Cities grow and change Cities Grow and Change Guided Reading Activity

#1. Urbanization Urbanization is the rapid growth of city populations. In the United states, urbanization characterized the period between the 1870s and the 1920s – when immigrants and a changing economy resulted in an explosion of urban growth. The United States changed from a nation of mostly rural, agricultural people to a nation of large urban and industrial centers.

#2. They were all port cities – located along natural harbors. Cities near waterways were at an advantage because harbors and inlets had always facilitated trade. In New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, members of the community sought to maximize the advantages of their ports – lowering taxes on merchant vessels and encouraging trade vessels to set sail of their harbors.

#3. Bridges and skyscrapers needed strong steel; electric streetcars and elevators allowed for the expansion of cities.

#4. The Electric Streetcar

#4. The Electric Subway Train

#4. The Brooklyn Bridge – “I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell you…”

#5. steel When Henry Bessemer invented a process to purify steel by blasting out the imperfections in iron ore with oxygen bursts, companies like Andrew Carnegies were able to produce more steel than ever before – and a higher quality of steel, too. Soon, using steel as a skeletal framework for structures, skyscrapers were built in downtown metropolitan areas.

#5. Elevators The elevator was not perfected until Elijah Otis created the elevator braking system. Once it was perfected, though, skyscrapers became practical and began to recreate urban landscapes. The New York City skyline, including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, is still one of the most recognizable in the United States – and in the world for that matter.

#6. The Chicago Fire of 1871 Reportedly started when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow accidentally kicked over the lantern used for milking, the Great Fire of 1871 was fanned by high winds and eventually engulfed all of downtown Chicago in flames. Tightly packed neighborhoods crowded with tenement buildings, trash, and debris lit up rapidly, as winds carried flames across buildings’ rooftops. By the end of the day, over 300 men, women, and children had perished, and over 18,000 were homeless.

Infant Mortality in Tenements was extremely high. #7. Tenements were overcrowded, cramped buildings divided into many individual apartments. Bathrooms and plumbing fixtures were often shared – one per floor. Drafty windows and doors made life difficult, filth and waste littered hallways and alleys left a constant stench, and outbreaks of disease were so common that infant mortality rates were exceedingly high.

# 8. Fire, Sanitation, and Police Services were established.

#9. Settlement House Settlement House- provided needed services for city dwellers. HULL HOUSE

#10. Jane Addams established Hull House. Jane Addams established Hull House in Chicago, Illinois in The first settlement house opened in the city, the establishments offered help to the urban poor. Volunteers helped immigrants by teaching them to speak English, acquire job skills, and by providing day care centers for working mothers with small children.

#11. Causes of urbanization The growth of industries in major cities attracted workers – especially farmers who were having a difficult time making a profit due to poor weather, high mortgages, or costly freight shipping prices. May took jobs on factory lines, working to produce goods for growing markets across the country.

#11. African-Americans Migrate to Northern Cities African-Americans moved from agricultural jobs in the segregated South to more prosperous Northern factory jobs. The move, which increased during the late 1800s and early 1900s, is known as the Great Migration. Artist Jacob Lawrence, whose work is presented here, created a series or paintings about the movement of African- Americans to the North.

#11. Cities near waterways attracted industries.

#11. Technological Advances: Subways, Trolleys, bridges, streetlights, and skyscrapers.

#12. Sports and Leisure Activities Ebbets Field, the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers – ferocious rival of the New York Yankees. The stadium was one of the most beloved places in all of sport, but when the opportunity came to move the franchise to the rapidly growing West Coast in 1957, ownership moved. While sad, the relocation paved the way for another, more important baseball club.

BASEBALL

Basketball

Football