Analyze how TWO of the following factors contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900:
technology
urban politics
class divisions
Your response should include a thesis AND a paragraph for each of the two factors chosen.
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Although citizens of the United States occupied rural areas prior to 1865, a shift in technological improvement and urban politics lured millions of Americans into cities in the last half of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteBefore urbanization, the United States was strongly rural farm communities. Families were born to harvest the land, especially in the West. Education even revolved around harvest and crop time by changing the school calendar to fit the needs of farm families. However, new inventions and immigration helped change rural dominance.
Technological improvements chnaged the way Americans lived. Working conditions improved in factories, so more people were encouraged to desert farming and become factory workers. Transportation changed dramatically. Commuting was not as expensive in some cities, such as New York City, because of the Brooklyn Bridge, electric trolleys, and subways. Architectural change upgraded buildings to skyscrapers and helped persuade more to inhabit cities. With so much innovation occuring, Americans and immigrants were excited to be a part of the adaptation going on around them.
Urban politics transformed the way people were treated and how they lived. Motivated by selfish ambition, some, such as Boss Tweed, provided welfare to urban newcomers. The political machines that enticed movement into cities were not only economic motive, however, but also a change of the common scenery. The cities were an ideal place to host factories, and having a community around them would provide a market for the goods.
Changes in the United States that started in the 1860s altered life for all Americans, and industrialization updated life for all.
Although American cities were already beginning to grow in the pre-Civil War era, technology and class divisions contributed greatly to the growth of American cities between 1865-1900.
ReplyDeleteNew technologies had a major effect on the growth of American cities during the late 19th century. By the 1890s, electric trolleys and subways were beginning to replace the horse-drawn carriages that had previously been used, and even fewer people continued to walk to and from their destinations. This transportation technology allowed people to live even further away from their urban workplaces, so suburbs developed as well on the outskirts of cities. Increasing land values led to the construction of skyscrapers, with the first steel frame skyscraper erected in 1885. These were used for offices of industry and commerce and helped further develop American cities.
Class divisions also played a huge role in the growth of American cities in the late 19th century. As industry expanded, so did the gap between the rich and the poor. Wealthier citizens, the small upper class, moved away from urban business districts in the growing cities, and the poor, namely the flood of immigrants coming into America, moved into them. The immigrants lived in crammed tenement quarters, sometimes 4,000 people living in one city block. They developed their own sense of identity inside these "ghettos," and as more immigrants flooded in to take American industrial jobs, these areas served as a stepping stone for them to achieve their own type of "American Dream."
Although urban politics aided the persecuted immigrants, technology and class divisions were mainly responsible for the development of American cities because of their impact on the definition of cities and immigrant advancement.
ReplyDeleteTechnology in the 19th century not only spread out the population, but it also represented a shift in the focus of American life. Previously, workers had to live within walking distance of their work, and the upper and middle classes relied on horse-drawn cars or cable cars for their daily transportation. The introduction of streetcar cities, or cities with trolleys, railroads, and subways, enabled citizens to live farther apart, thereby expanding already existing cities. William Le Baron Jenny introduced the United States to skyscrapers, headquarters for industrial businesses. These skyscrapers represented a shift from a religion-focused nation to a millionare-focused one.
Class divisions were the cause of both the formation of suburbs and immigrant aid. The workforce was overpopulating the cities, in which, originally, both the poor and rich lived.The upper and middle classes had the luxury of being able to move away from the polluted and overcrowded cities, forming their own little "village in the park," or suburbs. In the cities, ethnic neighborhoods, or ghettos, were forming. These societies consisted mainly of immigrants who were crammed into blocks of living spaces. The ghettos would form their own societies and provide a stable environment for anyone in pursuit of fulfilling the American Dream. Immigrant and labor family aid in the form of settlement houses provided another forum for women. These settlement houses, a precedent for later child protection agencies, campaigned for anti-child labor laws, housing reform, and women's rights. The volunteers, who lived with the poor, also taught English to immigrants and provided other social favors.
Although the politics of urban society fostered the growth of cities by addressing the various needs of those who lived and operated in urban areas, technology was the prime contributor to the growth of cities because it created an urban structure that strengthened the chain between people and industry.
ReplyDeleteThe occasional good will of politicians in late 19th century American cities encouraged immigration by providing for newcomers’ bare necessities; however, the politics of the day often ran as a machine for the benefit of those in power. The tightly-knit groups of politicians, often called political machines themselves, were often headed by a political boss who dished out orders to his vast array of associates. Many political machines, such as the all-powerful Tammany Hall in New York City, met with business leaders and workers to address different disputes and issues. In exchange for their services, political machines requested for votes that supported the groups in city elections. Immigrant workers who came to American cities often arrived without much money at all, and the going was rough early on in their stay. Political machines often stepped in to find jobs and residences for the underprivileged and further provided for the basic needs of these people by handing out food. Despite creating this early form of welfare, a few groups were often quick to abuse their powers by stealing from taxpayers. For example, one such group, led by Boss Tweed of New York City, stole an estimated 65% of public building funds. These occasional outbreaks of fraud often marred the political groups’ reputations and painted them as societal bosses no different from the harsh bosses of industry. Nevertheless, their management of city problems encouraged further growth of the American urban society.
The new technologies of the late 1800s encouraged growth within cities by creating convenient transportation between work and residence, massive housing projects, and towering business skyscrapers. The late 19th century gave way to streetcar cities where workers lived many miles from their jobs and commuted via mass transit. With electric trolleys, subways, and elevated railways, thousands of workers could quickly travel between home and industry simultaneously above, below, and on the ground. Such convenience caused many American workers to move to the urban hubs of transit. Buildings within cities shot upward with the development of stronger building materials, the Otis elevator, and steam-powered heating systems. The emergence of steel skyscrapers in cities like Chicago whose land values skyrocketed fostered the growth of industrial and commercial offices, creating a boom in both big business and the expansion of cities themselves. The growth of residential buildings alongside the skyscrapers of business provided housing for the large influx of an immigrant labor force. Despite crowded and often unhealthy conditions, the large inner-city tenements often created ethnic neighborhoods that created a network of community schools, churches, and social clubs that served as a platform for hardworking immigrants who wished to achieve the American dream. Without the necessary materials for expanding cities upward and connected workers to their jobs, the late 1800s boom in urbanization would likely not have occurred.
Although urban politics was a result of growing American cities, urbanization flourished with the improvement of technology in the mid to late 1800s because of the mechanical innovations and ability to commute.
ReplyDeleteAn influx of people coming into cities led to political groups that formed and were educated on how to manipulate other groups in cities. Political machines were groups of urban political parties who were ruled by groups of politicians, each political machine had a top boss who would give orders and, to those who were more dedicated, jobs in the government. In order to get votes, these political machines would give help to those in need. Certain political machines provided services to new comers, like finding a job or an apartment, and some would even bring food to those in need during rough times. Although they were generous at times, they could also be cruel and steal millions of tax payer dollars by scams.
Two technological aspects that affected the growth of the urban areas were the streetcar cities, and the skyscrapers. The streetcar cities made the wealthy move to suburbs for they could commute to their job, which led people from the lower class to take up residence in the city itself. This made the city a target for crime which was another reason why the wealthy moved to the suburbs. In the beginning, people who lived in the suburbs could get to their jobs by using horse drawn streetcars or cable cars; however, these were soon replaced by electric trolleys, elevated rail roads, and subways. These advancements in transportation made it possible to live further away from the city’s center, and thus further away from poverty and pollution, which was an ideal scenario for the beautiful people at the time. Skyscrapers contributed to the expansion of urbanization, not only outward, but also upward with the use of steel. The invention of the Otis elevator allowed for people to easily go up and down stories of the building, and due to the central heating system, which had the use of radiators of every room of a skyscraper, there could be heat that would also help people enjoy the skyscrapers.
During the rise of Industrial in America, Cities grew with the advances of technology and class divisions. With the replacement of iron for steel railroads was the main factor of improvements of cities.
ReplyDeleteWith the new improvements in transportation people didn’t have to be in walking distance of their job. They was now able to live outside they job areas. By the 1890’s the cable car were being replaced by electric trolleys, elevated railroad, and subways. This made it possible for residences to live farther from the city commercial center. Because iron rust quicker buildings wasn’t sturdy. With the invention of steel, skyscrapers helped expand cities upward instead of outward.
Race, ethnic, class and gender relations in cities and suburbs was mainly what made a city. Ethnic neighborhoods the poor moved to deserted residences near business district. Even though the apartments was overcrowded, they created they own language, culture , church and socialclub. During the 19th century, upper and middle class American thought that the best way to escape the problems of the city was to move out to the suburbs. Suburbs included abundant land available at low cost. This made the suburbs grow up around every major U.S city. Because of the buildup waste, pollution, disease, and crime, the city government was convinced that they needed water purification, sewerage system, waste disposal and zoning laws to regulate urban development
Although class divisions contributed to the development of American cities in the late 1800s, cities were further developed because of technology and urban politics.
ReplyDeleteTechnology advances in transportation led to the growth of American cities. Streetcars were used to transport workers living a few miles from their jobs to work, but by the 1890s they were being replaced with electric trolleys which could transport people even farther. The creation of suspension bridges, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, also allowed for longer commutes. This made it more convenient for workers far from commercial centers to still work in cities.
By taking control of major cities, urban political parties shaped the development of American cities. The top politician would gain and keep supporters by providing them with jobs and apartments. New York politician Tammy Hall generated a loyal support group by meeting the needs of businesses, immigrants, and the underprivileged. Poverty of middle class workers inspired a need for reform and political action which politicians took advantage of to gain voters. The politicians urbanized cities by bringing in well needed modern services.
Although advances in technology triggered the development of cities, class divisions contributed most to US urbanization because class determined location and living conditions.
ReplyDeleteTechnology started urbanization with railroads and electricity. Railroads made it possible for more people to reach more areas of the country, more goods to reach more areas of the country, and less time and energy to be spent for getting the people and the goods to more areas of the country. Towns sprang up near train stations which created the center of the city, later to be expanded by the incoming factories and their workers. Electricity allowed factories, which depended on water for power, to move away from the rivers and streams and settle in more economically opportune places. Factory workers flocked to homes near the factories where they worked, creating a new center of the city or expanding an already existing one.
Within factory and train centered cities, class divisions began to dictate the development of the cities. The citizens who were more financially well off began to move out of the immediate area of the businesses. In order to bring in good profits, the landlords began to split the residences up into smaller rooms for the poor. Different immigrant groups amongst the poor established distinct “ethnic neighborhoods” where their own culture could be maintained. Living conditions were generally poor yet these “ghettos” often helped the ambitious citizens move up economically. Cheap land and discrimination, amongst other factors, persuaded the rich to move out away from the inner city and establish suburbs, where more land, privacy, and housing separation were offered.
Trains and factories initiated urbanization; class divisions refined and expanded the resulting cities.
Although differences in the mentality of the different class systems helped the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900, technological advances had the biggest impact on the development of cities because it turned small private towns into bustling cities at the peak of industrialization.
ReplyDeleteTo the wealthy class in the late 1800s, wealth was attainable through “rugged individualism”, and the poor had only themselves to blame for not rising to the top. To many captains of industry at the time, such as Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Carnegie, the poor were simply victims of “survival of the fittest”. They had worked their way up to success from the bottom and had adopted this Social Darwinism point of view from their experiences. This developed the structure of American cities because their “natural order” perspective led them to submit their workers to long work hours at increasingly low wages. When they did this it further increased the difference in the distribution of wealth. The poverty that ensued because of the class system led to suburbs, ghettos, and a lower fertility rate which changed the way American cities functioned.
Advances made in railroads, steel, and oil were the biggest contributors to the development of American cities because they helped connect the nation physically and economically. Vanderbilt’s push for railroads and use of standard gages, the Westinghouse air brake, and Pullman Palace Care revolutionized transportation of goods and people by making it safer and more efficient. Railroads connected the nation and allowed cities to connect to each other and grow together. The same is true for Carnegie’s steel and Rockefeller’s oil. Both were the head of their market and monopolized that part of industry, and, by doing so, they directly influenced the development of the nation. These products along with advancements like telephones and electricity transformed the large cities into bustling networks of action because they were able to work longer hours and interstate commerce was easier and faster.
Although urban political practices that today would be viewed as scandalous were accepted as a matter of routine, technology and class divisions contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900 because advantages of the usuage of new inventions and social class factors.
ReplyDeleteTechnology has always been somewhat prevalent from the beginning. As American cities began to form, many people began to invent things that could be useful to the construction and maintenance of the American cities as well as the business that operated within them. Some of these inventions were the light bulb, mass producing, the telephone, and the Bessemer Process. The light bulb was made by Thomas Edison and was used to extend the time that it was lit inside and out. It also allowed businesses and industrial plants to operate later and longer, much to the distress of laborers and workers. Mass producing was started by Henry Ford. He came up with the idea of using a conveyer belt to have his workers build cars in an assembly line. This allowed him to build more cars at a faster rate. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. His invention made it easier to communicate across long distances. His invention came after the telegraph and inspired the Bell-south company an later the AT&T company. The Bessemer Process was created by Henry Bessemer. He used this process to efficiently create steel for buildings like skyscrapers by melting pig iron and burning coal. This also lead to mass production of steel.
Class Division was another factor that contributed to the development of American cities. Class Division involved three classes: the Upper Class, the Middle Class, and the Lower Class. The Upper Class consisted of the Elite, the rich, the educated, successful inventors, and the owners of the businesses and industrial plants/factories. This group almost always maintained itself on the backs of the middle class. The middle class, it consists mainly of workers and laborers. They worked in harsh conditions and were paid minimum wage or next to nothing. They were put in a situation where they were stuck in there positions because they didn’t have much money to do otherwise. The lower class would have most likely been the extremely poor people, who could not get jobs anywhere because they were most likely incapable of doing hard labor or disabled. This set of classes have not changed much since then.
Although urban politics contributed to the development of cities, technology and class divisions helped the economy develop more by creating better ways to communicate and separating classes.
ReplyDeleteUrban politics began to grow in major cities. Political parties came under the control of Political Machines. These Political Machines began as small social clubs that grew rapidly and gained supporters. Several of them gained so much support that they became power centers that helped with the needs of businesses, immigrants, and the poor. The power centers would draw in immigrants by finding jobs and apartments for them, which provided population growth.
Technology improvements provided a quicker way to communicate. The construction of railroads continued as a way to ship goods. The telephone came along which allowed for transcontinental communication. Electricity made it possible to work longer days so more goods could be produced. Class divisions separated the rich, the poor, and the middle class. The rich were treated as the most important members of society whereas the poor were looked down upon. The middle class moved to settlement houses because they were concerned about the lives of the poor. In these houses, English was taught to immigrants, industrial arts was taught, and theaters and music schools were created. These educational opportunities brought more immigrants.
Although new cities had to work out a new method of government, American cities developed in the late 1800s because of technological advancements and the schism between the working and rich classes.
ReplyDeleteCities could not have grown without the technology that developed after the Civil War. The Bessemer process made it easier and more economical to produce steel. Steel could be used to make railroads that could support more pressure and wouldn’t rust. Because of this, railroads began to crop up all over the country, especially in the north. Towns paid for a railroad to go through them, because railroad stops brought people to the town, and with more people in the town, the town would grow into a major city. Technology also helped build the city. Steel could support taller buildings, and thus the skyscraper was born. The development of Streetcars made the city easier to traverse. The technology allowed more people to live there with a job, and the technology allowed them to live further away from that job with quick transportation to and from. The technology expanded and populated small cities around railroads and turned them into urban metropolises.
The gap between the rich and the working class widened in this period, but it was the backbone of urbanization. As previously stated, big towns cropped up where the technology was. The technology came from large steel and oil factories. These factories were run by rich tycoons. These Tycoons, like Rockefeller for oil and Carnegie for steel, monopolized the market, making a small but very rich class of the wealthy. The ones who ran these factories were the working class. They were at the mercy of the rich. Their wages, homing, and supplies were all dependent on their rich employers. Because of this, the gap between the very rich and the poor that depended on them grew. But this created cities. Many employers had cities built around their factories for their employees. These created urban societies in addition to the railroads. The tycoons were a main cause for cities because the cities were built for workers, not for the wealthy. As cruel as conditions were for the workers, the modern United States owes it’s urbanized, city-heavy lifestyle to the gap divide that developed at this time.
-Brennan Ballard, Despite who Blogger may say I am.
Although immigration was restricted, American cities developed between 1865 and 1900 because of improvements in technology and urban politics.
ReplyDeleteThere were small significant improvements in technology that contributed to the development of American cities such as electric transportation. By the 1890s, horse-drawn cars and cable cars were being replaced by electric trolleys, elevated railroads, and subways. These electric innovations contributed to the development of American cities because now, residents could travel farther distances than before, and they no longer had to live within walking distance of their jobs.
Urban politics contributed to the development of American cities by coordinating the needs of immigrants and the underprivileged. Political machines, tightly organized groups of politicians, brought modern services to the cities to accommodate the immigrants and underprivileged. The political organization would find jobs and apartments for fresh immigrants. The organizations would also provide the poor with baskets of food during hard times. This contributed to the development of American cities because it showed outsiders that the political machines cared about the people, and that alone brought a growth in population to the cities.
Although urban politics played a crucial role in the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900, the leading factors that helped the development were technology and class division because of the new railroads and factories and the wide gap between the rich and the poor.
ReplyDeleteTechnology played a major role in the development of American cities. Railroads allowed for faster transportation of people and goods. Products could now be transported to other states and other countries much more quickly. Factories also played a major role. With factories, goods could now be made quicker and easier. With these new technologies, new opportunities opened up for cities grow. People could more easily travel across the country and farmers could ship their goods to more places in less time.
Factories also contributed to class division. The workers were usually poor immigrants that worked for very little pay for very long hours. The wealthy owners of these large businesses believed in Social Darwinism. They believed that money should not just be handed out to the poor and society should follow a rule of survival of the fittest and natural selection. This led to the rise of many labor unions. The strikes and riots created by these unions helped contribute to shorter hours each day and safer working conditions.
Although urban politics playe some role, the development of American cities between 1865 and 1990 was in fluenced mostly through develpments in technology and the widening class division.
ReplyDeleteTechnology began to expand and with it so did cities. As more inventions came along factories became more common throughout the north. With electricity factories no longer needed running water to supply their power. As factories began to spread out cities developed around them because to run a factory one needs workers. These workers grouped around the factories and built many popular cities today. The increase in technology allowed for this parrallel increase in populated cities which draged more people away from agriculture and more towards manufacturing.
The widening class division led to much unhappiness from the working class but increasing success for the owners of the large companies. As cities were built around factories the people moved in and began to work but there was much opposition to work hours, wages, and, risk. Since space and time were money for the big corporations homes were built very close together and made very cheaply this also caused a discontent. The workers believed the factory was theirs yet they were being oppressed and taken advantage of. This division led to either mansions or mainly shacks called homes. The developing cities were created around the poor lower class.
Although urban politics furnished prospering cities, technology held the biggest impact on American cities because it gave birth to urban transportation and new buildings.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to cities in today's society, between 1865 and 1900 American cities were practically ran by politics. Political parties were under the control of political machines with a top politician or boss as the chief of authority. A boss's duty consisted of giving orders and jobs to supporters. Political machines later organized into powerful centers that arranged needs for the poor, for the immigrants, and for business. They considered it their duty to serve the city.
Although some may argue that urban politics contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900, technology and class divisions, however greatly contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900 because they both lead to an ideal urban society.
ReplyDeleteNew industrial technologies greatly contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900. A number of these improvements in urban transportation were of these new industrial technologies. For example, electric trolleys, elevated railroads, and subways were all created to transport people from urban residences outside the major cities. These areas were called suburbs. People often moved to the suburbs to escape the pollution, poverty, and crime in the big cities. These new technological inventions aided the development of American cities because now people could move to and establish suburbs outside the big cities without having to worry about getting to work or returning to the major city when needed.
In addition to new technologies, class divisions also greatly contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900. As the wealthy began to move to the suburbs due to pollution, poverty, and crime, the old rugged communities in the big cities were left to the working poor and immigrants. In these over crowded cities different immigrant groups created their own ethnic neighborhoods which attracted more immigrants that eventually lead to the expanding and growth of these big cities which overtime became overpopulated. The wealthy on the other hand established their own communities outside the major cities due to inexpensive transportation by rail, low-cost construction methods, ethnic and racial prejudice, and Anerican fondness for grass, privacy, and detached individual houses. Consequently, small cities and communities outside the major cities grew and developed greatly between 1865 and 1900.
Although urban politics did assist in molding American cities, the cities owe their development to the emergence of new technology and the widening of class divisions between the rich and the poor because the technology of the age became the driving factor in the placement of the cities while the class divisions set the precedent of the separation in living conditions of the wealthy and the poor.
ReplyDeleteFactories and railways were essentially the nuclei of cities. Since their wages were low, due the prevailing capitalist ideals of their bosses, many workers were unable to afford frivolous transportation costs leading them to live mostly within walking distance of their work so as to be able to commute easily back and forth from their jobs after an exhausting ten sometimes twelve hour work day. Some business owners even built cities just for this purpose to gain even more money by renting out the houses close to the factory. For those who could afford the commute cities were also starting to appear along the railways as they became an increasingly popular mode of transportation. These cities’ chief purposes were to raise revenue for the railway, but they also said something about one’s social status. If you could manage to live miles away from your place of work you were well off. With each city that appeared along its route, the train’s company was almost guaranteed a source of capital as the consumer populations would undoubtedly come to depend on the train’s services. As the factories and railways continued to wind their way across the United States the up cropping of new cities followed.
The large chasm between the rich and the poor during this period was a major factor in the development of cities by determining who lived where. The laborer class, mostly comprised of immigrants, found their homes being near their place of work because of their inability to afford much else. However the cities were further segregated by nationality and culture as more “new” immigrants came to the United States and mixed in with the “old” immigrants. As the poorer classes began to invade in the cities near the factories, the wealthy began to move out and create the areas known as the suburbs. Their disgust with the less fortunate was what drove their need to remove themselves from the ‘filth’ of the destitute. This need allowed the new architects of the age like Frederick Law Olmsted to come to fame as their beautiful landscapes came into the American’s conscious as the good life.
America has transferred from a dominantly agricultural to an industrial society with the help of technology. The implementation of electricity, plumbing, and the telephone in big cities, attracted many people. The invention of electric elevators allowed for the efficient use of skyscrapers. This opened the door to new jobs and opportunities for the American people. Soon, the urban areas became a complex web of transit lines that radiated from central cities to surrounding suburbs. Electric trolleys, subways, and elevated railroads made the daily commute from home to job easier. It also allowed people to move away from the bustling cities and instead, into the outskirts of it.
ReplyDeleteAmerican cities developed between 1865 and 1900 because of changes in technology and class divisions.
ReplyDeleteBetween 1865 and 1900, railroads emerged and spanned across the entire continent connecting the east and west so they could trade with each other. Also, towns that later grew into cities also popped up along the railroad. cities were built along railroads so that traveling from city to city was easier and more efficient and also helped trading and postal deliveries to be made without a hitch.
Class divisions changed between 1865 and 1900. The gap between the Rich and poor was greater than ever with monopolies such as Rockafeller and Carnegie dominated the rich and held most of the power. However those who were employed by them made very little compared to the kingpins. They could barley survive with what they were given and living conditions were poor.
Although urban politics rising in the Gilded Age was a major contributor to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900, class divisions was the major cause of development in America.
ReplyDeleteUrban politics were a role in the development for the way it showed the country what not to do. For example the politics of this era were of presidents who didn't serve more than one consecutive term. The political parties of the time also portrayed to the country a bad image as they couldn't and avoided taking a stand on controversial issues.
The new classes uprising during this period did provide development for the country as well. With the new railways, it left people on opposite sides of the spectrum. People were either really wealthy or in deep poverty; this was partly due to the Darwinism and belief in survival of the fittest. This was starting to shape the way classes would be for the future of the country.
Although technology greatly influenced the growth of American cities by its innovations in transportation, urban politics and class divisions had more contributing factors because of the political machines and the spread of urban residencies.
ReplyDeleteThe political machines were an organized group of politicians that took control over major cities. These machines were helpful to the needs of business, immigrants, and the poor. In some cases they would find jobs and homes for immigrants or would form a welfare system with urban newcomers. This led to an increase in immigrants as more came to find economic opportunities in the U.S. With the rise of immigrant population, the country was beginning to shift from rural to urban.
As new transportation was developed making travel to and from work easier, many wealthy citizens began to move to residential suburbs. This left behind deserted residencies near business in which the poor began to settle in. This is where the "ghettos" were established where different immigrant groups created their own neighborhood maintaining their own language and culture. However, this way of living caused pollution, disease, crime, and other hazards. Wanting healthier cities, the government created sewage systems, street lights, waste disposal, and police departments creating a more urbanized society.
Although technology helped, urban politics and class divisions were the two factors that contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900.
ReplyDeleteUrban politics was a factor to the development of American cities because of political machines. Political machines are the control of tightly organized groups of politicians. This helped the development of cities because they started as social clubs and later developed into power centers to coordinate needs of businesses, immigrants, and the underprivileged. Political machines did this by bringing modern services to the city, including a form of welfare for urban newcomers.
Class divisions also helped with the development of American cities because of transportation needs and new places to live. The majority of the working class lived in cities in order to be closer to their jobs. This helped the development of cities because the workers had to move close enough to the factories they worked at to walk to and from home to work. They did this by building slums and tenement apartments. The upper and middle class, on the other hand, lived outside the city in the suburbs to escape from the pollution, poverty, and crime of the city and used streetcars to commute to jobs, but they were later replaced by electric trolleys, elevated railroads, and subways. This helped developed cities in America because it expanded cities, making them less cramped. They did this by creating residential suburbs that gave grass and detached individual houses. In a different manner, immigrants lived in the cities like the working class but segregated into their own neighborhoods. This helped the development of cities because immigrants created ethnic neighborhoods where each group could maintain their own language, culture, church or temple, and social club. They did this by creating a small city with worse conditions than the working class within a city.
Although class divisions helped the growth of cities, urban politics had the biggest impact with the growth of cities in the United States between 1865 and 1900, because more jobs became available in the cities rather than in rural areas, and education was available.
ReplyDeleteThe growth of cities did have help from class divisions but it was also hurt by theses divisions. Giving low wages to workers in factories helped the factory owners build up money for donations. These donations helped to build schools and libraries which boosted education in the U.S. The low wages made the desire to work in factories lower, and some farmers tried to keep farming.
Urban politics contributed a lot in the growth of urban living from job availability to educational attractions. People found it hard to be successful by starting a farm because the land and materials to start the farm were too expensive, or they were just getting in debt. Factories provided jobs that for these people. New compulsory laws were passed which made the number of students attending school increase. The number of colleges increased because of donations from the wealthy and land grants from the Morrill acts of 1862 and 1890. Education became more available to the public in cities which in return created a desire to move to the cities to receive this education.
Although technology advances changed how cities worked economically, urban politics had a greater effect on the development of cities in the 1900s because they changed city plans and social dynamics.
ReplyDeleteAdvances in technology changed the cities of the 1900s by refining processes and changing work place production rates. The railways improved due to the new steel tracks because they were more efficient and less costly. With these new improvements to railroads, the distribution of goods broadened, and the supply of raw materials increased. These new processes made factories more abundant in the northeast portion of the United States. Cities were usually built around factories because workers wanted to live within walking distance of the workplace; low wages didn’t provide enough to play for transportation. Electricity came around, so factories didn’t have to close when the sun set; with electricity, came longer working hours for laborers. With longer hours, came faster production of goods to the public. Cities blossomed around factories, so workers could easily access the workplace and consumers would have easy access to goods.
Urban politics had a great effect on the development of up and coming cities in the 1900s. Social Darwinism stated that the rich were indeed wealthy because of the natural selection process, and that the government shouldn’t interfere with the natural workings of the world. Laissez-Faire was a mindset that said the government wouldn’t do anything detrimental to the corporations of America at that time. A lot of corporation owners bought into this idea of natural selection and Laissez-Faire, so they would convince government officials to buy into it also. Through all of these new methods of governing the corporations was hurtful to the laborers because they were at the bottom of the food chain and just left to hang there. Slums were built around factories because workers needed to live close to the factories because the distribution of wealth was practically nonexistent. The new ideas of how to run urban areas created the “ghettos” and basically laid the floor plans for the up and coming cities of the 1900s.
Although the maintenance of class divisions during the Gilded Age played a role in the development of American cities, both the advancements in technology and the influence of urban politics were the main factors that contributed to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900 because of their ability to influence the migration of people and businesses into the cities.
ReplyDeleteThe new technological innovations of the Gilded Age allowed for the development of American cities through changes to their internal structure and design. Prior to the Civil War, many workers were forced to walk back and forth from their workplaces in the city to their residences outside the city;however, the implementation of cable cars and horse-drawn cars allowed for easier commutes into the cities. By the 1890s, both horse-drawn cars and cable cars were being replaced by electric trolleys, elevated railroads, and subways, which allowed for easier transport to the workplace, therefore making travel into the city for purposes such as moving and visiting easier. Another technological innovation made to cities were skyscrapers which provoked businesses to relocate from rural areas to the cities' steel-framed skyscrapers. These innovative structures were made possible by elevators and central heating systems which helped to further develop the cities into centers for business and commerce.
Urban politics played a crucial role in the development of American cities. Urban political parties came under the control of tightly organized political machines. These political machines formed power centers which coordinated the needs of businesses, immigrants, and the underprivileged. In return for these favors, they asked for votes in the elections. Political machines brought in many modern services to the city such as a form of welfare. The political organization would help immigrants find homes and jobs while also helping to feed poor people during hard times. This introduction of services through urban politics influenced others to migrate into the cities, therefore creating many American metropolitan centers.
Although the political arenas of urban centers contributed to the urbanization of America, they pale in comparison to the evolution of social divisions and to the innovative, entrepreneurial technological strides that characterize the urbanization indicative of the Gilded Age due primarily to the surplus of immigrants from Western and Northern Europe during the 1870s and the excessive immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans during the 1890s. These immigrants, coupled with the expansive industrial fronts creating jobs in fields such as steel-working and oil refinement, would bring about the modern cityscape.
ReplyDeleteIndustrial capitalists pioneered the technological revolution of the Gilded Age, ushering the United States into a world economic power in part due to the steel industry created by the economic empire of Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie’s empire, however, was not built by the entrepreneurs, but instead by the working class and immigrant labor. The influx of immigrants into the United States during this time period would ultimately, despite the efforts of nativist groups such as the American Protective Association, be the ones to put the United States on the world stage, but how would this contribute to the urbanization of the nation? With advancements made shortly after the civil war, factories no longer required rivers for a source of power and therefore could be built anywhere, and where the factories were built, the laborers settled, usually into small towns surrounding the factories. Due to the discovery of the Bessemer process, steel could be made far cheaper than it previously had been, and with an even larger work-force and a control over raw materials, steel immediately entered the scene of urbanization. Now, instead of unreliable wooden frames, buildings in cities could be built with frameworks of steel that could support previously unimaginable structures that could tower into the sky. With the increase in the monetary value of real estate in cities, corporations purchasing land in the urban environment capitalized on the strength of steel to engineer skyscrapers that would ultimately define American cities. From the technological innovation of industrialists, especially steel, and a bloated work force, urban centers of the United States were radically redefined.
While the urban centers of the United States evolved mechanically with the implementation of new technology, the Europeans that immigrated to the United States would evolve the social climate and cultural aspects of American cities as well. The elevated immigration rate of the Gilded Age contributed to an expansion of the working class, which alarmed the native-born American citizens of the working class due to the effect this had on job security. Corporations realized that the immigrant work-force were willing to work for abysmal rates, simply because a substantial amount of them were unemployed and actively seeking jobs; this concerned the American workers and led to several anti-immigration laws and a rising popularity of nativist parties. Despite the nativists’ efforts, immigrants flooded urban centers and brought their respective cultures to the urban cityscape. Ethnic communities arose from the poorer parts of cities, where immigrants lived in poverty-stricken, destitute abodes yet still maintained important community values held in Europe. With the swelling of the working class living in cities, the middle and upper classes began to move to the outskirts of the cities to avoid the increasing crime rates, leading to the creation of suburbs. Now, the working class occupied the majority of the unsanitary, crime-stricken city while the middle and upper class resided comfortably in model homes in Suburbia. Again, immigrants had shaped American cities to mold their need for cheap homes that had easy access to the workplaces.
Although urban politics brought modern services to cities, such as welfare, technology and class divisions contributed more to the growth of cities in the Gilded Age because the steel and oil industries brought people to the cities to the cities to work and the class divisions provided for the establishment of ghettos.
ReplyDeleteIn the 1870s, Andrew Carnegie began manufacturing steel. Carnegie used vertical integration, in which he owned every stage of the industrial process, and very quickly, he was king of the industry. His company employed 20,000 workers. In 1900, Carnegie sold his company to J. P. Morgan and would become the U.S. Steel Corporation in conjunction with other smaller steel companies. This corporation employed 168,000 people. John D. Rockefeller, on the other hand, was , king of the oil industry. He owned 90 percent of the oil refineries and employed many people as well. This factories gave rise to cities around them and people also flocked to neighboring cities to be able to travel between their homes and work fairly quickly.
Class divisions provided for the establishment of ghettos. There were approximately 120,000 people living in only 37,000 homes. These people were the poor, illiterate immigrants that came only to make money to send back to their families and often would leave as soon as they had a made a reasonable sum of money; however, because of wage cuts and consistent costs of living, many easily became in debt, keeping them in the ghettos rather than allowing them to return home with money ofr their families.
Although technology led to changes in the state of cities , urban politics effectively helped contribute to the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900.
ReplyDeleteAdvances in technology led to the innovation of better buildings, the elimination of horse drawn carraiges, and skyscrapers. The coming about of streetcar cities in which people lived miles away from their jobs, led to the invention of electric trolleys, elevated railroads, and subways. The new inventions could transport people from their urban homes to the hub of the cities.
The innovation of urban politics helped shape the American cities though with their sense of community. Immigrants would form communities within their new home to help preserve some of their old language, customs, and traditions. Some of these immigrants also built churches and schools to educate their young in the ways of their own ancestors. This new use of urban politics helped to create a meltion pot of different languages and traditions and really helped to shape the development of American cities between 1865 and 1900.
The urbanization of American cities was a result of two factors working hand in hand, new technology that was developed and the class divisions that widened as a result of growing industry during this 'Gilded age'.
ReplyDeleteNew technologies such as street cars, subways, and electric trolleys completely changed the established order of cities. These inventions helped to urbanize various cities by pushing out outdated forms of travel like the horse drawn carriage and ushering a new age of inner-city travel convenience. Another new invention that changed American cities forever was that of the skyscraper. Before the skyscraper buildings were long and wide and took up large amounts of space, but after the skyscraper, instead of building out, the buildings built up into the sky, opening up large areas for more buildings, housing, or factories.
Class differences also contributed to the overall urbanization of cities. Before this period of industry and urbanization, the wealthy business owners had lived close to their businesses in the industrial district and the poor working class citizen had lived on the outskirts of the city and were forced to commute long distances to get to their jobs each day. During this period though, the roles were reversed, the wealthy began to set up suburbs, sprawling neighborhoods on the outskirts of cities, where they could build larger homes and enjoy their wealth, and the poor moved inward into ghettos, buildings of questionable quality and sanitation, closer to their jobs at the factories.
So, the new technological advances and the separation of social classes led to a period of urbanization from 1865 to 1900