Transforming America - Moving to the City

TRANSFORMING AMERICA - MOVING TO THE CITY

Millions of immigrants, as well as thousands already in America, moved to the city in the decades following Reconstruction. Using the cities of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, we examine the living and social conditions of the huddled masses during this era.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Explain why the population of American cities grew so rapidly in the late nineteenth century. 2. Explain the causes and consequences of the massive immigration of the era. 3. Assess the social and political effects of this urbanization process. 4. Examine how people coped with urban conditions. 5. Assess how this era of urbanization and immigration affected the shaping of modern America.

Of all the changes occurring during the rapid industrialization of America during the late nineteenth century, the growth of cities was perhaps the most dramatic. Millions of people moved to cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, seeking employment and other opportunities. Ironically, most of these "huddled masses" came from rural areas, as advances in agricultural production reduced the relative need for as many farmers as in the past.

Getting to the city became easier, but once there, life could be hard. Immigrants had to adapt to new surroundings and could face hostility from nativists who tried to exclude them from being an "American." Crowded close to their work, the new arrivals often lived in deplorable conditions. City services seldom kept up with the burgeoning population.

Through it all, people coped as best they could. They changed urban America even as they were being changed by it. A new national culture was emerging from the blending taking place in America's cities. Who are these people? What are their stories? What can we learn from their experiences?

GUIDED QUESTIONS Select the single best answer to the following questions. Place your answer in the blank.

1. The astonishing growth in urban population between 1870 and 1900 was largely the product of _____. a. annexation of areas surrounding major cities b. rising birthrates within the United States c. movement of people from other areas of the country and from abroad d. failure of agriculture to grow enough food

2. In the late nineteenth century, people moved to American cities because they were seeking all of the following EXCEPT _____. a. excitement b. jobs c. healthy environments d. better lives

3. Beginning in the 1880s, "new" immigrants to America typically came from _____. a. northern and western Europe b. western Europe almost exclusively c. southern Europe almost exclusively d. eastern and southern Europe 4. Living conditions in late nineteenth century American cities were characterized by _____. a. crowded and unsanitary environments b. decline in ethnic neighborhoods c. integration of people by race and class d. lack of community life

5. Throughout much of the nineteenth century, middle-class American women were confined by a cultural ideology that dictated that they _____. a. work outside the home to make ends meet b. integrate workplace and home as much as possible c. make their household a separate sphere d. extend their sphere of influence to include charity work

6. Beginning in the 1870s, American men of all classes were united in their passion for _____. a. baseball b. dance halls c. theater d. church socials

7. In the post-Civil War era, the city boss _____. a. usually was the mayor b. provided social services for new residents c. seldom controlled construction in the city d. was a city councilor who had served at least three consecutive terms

8. Chicago became a major city in the late nineteenth century because it was a _____. a. railroad hub b. baseball mecca c. state capital d. refuge for socialists

9. In the video, "Moving to the City," the story of Judy Yung's family in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century illustrates how Chinese Americans _____. a. displaced Mexican Americans living in northern California b. became successful in the laundry business c. formed powerful political coalitions in San Francisco d. maintained transnational family ties

10. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Brooklyn Bridge stood as a symbol of _____. a. importance of American rivers b. decline of immigration to the United States c. ascendancy of urban America d. frontier spirit in America