIC HEALTH Pragmatism (distinctly American philosophy) William James Embraced uncertainty, pursuit of truth scientifically Practical philosophy

Rise of the Press Rising literacy—more people reading, more public libraries More people reading newspapers Cheap, mass-circulated publications Sensationalistic reporting Demand for simple, juicy reporting Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst YELLOW JOURNALISM Reported on scandals and sensational rumors

Writing Towards Reform Magazine Nation—crusaded for civil service reform, honesty in government and moderate tariff Henry George Progress and Poverty asked why there is growing poverty with economic progress Proposed “single tax” on property to equalize wealth Edward Bellamy Looking Backward –government nationalized big business Utopian socialism

Popular Literature Dime novels—usually about wild west First “paperbacks” Ben-Hur by Wallace—popular novel to affirm bible Horatio Alger Juvenile fiction Virtue, honesty and industry will be rewarded by success and honor “Rags to riches” stories Poets Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson

Important Works of Literature Turn to realism—portrayed how life really was Kate Chopin—wrote about sexism, suicide, adultery in The Awakening Mark Twain—revolted against formal, elegant literature using realism and humor with books like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn Stephen Crane—wrote about the rough life in slums with Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

The New Morality Increasing battle over sexual attitudes and role of women Victoria Woodhull preached free love Women had new economic freedom in cities Because of new job opportunities with switchboard and typewriters With economic freedom came sexual freedom Rising divorce rate Birth control

Families and Women in the Cities Challenges to the family in the city Families isolated, increased pressure Children more expensive in city Decreased birthrate Women becoming more independent Charlotte Perkins Gilman—early feminist Women and Economics argued that women should play a role in the economy through work

Continued Struggle for Suffrage 1890: National American Woman Suffrage Association Founders Cady Stanton and Anthony Increasingly militant Carrie Chapman Catt—pragmatic suffragist Instead of arguing equality, argued that women should have right to vote to be better wives and mothers in the cities Needed to have a say in public health, education Victories for women Could vote in local elections Wyoming gave women vote in 1869 Women could hold property even after marriage

The Plight of Black Women Largely kept out of suffrage movement by white women Ida B. Wells Began anti-lynching crusade Began black women’s club movement

Controversy Over Alcohol Increased alcohol consumption during Civil War and with influx of immigrants Middle class, pro-temperance activists believed alcohol to be at root of social ills 1869 National Prohibition Party 1874 Women’s Christian Temperance Union Led by Frances E. Willard Carrie A. Nation—smashed saloon bars with her hatchet Some states pass temperance laws 18th Amendment in 1919 PROHIBITION

The State of the Arts In painting, portraits popular James Whistler, John Singer Sergeant Music gaining popularity Homegrown American music from South—blues, ragtime and jazz Phonograph allowed Americans to play recorded music in their homes

Amusement in the City Americans eager for leisure time, play and pleasure Vaudeville and minstrel shows Circus—PT Barnum “Wild West” shows Baseball—becoming national pastime Also basketball, football and boxing Croquet and bicycles Standardization of popular culture—all Americans doing the same things for fun