Immigration, Urban Life, and

Social Reform in the

Free-Labor North

1838–1860

The Transformation of American Labor

Fifth Avenue vs. The Old Brewery

A Changing World for Northern Working People

The Shift Away from Agriculture

Immigrants Swell the Wage Labor Ranks

National Origins and American Jobs: The Irish

National Origins and American Jobs: The Germans

African Americans in the Free-Labor North

Wage-Earning Women Expand Their Sphere But Not Their Rights

Urban Mayhem and Middle-Class Reform

Leisure Activities and Class Conflict

Urban Disorder and Family Crises

Middle-Class Efforts at Moral Reform

Source of Moral Decay: Who’s to Blame?

Nativist Attacks on Immigrants, African Americans, and Workers

Radical Reform

Communal Experiments and Cooperative Enterprises: Utopian Communities

Models for Utopian Community

Movements for Land Reform

Women Reformers Seek Rights for Themselves

Abolitionists Fight Slavery and Each Other

The Abolition of Slavery and Party Politics

David Blight on the Underground Railroad

James Horton on Slave Narratives