1. Chapter 16: The Transformation of American Society (1865-1910) Section 2: The Urban World
“The hook: The industrial revolution sweeping America in the latter half of the 19th century would quickly transform cities ”

2. The Industrial Revolution and Urban Society
The Industrial Revolution provided a great variety of opportunities for a great variety of people.
Entrepreneurs like Carnegie and Rockefeller would draw on existing populations and transportation systems to build great corporations and historic fortunes (Upper Class
A growing number of merchants and small entrepreneurs would find growing number of opportunities to cater to the needs of growing urban populations (Middle Class)
Immigrants and rural immigrants looked for work in factories- Lacked social safety nets common today
Poor day laborers and street criminals

3. What is meant by class?
Class- a concept that people live under different conditions and levels of privilege
Power- ability to control the activities of others --examples?
Prestige- The esteem by which others hold you ---examples?
Wealth– The amount of money and other assets you control – examples?
While the American ideal is that of a classless society where no group has privilege over another, the economic nature of capitalism shows that this is not true
Meritocracy- risk taking and the accumulation of wealth

4. The Urban Rich
The industrial revolution created a new class nouveau-riche – “The new rich”
This class often attempted to imitate the lives of old world nobility
Huge mansions and ostentatious cottages
Philanthropy for show
Victorian morality
Very visible in the community
Rags-to-riches dream… You too can be a millionaire!” Horatio Alger novels

5. John D. Rockefeller’s Home on Millionaire's Row Euclid Avenue- Cleveland, Ohio

6. Vanderbilt’s “Cottage” at Newport, RI

7. The Nouveau Riche and the City
The rich held enormous power
Relatively few people would control industry- wages and conditions for millions of Americans
Controlled state and national politics
The rich had great prestige- captains of industry and fathers of philanthropy
The rich of the late 19th century controlled a greater percentage of American wealth and paid no income tax!

8. The Middle Class
The wealth generated by the industrial revolution supported a growth of a middle class.
The middle class was diverse consisted of small business owners and administrators, lawyers, doctors, teachers, police and other such folks
Wealth varied but income was more predictable and conditions largely safer than working class

9. Professionalization
Education and licensing standards became common among professionals in the late 19th century
Certification process to become a teacher, lawyer, doctor etc…
Higher standards represented greater knowledge and demands put upon professions
Increased the prestige and income of professionals by weeding out quacks and hacks
Professional associations- AMA, NEA , Bar Associations (Attorneys) etc…

10. What was the middle class lifestyle?
Incomes of middle class rose by about 1/3 between 1890 and 1910
These people could afford the new luxuries of the period…
Ready-made clothes- rise of fashion as a way to show middle class wealth
New foods available- canning and refrigeration
Vacations and leisure- Come to Cambridge Springs!
Enjoyed a career rather than working from day to day
The New middle class- between the new rich and working class

11. The Middle Class and the City
The power prestige and wealth of the middle class varied greatly depending on occupation
As Americans became more interested in the work of “experts”, professionals among the middle class would gain power, prestige and wealth.
The Middle Class would move out of crowded industrial sections of town into new “streetcar suburbs” and commute into the center city

12. Mt. Lebanon: A Street Car suburb of Pittsburgh

13. The Working Class
The industrial revolution required a growing number of unskilled workers
Workers concentrated within walking distance of mills- very crowded.
Lower Manhattan (New York) had the highest population in the world
Rents were relatively high and conditions deplorable
Wages were driven down by periodic depressions and competition by immigrant labor- unskilled labor had no job security

14. Wages and Conditions
Workers had little or no control over wages and conditions of work
In 1900, the average worker made $ to $ a year (Poverty level was $600.00
New technology made labor repetitive, monotonous and often dangerous

15. Living Conditions
Because of crowding and poverty, life in working class neighborhoods was very dangerous
Lived in close proximity of polluting factories
Lack of water treatment facilities promoted water-born disease like typhoid
Overcrowded wooden structures created great urban fires
Poverty and misery a breeding ground for crime

16. How the Other Half Lived…
Jacob Riis- Danish immigrant
Used developing photographic technology to penetrate the lives of “the other half”
Urban poor who lived in crowded tenements in lower Manhattan
Exposed the deplorable conditions of urban tenements to the nation… and to us today
Let’s explore some of his work to find evidence that supports Riis’s observation listed on the worksheet for section 2
Jacob Riis Gallery

17. The Drive for Reform
In the late 1800s few government programs existed to help the poor. Some poor city-dwellers received charitable handouts of food and clothing. However, a group of idealistic young Americans was certain that more must be done.

18. The Settlement Houses Jane Addams
She established Hull House, located in a run-down mansion in one of Chicago’s poor immigrant neighborhoods.

20. The Settlement Houses educational opportunities skills training
Settlement houses are community service centers that offer:
educational opportunities
skills training
cultural events

21. The Settlement Houses
Addams also promoted women’s suffrage and served as president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
She received the Nobel Peace Prize.

22. The Social Gospel Movement
begun by Protestant ministers
called for people to apply Christian principles to address social problems
believed the church had a moral duty to confront social injustice

23. The Social Gospel Movement
Many churches offered:
classes
counseling
job training
libraries
other social activities

24. Questions
What services did settlement houses and churches following the social gospel movement offer to the poor?

25. The hook: The industrial revolution sweeping America in the latter half of the 19th century would quickly transform cities