The Gilded Age

The Rise of Urban America

The Growth of Cities

In 1860, only 16 cities had populations over 50,000By 1890:

11 cities had populations over 250,000Chicago and Philadelphia were over 1,000,000New York approaching 3,500,000One in three Americans lived in a city

Emergence of Cities - 1880

Emergence of Cities - 1920

Patterns of Urban GrowthTraditional – New York

Mixed use neighborhoods – all classes presentIndustryCommercialResidential

Dictated by limited/expensive intercity transportRing and Center – Chicago

Industrial, commercial, residential areas segregatedIndustry & commerce on spokesResidential filled in between the spokes

Residential filled three distinct ringsInner ring, truly poorMiddle ring, working classOuter ring, middle class

Rich carved out their own enclaves (Nob Hill in Boston; Highland Park in Dallas)

Street Scenes

New York – 1914 Chicago - 1906

Factors Driving Immigration

Discontent with situation in EuropePolitical, economic, social

Encouragement by U.S. interestsRailroads & industryStates & Territories

The “American Dream”2nd Industrial revolution was strongest drawPromise of opportunity

Three Distinct Waves of Immigration

Wave 1 (1815-1860)5,000,000Britain & Ireland

Wave 2 (1860-1890)10,000,000Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Holland

Wave 3 (1890-1914)15,000,000Italy, Greece, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Rumania, Turkey

Immigrants Arriving in New York - 1906

Problems of Urban Growth

Overcrowding Disease Backlash, social unrest Class conflict Pressure on city/government services

The “Teeming Masses”1890 population density (New York)

NYC - 60.08/acreManhattan - 114.53/acre10th ward - 522.0/acre

1890 population density (New York)NYC - 38,451/sq.mileManhattan - 73,299/aq. mile10th ward - 334,080/sq. mile

Number of persons per dwellingNYC (1880) 16.37London (1881) 7.9Boston (1880) 8.26

NativismAnti-immigration sentiments are typically justified with one or more of the following arguments, claiming that immigrants:

Language: Isolate themselves in their own communities and refuse to learn the local language. Employment: “Steal” jobs from native citizens. Nationalism: Damage a sense of community and nationality. Consumption: Increase the consumption of scarce resources. Welfare: Make heavy use of social welfare systems. Overpopulation: May sometimes overpopulate countries Ethnicity: Can swamp a native population and replace its culture with their own.