Notes CH 25 Part 1 America Moves to the City
1865 -1900
PP. 558 -574 “LUST”
Opening Quote: “What shall we do with our great cities? What will our great cities do with us…? The
Question …does not concern the city alone. The whole country is affected…by the condition of its great
cities.” Lyman Abbot, 1891
Intro
By the year 1900 the United States population doubled [80 million] from its population of 40 million in
1870.
Yet in the very same period…the population of its cities TRIPLED.
By 1900 40% of Americans lived in cities.
This trend affected much of the Western World.
The LURE OF INDUSTRIAL JOBS was the single biggest factor in this change.
THE Mechanization of Agriculture – a revolution – FED THIS INDUSTRIAL AND URBAN REVOLUTION.
THE URBAN FRONTIER – WHY DO PEOPLE MOVE TO THE CITY AND HOW DOES IT CHANGE AMERICAN
LIFE?
In 1860 no American city had over 1million inhabitants. By 1890 3 do, NYC, Chicago, and Philly.
By 1900 NYC had 3.5 million and was the 2nd largest city in the World behind only London.
Look at chart on p.559 digital edition… by 1960 70% and by 2000 77% of Americans lived in cities…
Cities grew both UP AND OUT.
Skyscrapers, 1st appearing in Chicago in 1885, allowed for more people and more workplaces to be
packed onto a parcel of land. Due to the perfection of the Elevator by “OTIS” and by a groundbreaking
architect, LOUS SULLIVAN {“form follows function”} These skyscrapers continued to develop…especially
as STEEL SKELETONS made them safe and popular….Americans were becoming MODERN CLIFF
DWELLERS.
Commuting, MASS TRANSIT…allows some people to move out of city centers and into SUBURBS. The
“walking city” gave way to the immense and impersonal MEGALOPOLIS…which was carved into
DISTRICTS UNIQUE IN PUROPOSE… business, industry, and residential and further distinct and
separated by RACE, ETHNICITY, AND SOCIAL CLASS.
Rural areas could not compete with cities…THEIR “LURE” WAS FIRST AND FOREMOST JOBS…BUT
Also…electricity-LIGHT, indoor plumbing, telephones [50,000 in 1880 to over 1 mill by 1900]
skyscrapers, new bridges [Brooklyn’s] Department Stores [Macy’s in NYC & Marshall Fields in Chicago].
These changes provided WOMEN jobs…and also brought in the AGE OF CONSUMERISM [ADVERTISING]
which accentuated class divisions….The Novel by Theodore Dreiser, “Sister Carrie,” (1900) was an
example of the times…Carrie is “LURED” to the city from the farm by a dazzling city and represents her
DESIRE for a richer, more elegant way of living…and a hope for entry into the URBAN MIDDLE CLASS.
New Ways of Living, illustrated by the new “MAIL ORDER CATALOUGES” sent to rural farmers from
STORES LIKE SEARS OR MONTGOMERY WARD…did not at first list garbage cans or trash barrels among
its items… the CITY CHANGES HOW PEOPLE LIVE…garbage/waste has to be collected and disposed of in
cities, Ready made clothing is sold by size…on farms they just made their own and mended
them…FASHION BECOMES IMPORTANT… Household products were often sold in bulk in country stores/
in cities they were “packaged” and “advertised,” these few changes were momentus and represented A
MASSIVE CULTURAL SHIFT FROM THE VIRTUES OF THRIFT TO CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION AND
CONVENIENCE OF CONSUMERISM.
Crime, increases dramatically…Sanitary facilities could not keep pace with growth, impure water,
uncollected garbage, unwashed bodies, and droppings from draft animals all mixed together in cities to
provide an unhealthy stench…Baltimore was said to have smelled like a billion cats. Ugggghhhh
Contradiction, Cities saw the best and the worst of humanity, the richest and poorest of humanity
compressed…these glaring contrasts assaulted the senses…and is why the “Ash Can School” and
“Impressionism” styles of Art become dominant to picture this “NEW CITY.”
GHETTOS OR SLUMS – human pigsties… were prevalent…as cities grew more and more crowded
especially after the invention of the DUMBELL TENEMENT HOUSES…7 or 8 stories high, sunless, minimal
ventilation, several families per room and only ONE TOILET TO SHARE FOR EACH HALLWAY. These
“Flophouses” were breeding grounds for disease…as the massive SPANISH FLU EPIDEMIC OF 1919
WOULD LATER SHOW…the people as they improved financially would move out into districts where they
were surrounded by those of similar ethnicity, new immigrants just moved in as they left, and the
wealthiest would move out of the city altogether into the SUBURBS…with their green belts and small
community centers, called “bedroom communities,” because they just slept there and commuted for work
into the cities.
New Immigration
From the 1850’s through the 1870’s (3 decades) 2 million immigrants came to America per decade…In
the 1880’s immigration exploded bringing 5 million immigrants, in 1882 alone close to 1million
immigrants came to America in just one year.
See the Graph on “Annual Immigration” on p.561 in digital edition…note the increase in the 1880’s and the
increase that is about to come from 1900 to about 1916 [the largest increase in immigration in our
history] and the subsequent…decrease just after WWI beginning in Europe and our entry into the War in
1917.
What change occurs in immigration? -KNOW THE DIFFERENCE IN CHARACTERISTICS BETWEEN
“OLD” AND “NEW” IMMIGRANTS…
OLD -Until about the 1880’s [1840-1880] most immigrants came from the British Isles and Western
Europe, chiefly Germany and Scandinavia (northern Europe). They were light skinned…predominantly
Catholic but many protestant, large majority were Christians. Most had a high rate of literacy [could read
and write English]. And most were accustomed to representative government…and they fit relatively well
into American society whether on the Farms or in the Cities. [Note: the exception to this was on the West
Coast during this period of “OLD” IMMIGRATION…were the Chinese, who are excluded beginning in 1882.
These immigrants who come from 1840 – 1880 are called “OLD” IMMIGRANTS….what about the
“NEW?”
NEW-These immigrants come to America in huge #’s beginning in the 1880’s until about 1920. They
came primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe. Italians, Greeks, Slovaks, Croats, and Poles. Many
were Christian, but Eastern Orthodox…and a large # of Jewish immigrants come as well….and even some
atheists (shhh) They came from countries with little or no experience with representative government
ruled by despots very harshly. There was little hope of opportunity and they were largely impoverished
and illiterate, with the strong exception of the Jewish immigrants intellectually. Most of these new
immigrants due to their impoverished nature stay in the cities and work in the factories….When they
came to the cities due to unfamiliarity with English and their unique worship styles they tended to live in
“clusters” of similarity for familiarity and protection….”Little Italy’s” and “Little Poland’s” were common..
MANY OF THESE “NEW IMMIGRANTS” STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE…AND WORKED HARD TO PRESERVE
THEIR TRADITIONAL CULTURES IN THEIR DISTINCT NEIGHBORHOODS…creating schools in their own
languages, as well as newspapers, clubs, entertainment, gangs for protection [mafia] THEIR EFFORTS TO
PRESERVE THEIR OLD CULTURE ARE ADMIRABLE AND ADD MUCH TOO THE MULTI-CULTURAL FEEL
OF THE NEW URBAN CENTERS…
Note: interesting it is their children who benefit from the growing FREE PUBLIC SCHOOL
SYSTEMS…these children assimilate well learning English and the American culture quickly…and end up
teaching their elders…and in many ways shunning their previous culture and rapidly embracing the
American way of life.
Reaction- Just as before and just as today….immigrants were in many cases treated poorly….due to
economic competition for jobs and just plain racism…XENOPHOBIA-NATIVISM RAN RAMPANT…
YOU MUST EXAMINE THE PC “Looking Backward” in our text…I will post this also with other PC’s
concerning immigration for you to look over!!!!
How are immigrants assimilated into our society? Is it like a “MELTING POT,” A “SYMPHONY,” OR A
“MULTI-COLORED THREADED RUG?” How we examine this is important… we will discuss 
Southern Europe Uprooted
Why do these people come to America?
Europe had no room for them…due to Europe’s pop. doubling after 1800 due to the Potato and
abundance of food…European Peasants became unchained from the Medieval Manor System and became
a footloose flood of unemployed who come to the cities of Europe during industrialization looking for
jobs…60 million left Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries… MORE THAN ½ COME TO THE USA.
America provided HOPE, OPPORTUNITY, AND FREEDOM…no forced military service, no state sponsored
religious terrorism [Jewish pogroms in eastern Europe]…and the possibility of JOBS [ALWAYS THE #1
REASON] AND FREE LAND [if you could get there $$] …America who needed LABOR for their burgeoning
factories and industrial growth ADVERTISED the opportunities available in Europe…Steam powered
shipping made the trip, difficult still for sure for the poor, faster and more affordable.
Reactions to the New Immigration – Xenophobia/Nativism
The Federal Government did virtually nothing to ease the assimilation of immigrants into American
society.
State Governments did even less.
City Governments overwhelmed by the sheer scale of rampant urban growth….was inadequate.
What or Who filled the vacuum….or made an effort to help these immigrants assimilate?
URBAN POLITICAL MACHINES…”TAMMANY HALL” IN NYC FOR EXAMPLE… led by the infamous “Boss
Tweed.”
“Taking care” of the immigrants was big business…trading jobs, protection, and services for VOTES.
A powerful political boss could control thousands of votes at election time thus guarantee HIS candidates
won and would control the MASSIVE BUDGETS of these large municipalities…AND COULD FILL ALL OF
THE CITY JOBS WITH THEIR SUPPORTERS – “PATRONAGE-SPOILS”…
These bosses would find housing for new arrivals, food, clothing, lawyers, schools, parks, hospitals built
in particular neighborhoods…THE POLITICAL BOSSES GAVE VALUABLE ASSISTANCE TO THE
IMMIGRANTS – THAT IS WHY THE IMMIGRANT WAS SO LOYAL AT ELECTION TIME.
THE SOCIAL GOSPEL – REFORM COMES TO CITIES – JANE ADDAMS**********
The nations social conscience awoke to the plight of the masses of poor in the massive cities… THEY
SOUGHT TO APPLY THE LESSONS OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE SLUMS AND FACTORIES – SPECIFICALLY –
JESUS AND HIS “SERMON ON THE MOUNT.”
Walter Rauschenbusch, NYC & Washington Gladden, Columbus-Ohio, were both leading pastors who
preached the “SOCIAL GOSPEL.” They both insisted that churches tackle the key social issues of the
day…They were called “Christian Socialists.” and hugely influence the MIDDLE CLASS TO TACKLE THIS
REFORM AS WELL…WHICH IS A MAIN INFLUENCE ON THE CHANGES TO COME DURING THE NEXT ERA,
THE PROGRESSIVE ERA – 1901 -1920.
JANE ADDAMS******
An American Urban Saint…created “HULL HOUSE” in 1889 in Chicago …the 1st SETTLEMENT HOUSE
AND MOVEMENT.
WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN 1931…for her work helping immigrants and urban poor in
major cities…her “movement” spread to ALL OF THE MAJOR URBAN AREAS OF THE USA.
********Hull House…Offered instruction in English, counseling to help newcomers adapt to American
Urban life, child-care services for working mothers, and cultural activities for their neighborhoods…
Lillian Wald, NYC, was a key ally of Addams…opening the 5th Street Settlement in 1893.
Settlement houses became centers of WOMEN’S ACTIVISM and of SOCIAL REFORM…THE SOCIAL GOSPEL
IN ACTION  Florence Kelley, fought for Women, Children, Blacks, and Consumers…working at the 5th
Street Settlement in NYC…and served as GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL CONSUMERS
LEAGUE.
The pioneering work of ADDAMS, WALD, AND KELLEY… helped blaze the trail for a new career for
Women….SOCIAL WORK.
WOMEN IN THE CITY –
The urban jungle was full of opportunity for Women…more than a million women joined the work force
in just 1 decade – 1890’s… the VAST MAJORITY OF WORKING WOMEN WERE SINGLE…TYPES OF
JOBS THAT WOMEN HELD DEPENDED ON RACE, ETHNICITY, AND CLASS.
Native born white women could work as social workers, secretaries, department-store clerks, and
telephone operators.
Black Women could work in domestic service.
Immigrant women and Jewish women worked specifically in certain trades… making clothing/garment
industry for ex.
JOBS BROUGHT WOMEN MORE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INDEPENDENCE…and MORE CONTROL OVER
THEIR OWN LIVES…DELAYING MARRIAGES, FEWER CHILDREN, MARRYING FOR LOVE…ETC..
Narrowing the Welcome Mat – see Chart p. 570
New Immigrants were primarily from: Italy, Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and Russia.
Nativism was not new….the “old” immigrants – Irish and German primarily from the 1840’s and
50’s….experienced this harsh reality…
The “New” immigrants that came from 1880 -1920…had to deal with this as well…maybe even worse.
Due to the new immigrants characteristics being more dissimilar that the old…they faced a much harsher
response…THE CONCERN: THAT NATIVES WOULD BE OUTBRED, OUTWORKED, AND OUTVOTED…BY
THE NEW IMMIGRANT…AND MAYBE EVEN “MONGROLIZED” BY INTER-MARRIAGE.
Political Machines dominated urban politics….and those wealthy nativists did not and so just as in the
south….attempted to “reform” urban govt by restricting…immigration [beginning of success in 1882 and
especially in the 1920’s with the quota’s] or discrimination in employment etc.. These powerful men
begin to form organizations to lobby for change…frequently citing scientific studies to show the
superiority of the Anglo-Saxon White race…their supremacy…White Man’s Burden is applied in the USA
before it is applied overseas by the USA…
Just like the Know-Nothings of the 1850’s …This era had its own organizations…The APA –American
Protective Association is formed in 1887….and had a million members….The KKK sees a huge resurgence
after the turn of the Century….with 20 million members….
Organized Labor had a dilemma…and different Unions had different philosophies about this influx of
immigrants…ALL THOUGH WERE CONCERNED AS THE LABOR MARKET GREW SO LARGE THAT ANY OF
THEM COULD BE REPLACED BY SOMEONE WHO WOULD DO THE SAME JOB FOR LESS…or used as scabs
– strikebreakers…and conflict among the many different nationalities even within the unions themselves
made it difficult to work together….
*****************The 1st immigration law passed by our Federal Government that was restrictive in
any way was the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882….This act was supplemented with a ban on paupers,
criminals, and convicts – ALL WOULD HAVE TO BE RETURNED AT THE EXPENSE OF THE SHIPPING CO.
THE 2ND ACT that was restrictive was passed in 1885…this forbade the importation of foreign labor
under contract. Later the US Govt banned the insane, polygamists, prostitutes, alcoholics, anarchists,
and people with contagious diseases….a literacy test was eventually passed as well in 1917,
although vetoed previously by three Presidents.
In 1886, to celebrate the legacy of immigrants contributions to our nation….The STATUE OF LIBERTY
AROSE IN NY HARBOR…A GIFT FROM THE FRENCH…
Inscribed:
Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
The “new” immigrants became American Citizens the hard way…they stepped off the boat, ready to work,
and with an AMAZING DESIRE AND HOPE to use their FREEDOM to accomplish the AMERICAN
DREAM…to DEFINE THEIR SUCCESS…THEIR WAY…
****Their SPIRIT, brawn, brains, courage, and diversity MADE AMERICA THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN
THE WORLD…AND INSPIRED COUNTLESS OF MILLIONS WHO LIVED HERE AT THAT TIME AND WERE
TO COME AFTER.
Churches Confront the Urban Challenge
The size and changing character of our population presented a challenge to our churches.
Protestants especially…suffered from the move to the city where many traditional doctrines seemed
irrelevant….Most of the Wealthiest churches also struggled due to their slowness to see the wave of the
“social gospel.” THE MOUNTING EMPHASIS ON MATERIALISM-CONSUMERISM – MONEY BEING THE
ACCEPTED MEASURE OF ACHIEVEMENT…THE “GOSPEL OF WEALTH” = PROCLAIMED THAT GOD
CAUSED THE RIGHTOUS (MOST RELIGIOUS) TO BECOME WEALTHY AND PROSPER.
Urban Revivalism EXPLODED… based on the “SOCIAL GOSPEL.”
Dwight Lynn Moody, founded the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in 1889….and before like the
Methodist “circuit” riders went around the big cities preaching passionately about KINDNESS AND
FORGIVENESS….. A POSITVE EVANGELICAL MESSAGE.
The Roman Catholic and Jewish faiths grew enormously due immigration… by 1900 Roman Catholics
increased their lead as the #1 largest religious denomination in America….. and both did a great job
following the “social gospel” being preached at this time.
By 1890 Americans could choose from over 150 different denominations….2 newcomers stood out THE
SALVATION ARMY WHO CAME TO AMERICA IN 1879 AND THE CHURCH OF CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE…FOUNDED BY MARY BAKER EDDY IN 1879…. WHICH TAUGHT THE POWER OF PRAYER TO
HEAL ALL …EVEN ILLNESS….
Other religious organizations were founded to serve the growing urban Americans:
Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA)
The Y’s appeared in every major American City by the end of the 19th century.
Darwin Disrupts the Churches
Modern v. Traditional – Culture clash begins with Darwin and his theory of Evolution v. Genesis…and the
Evangelical FUNDAMENTALIST idea that the Bible is God’s Word and LITERAL - true and accurate.
“On the Origin of Species,” Charles Darwin published in 1859. This controversial scientific study wrought
havoc on Traditional Christian Doctrine.
Herbert Spencer, British, adapted Darwin’s theory of natural selection and applied to human society…and
the term “Survival of the Fittest,” became popular.
Fundamentalists condemned Darwin’s theories…”of the Devil,”…Modernists, parted ways with the
Fundamentalists when they interpreted the Bible as not ‘Literal” but a guide…
Churches and Colleges were where the battles over these competing philosophies took place…Teachers
who taught evolution were fired…Clergymen who spoke of Darwin were fired…BUT as time wore
on….and increasing number of liberal thinkers…were able to reconcile Darwinism with Christianity…
This battle still continues today…and actually influences quite a few political battles on which these
theories or adaptations of them are the basis for the argument…
Makers of America – The Italians
New Immigration – 1880 -1920 – within this massive # of people who come to America there were 4
million Italians.
Most came from the Southern provinces of Italy…the “boot.” These poor people did not fare as well after
the unification of Italy in 1860… the Northern Provinces were most successful and industrial…
Most Italians were men, initially who came to make enough $$$ to bring their families over…. Most stay in
the cities…creating “Little Italy’s” …more Italians lived in New York than did in Genoa, Florence, and
Venice, Italy combined.
They lived in tightly knitted communities, with Italian Newspapers, Playing Bocci, cooking Pizza, and
joining Italian-American clubs.
Most Italians worked as laborers in construction, or on docks as longshoremen….Most newcomers
received their jobs from the “boss” or “padrone” who would guarantee them work and an income.
The Italians and Sicilians were “blue collar” workers who valued industrial skills… over abundant
education.