City Living: Pros-Cons

Partly due to the number of immigrants to the United States Many Americans also gave up their farms to move to cities because they were unhappy with farm life. Population Increase

Building of skyscrapers – Up..not Out with the price of land Wealthiest established fashionable districts in the heart of cities Created a Growing Middle Class Economic Advantages

Economic Disadvantages In order to supplement income, sent children to work in factories Rented space to boarders Work in factories for long hours with little pay Economic Disadvantages

Advantages of Living Conditions Good for the wealthy, who owned large buildings and property Middle class lived in neat rows of houses or new apartment buildings The rich had fine houses with big lawns and plenty of trees Advantages of Living Conditions

Disadvantages of Living Conditions Difficult to afford decent housing because the low wages many were paid in their factory jobs Three out of Four residents squeezed into tenements – dark, crowded multi-family apartments Lived in run-down buildings with no plumbing or heat Fire was also a constant danger because he buildings were made of wood and built so close together “slums/ghettos” Disadvantages of Living Conditions

Small wooden buildings were built quickly without regard to fire safety because of the number of immigrants that were travelling into the area. One night, a fire started, although the cause was never determined. The fire lasted 24 hours, and by the time it was finally put out, it had killed hundreds of people, nearly 100,000 people were left homeless, and 1/3 of the city had been destroyed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Q3wwRAGi w&scrlybrkr=a7cae083 Great Chicago Fire

Social Services Advantages Installation of Cable Cars, then Electric Trolley Cars Rise of Political Machines who would provide the basic necessities for the poor. Middle class included doctors, lawyers, office workers, and skilled crafts people Cities passed building codes, for decent plumbing and fire escapes Zoning laws passed to put factories in different neighborhoods than apartment buildings. Social Services Advantages

Social Service Disadvantages Congestion was so bad that engineers were trying to get travel underground Disease and Pollution posed bigger threats Epidemics of typhoid fever and cholera Improper sewage disposal contaminated city drinking water Social Service Disadvantages

Social Life Advantages The Middle Class citizens joined clubs, bowling leagues, singing societies, and charity groups Activities gave them a sense of purpose and community. The Salvation Army and the YMCA/YWCA Jane Addams, Hull House, a settlement house for the poor in Chicago Social Life Advantages

Social Life Disadvantages Murder rate jumped sharply Native-born Americans blamed immigrants for the increase in crime and violence, in reality this wasn’t true (Nativism all over again) Alcohol contributed to the violence (Temperance movement) Social Life Disadvantages

Need for more workers who were trained and educated In 1870 – 6.5 million children By 1900 – 17.3 million children Americanization – Where immigrant children would learn about American culture “assimilate” Schools taught English, American history, and citizenship Education Advantages

Education Disadvantages Parents worried that Americanization would make the children forget their own cultural traditions Cities were way ahead of rural areas African Americans did not have equal educational opportunities started their own schools Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1881 Education Disadvantages