Urbanization & The Gilded Age Chapter 15 – Section 2 & 3 Urbanization & The Gilded Age

Americans Migrate to the Cities Urban population – those living in a town of 2,500 or more From 1870 to 1900 the urban population increased from 10 million to 30 million U.S. went from 131 cities in 1840 to 1,700 in 1900 Most city dwellers, including immigrants, had no money to buy either farms or higher education Rural Americans found cities highly preferable to the country

The New Urban Environment Higher population density required new methods of city planning Skyscrapers – important because the value of land made it prohibitively expensive, but there was no restriction on building up rather than out Louis Sullivan – known as the “father of skyscrapers”; pioneered a modernist look in American cities

The New Urban Environment Mass transit – horses and buggies are not meeting the needs of cities anymore Cable cars and electric trolleys became common in large cities Even well-designed public transportation led to traffic problems, so cities either built elevated rail lines or subways

Separation by Class Wealthy elites do not want to live near the poor For rich families, the goal was for one’s estate to imitate a favored style of European architecture – emulating the nobility of Europe Working class, in contrast, usually lived in crowded tenements (multi-family apartments) Average annual income for an industrial worker was $445

Separation by Class Rise of the Middle Class Middle class annual income was about twice that of the working classes Middle class included professionals like doctors, lawyers, engineers, managers, social workers, architects, and teachers

Urban Problems Crime Violence Disease Poverty Fire Pollution Murder rate rose substantially during this era Americans generally blamed immigrants for the increase in violence

Urban Problems Cheap alcohol contributed to both violent crime and poverty Drinking was prevalent, and not limited to adults City had no effective way to transport clean water to its citizens, while also moving sewage out of the city horse manure smoke ash and dust

Urban Politics Major cities were controlled by political machines political machine – informal political group designed to gain and keep power Machines were led by party bosses, the men who dispensed the patronage Parties helped immigrants get jobs, housing, food, heat, police protection In return, the machine gets votes

Urban Politics Political machines were also moneymakers Because the party bosses dispensed so much patronage, they always had “friends” willing to help them out Public contracts were the most lucrative form of corruption – remember the Credit Mobilier scandal

Tammany Hall The grandest and most famous of the political machines Led by William M. “Boss” Tweed So, in one way there was a kind of government that provided basic services and social security, but it happened at the party level rather than the national level

Sec 3 The Gilded Age Mark Twain and Charles Warner co-wrote the novel, The Gilded Age in 1873 The term “gilded” refers to something that is gold on the outside while the inside is made of something cheaper

Horatio Alger, a minister from Mass Horatio Alger, a minister from Mass., left the clergy, moved to New York, and wrote over 100 novels about rags-to-riches stories One series was called “Luck & Pluck” Focus on work ethic, personal ambition, self-made success stories.

Social Darwinism Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher, first proposed the idea of Social Darwinism Why are some people rich and others poor? Who is supposed to do something about the problems of the poor? What causes poverty? Spencer taught that the theory of natural selection and evolution applied to human society He believed that human society evolved through competition

The Gospel of Wealth Carnegie’s ideas became known as his Gospel of Wealth This philosophy pushed philanthropy

Realism Realism was a new movement in art and literature that portrayed people in realistic situations

Period Literature Mark Twain wrote the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884 Twain is thought to have written the first true American novel Realism also influences literature, not just the art world

Pop Culture Pop culture changed as people began to have more time and money The saloon became a community and political center for men

Popular Culture Coney Island in New York was an amusement park that became popular People now had leisure time (more money, better standard of living, Labor movement (unions) making gains for workers (weekend, overtime pay, 8 hour day)

Watching sports became a national pastime Baseball & basketball

Popular Culture Continued Ragtime was a music that became very popular during the time period. Vaudeville shows toured the country