Brittany's Page- City Life

Introduction

Task

Process

Factory System

City Life

Slaves

Inventors

Evaluation

Conclusion

Teacher's Page

VocabularyPage

City Life in the 1800s

Horace Greeley

Horace Greeley, a newspaper publisher from the late 19th century once said,
"We cannot all live in cities, yet nearly all seem determined to do so."
(The American Nation, 487)

WHY WAS THERE RAPID GROWTH IN THE CITIES?


	Rural Areas (farms or small towns)	Urban Areas (cities)
1860	80% of the U.S. population	20% of the U.S. population
1890	60% of the U.S. population	40% of the U.S. population

The population of American cities grew rapidly in the late 1800s. after the Civil War. In 1860 about 15 million people lived in the cities and by 1900 over 30 million Americans were city-dwellers. This rapid increase was partly due to the number of immigrants to the United States, which we will examine closer in this section. It was also because many Americans gave up their farms to move to cities. Farmers hoped to make a better life in the cities because they often worried all the time and never got to be around very many people. One farmer named Hamlin Garland summed up the feelings of many farmers by saying, "I'm sick of farm life... it's nothings but fret, fret, fret, and work the whole time, never going anyplace, never seeing anybody." (The American Nation, 488) If you've had a chance to examine the information provided on factory systems in the 1800's, you will take note that the growth of cities went hand in hand with the growth of factories in the cities. People looking for work flocked to the cities, where most of the factories were located.

LIFE IN THE CITIES

Crowded streets of New York

City life could be difficult and dangerous. New workers found it difficult to afford decent housing because of the low wages they were paid in their factory jobs. They usually lived in overcrowded, run-down buildings with no pluming or heat. Disease was very prevalent in this type of situation. Fire was also a constant danger because the buildings were made of wood and were built so close together.


The First National Bank Building in downtown Chicago before the Great Chicago Fire. In a city full of wooden houses and buildings, this was one of several "iron and stone" structures believed by many to be fireproof.	The First National Bank Building after the fire

The Great Chicago Fire is a prime example of the danger of the city structures. To house the large number of immigrants that flocked to the midwestern city, small wooden buildings were built quickly without regard for fire safety. One night a fire started, although the cause was never determined, and spread quickly. The fire lasted 24 hours, and by the time it was finally put out the Great Chicago Fire had killed hundreds of people, nearly 100,000 people were left homeless, and 1/3 of the city of Chicago had been destroyed. To learn more about the Great Chicago Fire, go to http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/intro/

As cities grew, many took on a similar shape. Poor people lived downtown, in the oldest section of the city. Farther out, the middle class lived in neat rows of houses or new apartment buildings. Beyond them lived the rich. They had fine houses with big lawns and plenty of trees. There were exceptions to this pattern, but most cities held to it.

LIFE DOWN UNDER: THE POOR



	"The Ghetto of the New World"- Picture of an American Ghetto

The poor lived in areas called slums. A slum is a poor, crowded section of a city with run-down and unsafe housing. Similar to the slums were the ghettos. Ghettos were poor areas where people of the same background lived together and kept their culture alive. Often the poor lived crowded together in tenements, which were buildings that were carved up into small apartments. Often families of six or seven people lived together in one or two rooms. Under these crowded conditions is where disease spread and outbreaks of typhoid ad cholera were common. Most tenements had no windows, heating, or bathrooms. They were also and death traps for when fire broke out.

THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: THE MIDDLE CLASS

The middle class included doctors, lawyers, office workers, and skilled crafts people. They lived outside of the slum areas in well-kept houses with a patch of lawn and a tree or two. Disease was kept under control in these areas. Many middle class citizens joined clubs, bowling leagues, singing societies, and charity groups. These activities gave them a sense of community and purpose.

LIFE AT THE TOP: THE RICH
Rich
Portrait of life of the wealthy in New York in early 1800s

The rich built mansions of the rims of the cities. In New York, huge houses dotted 5th Avenue, and in Chicago 200 millionaires lived along the exclusive lakefront. They lived like European royalty and filled their mansions with priceless art works and gave lavish parties.

IMPROVING CITY LIFE

park
Picture of a park in New York City built to improve city life

The amount of people pouring into the cities in the late 1800's meant that there was not enough clean water, loads of litter in the streets, areas filled with pickpockets and thieves, as well as other problems for city-dwellers. So in the 1880s, city-dwellers campaigned to improve city life. They forced governments to hire engineers and architects. In New York City, for example, underground tunnels were built north to the Catskill Mountains which brought millions of gallons of pure water to the city every day. Cities passed building codes which required new buildings to have fire escapes and decent plumbing. Zoning laws passed in many cities put factories in different neighborhoods than apartment buildings. This cut back on the amount of air pollution where people lived. Cities hired workers to collect garbage and sweep the streets. They set up professional fire companies and trained police. Many cities improved public transportation as well. Street lights were put up in many cities. City planners found ways to make the best use of open spaces. Recreational areas, art and history museums, and concert halls were built for entertainment purposes that all helped strive for a better living environment in the cities.

HELP FOR THE POOR
prevention
Flyer informing people how to prevent cholera, a deadly disease at that time

The poor relied on charity work to help them out. The Catholic Church responded to millions of Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants. Protestant churches also set up charity programs. The Salvation Army offered food and shelter to the poor. The YMCA and YWCA taught classes, organized team sports, and held dances. This allowed young people to escape the life of the slums.



Jane Addams	Hull House

Jane Addams set up a settlement house called the Hull House in Chicago which were centers offering help to the poor. They cared for children whose mothers worked out of the home, they organized sports and theater for young people, and they taught English to immigrants and showed people how to prevent disease. The Hull House inspired other settlement houses to be set up in other cities around the country.

BUILDING BOOM

Because there was less space and more ideas of expansion in cities, in the 1880s, architects got the idea to build up instead of out. This is where skyscrapers were invented. They were called skyscrapers because their tops seemed to touch the sky. New technology made the buildings possible and elevators were invented to zip people up to the top floors quickly. Traffic was beginning to become a problem as the streets filled with horse drawn buses, carriages, and carts. New advances in transportation now became prevalent in the cities. This included steam engines, trolleys, streetcars, and subway systems. Department stores also were born in cities. This was a store that offered shoppers everything they needed in one place.

IMMIGRANTS

irish immigrants
Immigrants to America.

Immigration is the movement of people into another country. American manufacturers welcomed the tide of immigrants, many of whom were willing to work for long hours and for low pay.

OLD AND NEW IMMIGRANTS

Between 1870 and 1924, nearly 26 million immigrants entered the United States. The first immigrants came to the United States before 1885 from Northern and Western Europe. They included people from England, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia. They became known as the "old" immigrants. The immigrants from England and Ireland spoke English, some were skilled workers, and most adjusted easily to jobs in cities in the East and Midwest because they were used to textile and coal mining jobs where they had come from. They faced some discrimination when then first arrived, however, they were drawn into American life as the nation grew.
The second group of immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe after 1885. This included people from Italy, Poland, Russia, Greece,, and Hungary. They were known as the "new" immigrants. Their languages and religions set them apart from the old immigrants and they found it harder to make a place in America as a result. Some immigrants spent their life savings to come to the United States on dirty, overcrowded ships. Once they arrived they were examined at such places as Ellis Island in New York City or Angel Island in San Francisco before being allowed into the country. A main reason why immigrants came to the New World was because they were seeking a better life for their family. The United States offered new jobs and opportunities that they could not find in Europe.

IMMIGRANT LIFE

Many newcomers adjusted to life in the United States by settling in neighborhoods around their own people. In cities across America, Italians lived in Little Italies, Poles settled in Little Warsaws, and cities were patchworks of Italian, Irish, Polish, Hungarian, German, Jewish, and Chinese neighborhoods.. In their neighborhoods immigrants spoke their own language, celebrated special holidays, and bought foods from the old country. Sharing laughter and tears with their own people eased the loneliness of life in America. They found jobs through friends and relatives, so people from one country often did the same kind of work.

IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION

Immigration changed the character of the country. People brought their customs, religions, and ways of life with them. Various features soon filtered into American culture. Another impact of immigration was the rise of prejudice against immigrants. People opposed to immigration were known as nativists because they felt that immigration threatened the future of "native" American born citizens. Some nativists accused immigrants of taking jobs from "real" Americans and were angry that immigrants would work for lower wages. Others accused immigrants of bringing disease and crime to American cities.

RESOURCES:

American Ghetto Picture:
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. (2003, April 25) A photo album of immigration. Retrieved on April
25, 2003 from http://www.gliah.uh.edu/photo_album/album_p8.html

Batchelor, J. E. and Davidson, J. W. (1986) The american nation New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Cholera Prevention Picture:
New York Historical Society. (1997) New York City and the developing republic. Retrieved on April 25, 2003 from
http://www.nyhistory.org/seneca/nyc2.html

Croweded Streets of New York Picture:
The Library of Congress. (2002, September 26) Collection connections. Retrieved on April 25, 2003 from
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/nyfilm/history.html

Great Chicago Fire Pictures:
The Library of Congress. (2002, September 26) Collection connections. Retrieved on April 25, 2003 from
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/nyfilm/history.html

Horace Greeley Picture:
Picture History. (2003) Picture history- Horace Greeley (1811-1872). Retrieved on April 25, 2003 from
http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/1025/mcms.html

Hull HousePicture:
Yoder, A. (2000) An exhibit of photographs of Jane Addams, her family, and hull house. Retrieved on April 25, 2003
from http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/Exhibits/jane.addams/hull-house.htm

Jane Addams Picture:
PBS. (2003) Jane Addams. Retrieved April 25, 2003 from http://www.pbs.org/fmc/timeline/padams.htm

New York City Park Picture:
New York Historical Society. (1997) The park story. Retrieved on April 25, 2003 from
http://www.nyhistory.org/seneca/park.html

Immigrant Picture:
Lee, J. and Siemborski, R. (2003) Who were/are the immigrants to the U.S.? Retrieved on April 25, 2003 from
http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Immigration/who_are_the_immigrants.html

Wealthy Life Picture:
Great Modern Pictures. (2001) Broadway- City Hall 1819. Retrieved on April 5, 2002 from
http://www.greatmodernpictures.com/apny.htm

YOU CAN LOOK UP MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CITY LIFE AND IMMIGRANTS BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW

City Life in the Late 19th Century:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/riseind/city/city.html

Ellis Island History:
http://www.ellisisland.com/indexHistory.html

Ellis Island Great Hall- The Immigrant Journey:
http://www.libertystatepark.com/immigran.htm

Life of a Polish Immigrant:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/immigrat/seymour/chap1.htm

On the trail of an immigrant:
http://www.gliah.uh.edu/photo_album/photo_album.html

Many immigration links:
http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/dms/library/cybrary/immigration/immigration.htm