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Ch 10, Sec 2: Urbanization. Population Growth of Cities. Immigration caused cities to grow from 1860-1900 New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston 2,500 in 1860 10 million in 1870 30 million in 1900 131 cities grew to 1,700 cities in U.S. What the U.S. Offered Immigrants.
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Population Growth of Cities • Immigration caused cities to grow from 1860-1900 • New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston • 2,500 in 1860 • 10 million in 1870 • 30 million in 1900 • 131 cities grew to 1,700 cities in U.S.
What the U.S. Offered Immigrants • Possibility of land • New jobs • Freedom/Safety from war • Better standard of living • Social mobility • Freedom of religion
Problems For New Immigrants • Lack of money • Language barrier • Where to live? • How to get a job • Who to trust • How to get the American dream • Most don’t know anyone outside of family
Americans on the Move • Post-Civil War-Americans moved from farms to cities • Wanted better jobs • Wanted more money • Cities offered running water, indoor plumbing, and entertainment options • Fight for jobs/housing with immigrants
Skyscrapers • Lack of land and rising populations made for huge problems for city developers • Used steel and plate glass to make skyscrapers for taller buildings • Buildings went from 4-5 stories to 10+ • Electric elevators used by 1880s in buildings
Mass Transit • 1850s-1870s: Horse Cars moved most people • 1870s-1890s: Cable Cars on tracks ran in big cities • 1880s-1890s: Electric trolley cars were created • 1890s-1920s: Elevated Trains (Chicago) and Subways (NY/Boston) were built
Where to Live? • High Society: • Built large mansions/castles in the middle of cities • Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt • Millionaires • Middle Class: • Moved away from the center of cities • Took trains/trolleys from the outskirts of town to work • Doctors, lawyers, teachers, social workers, engineers • Earned b/t $1,000-3,000 a year
Working Class: Where to Live? • Immigrants went to ethnic areas of cities • Lack of education/money forced many into tenement houses • Small/large buildings with multi-family apartments • Factory workers • Made $400-500 a year • http://www.tenement.org/Virtual_Tour/index_virtual.html
Problems With City Life • Crime/violence increased • Murder jumped 400% • Disease spread fast • Garbage thrown into the streets • Drinking water was not safe • Rats/animals carried disease • Fires spread fast • Pollution from factories
Politics • Governments did not really run cities • Political machines-groups with common interests ran the cities • Provided jobs, housing, protection in return for votes • Ran by party bosses like NYC William Tweed in Tammany Hall
Corrupt Party Bosses • Bribed politicians for info • Took bribes from businessmen • Grafted people-got money through dishonest ways • Bought land where the city wanted to expand and then raised the prices of the land to sell back to the city
Exit Pass • On your bell ringer sheet for Monday, answer the following question. • Were political bosses harmful or helpful to cities? Why?