Section 2-Urbanization

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Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Chapter Objectives Section 2: Urbanization I can explain the technological developments that made the growth of cities possible.  I can evaluate the role that political machines played in urban politics in the late 1800s.

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 469–470) Americans Migrate to the Cities Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The urban population of the United States grew from about 10 million in 1870 to over 30 million by  Immigrants remained in the cities, where they worked long hours for little pay.  Still, most immigrants felt their standard of living had improved in the United States.  Farmers began moving to cities because of better paying jobs, electricity, running water, plumbing, and entertainment.

The New Urban Environment Housing and transportation needs changed due to the increase in the amount of people living in cities.  As the price of land increased, building owners began to build up.  Skyscrapers, tall steel frame buildings, were constructed for this reason.  Chicagoan Louis Sullivan contributed to the design of skyscrapers.

In the late 1800s, various kinds of mass transit developed to move large numbers of people around cities quickly.  Beginning with the horsecar, and later to the more sophisticated electric trolley cars and elevated railroads, engineers created ways to move the ever-expanding population around the city. The New Urban Environment (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 470–471)

Wealthy families lived in the heart of the city where they constructed elaborate homes.  The middle class, which included doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers, tended to live away from the city.  The majority of urban dwellers were part of the working class who lived in city tenements, or dark and crowded multi-family apartments. (page 471) Separation by Class Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Definite boundaries could be seen between where the wealthy, middle class, and working class people lived. 

(page 472) Urban Problems Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The growth of cities resulted in an increase in crime, fire, disease, and pollution.  From 1880 to 1900, there was a large increase in the murder rate.  Native-born Americans blamed immigrants for the increase in crime.  Alcohol contributed to crime in the late 1800s.  Contaminated drinking water from improper sewage disposal resulted in epidemics of typhoid fever and cholera.

The political machine, an informal political group designed to gain and keep power, provided essentials to city dwellers in exchange for votes.  Party bosses ran the political machines.  George Plunket, an Irish immigrant, was one of New York City’s most powerful party bosses.  The party bosses had tight control of the city’s money. Urban Politics A new political system was needed to cope with the new urban problems.  (pages 472–473)

Many of the politicians became wealthy due to fraud or graft–getting money through dishonest or questionable means.  The most famous New York Democratic political machine was Tammany Hall.  During the 1860s and 1870s, Tammany Hall’s boss was William M. Tweed.  He was arrested for corruption and sent to prison in Urban Politics (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 472–473)

Thomas and James Pendergast were party bosses in Kansas City, Missouri.  They led state and city politics from the 1890s to the 1930s.  Although corrupt, political machines did supply important services and help assimilate the ever- expanding population of city dwellers. Urban Politics (cont.) (pages 472–473)