Cities Grow & ChangeChanges in American Life

1880-1914

Chapter 21, Section 1

Essential Questions

• How did industrialization change life in the cities?

• What factors attributed to bad living conditions for the poor?

• How did political machines influence city life positively and negatively?

• Who is responsible for helping those who can’t help themselves?

Growth of American Cities

• Industries Set Up Their Factories in Cities

• Cities Offered Good Transportation & Plenty of Workers

• Urbanization – The Growth of Cities

Growth of the Cities

• Millions of People Migrated (Moved) to American Cities

• Millions of Immigrants Came for Jobs!

• Many Struggling Farmers Moved to Cities for Jobs

Technology Helps Cities to Grow

• Skyscrapers:– Helped Millions of People

to Live in Cites

• Bessemer Steel Process Made it Cheaper to Make Steel (7x Cheaper!)

• Steel Was Used to Build Skyscrapers!– Very Sturdy! (9/11)

• Buildings Could Now Be Built Higher & Hold More People

Technology Helps Cities to Grow• Laying on the

Couch, Honk – Honk

• Elevators (1889) Otis Elevator Company Created the 1st Elevator

• All Buildings Used to be Built NO Higher Than 4 Floors

• WTC Had 110 Floors

Streetcars/Subways• Streetcars Improved

Transportation in Cities:– People Use to Walk & Or

Ride Horses/Wagons

• How Long Would It Take to Walk From the East to the West Side of NYC?

• Richmond, Virginia Was the 1st City Ever to Have Streetcars!

• Chicago Built Subways Above Ground (The “EL”) & NYC Built Subways Underground

Streetcars Expand Cities• Streetcars/Subways/

Trains Allowed for Cities to Expand

• People Could Live Farther & Farther Away from Cities

• Suburbs Emerged:– Valhalla

• More People Commuted to the Cities for Work & Entertainment

Tenements• Tenements Were

Overcrowded Apartments (Run-Down)

• Millions of People Moved into Cities to Find Jobs!

• Workers Earned Less Than $10 a Week:– Not Enough $$$ to Pay

For Rent!

• Moved in with Other Families in Tenements!

Dangerous Living Conditions!

• Tenements Were Extremely Dangerous to Live In:

– Old Buildings– Landlord Neglect– Poor Design– Little Government

Control

• Led to Poor Living Conditions!

The “Dumbell” Tenement

Poor Conditions of Tenements

• Major Problems Living in Tenements:– Overcrowded

(Families Shared Apartments)

– No Garbage Pick Up– Dumped Garbage

into Narrow Alleys– No Fresh Air– No Running Water– Sewage Flowed in

Open Gutters (Spread Disease)

Lewis Hine (Photographer)

• Lewis Hine was a Photographer Who Took Pictures of Tenements

• Why Did He Publish His Pictures in Newspapers?

Slums• Neighborhoods

Full of Tenements & Poverty

• Most Notorious Slum was the Lower East Side of Manhattan

• Irony Today?

The Social Gospel Movement

• A Movement For Improving the Lives of the Urban Poor

• Started by Protestant Churches

• 2 Major Goals:– End Child Labor– Open Up

Settlement Houses for the Poor

Settlement Houses• Settlement Houses

Helped the Poor Improve Their Lives:– Provided Daycare– Allowed Parents to

Work– Provided Education– Taught English Classes

to Immigrants– Offered Health Care to

the Poor

• Most Famous Settlement House was the Hull House

Jane Addams• Jane Addams is the

Founder of the HULL HOUSE!

• Dedicated Her Life to Helping the Poor

• The Hull House is the Most Famous Settlement House

• Founded in Chicago, 1889

The Hull House

Political Machines• Political Machines

are Organizations (Usually Corrupt) that Influence Enough Votes to Control a Local Government

• Exchanged Favors for Votes

• Political Machine Role Play!

Political Machines (+/-’s)• Positives (+’s):

– Built City Parks– Built Sewer

Systems– Built Schools– Built Roads– Built Orphanages– Helped Immigrants

Get Jobs– Helped Immigrants

Find Housing

• Negatives (-’s)– Gained Votes by

Trading for Favors

– Broke Rules to Win Elections

– Stole $$$ – Accepted &

Gave Bribes

Tammany Hall

• Most Notorious Political Machine of All Time!

• You Must Know William Marcy “Boss” Tweed

• Stole $$$ Millions of Dollars from NYC!

Tammany Hall

Jane Addams• Also Fought For

Women’s Rights as Workers (Equal Pay)

• Fought Against Child Labor

• Worked to Improve Housing Laws & Public Health Laws

• Was Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931

Essential Questions

• How did industrialization change life in the cities?

• What factors attributed to bad living conditions for the poor?

• How did political machines influence city life positively and negatively?

• Who is responsible for helping those who can’t help themselves?