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In 1860, 1/6th of Americans lived in cities.
By 1900, 1/3rd did, and by 1920, ½ did. The excitement and possibility of the city seemed to draw people in, as did the
lack of economic opportunities elsewhere.
Made possible by the revolutions in the steel industry and the architectural
designs by John Root and Louis H. Sullivan of Chicago.
Frank Lloyd Wright was a student of Sullivan.
Electric elevators and streetcars first used in 1871
The dumbbell tenement floor plan was common. Two bathrooms per floor,
poor ventilation, and serious fire danger resulted from this plan.
William Dean Howells thought that city life stunk, as did HL Mencken
Problems of street gangs, crime, disease and alcoholism also accompanied
city growth
6.3 million immigrants came to the US between 1877-1890
escaping food shortages, political turmoil, unemployment
anti-Semitism was rampant in Poland and Russia
Italian cholera epidemic (1877)
In 1890, 15% of the US population was foreign-born
Most were male, unskilled, between the ages of 15-40
Anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism increased as immigration sources
shifted in 1800
Immigrant associations offered social, financial, and educational
assistance to new Americans
Most major cities had dozens of foreign language newspapers
Churches often enhanced the teaching of ethnic cultures
Many political machines assisted immigrants and organized city Governments
Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall
Technology, immigration, urbanization and industry were changing daily life.
Victorian morality set the tone for the era
Children were to be seen, not heard
Virtue and self-control were prized
Formal clothing styles became somewhat more practical
Religion and patriotism were important
DL Moody and Ira Sankey were popular evangelists
Mugwumps and others hoped to end government corruption
The Women's Christian Temperance Union was founded (1874)
Anthony Comstock founded the Society for the Suppression of Vice
Comstock Law passed in 1873
Popular activities included:
Cards, dominoes, and checkers
Croquet, music, and circuses
Horseracing, baseball, boxing and football
A new middle class family life developed
People married later and had fewer children
The law began to give women property rights and the chance at child
custody in divorces
Political activism became more common, although still unusual
By 1900, 31 of 51 states and territories required school attendance
School focused on basic job skills, promptness, and obedience
The South lagged behind the North in education
The kindergarten movement began
More teachers were professionally educated
The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 established 69 institutions
Private philanthropy led to the establishment of Stanford, University of Chicago
Universities became less classical and seminarian, more practical
Women had fewer choices for higher education
study clubs were popular
Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, Smith and Radcliffe were
founded
Some argued that the strain of learning made women sterile
Most colleges did not accept minorities
Black colleges were founded (Hampton, Tuskegee)
Booker T Washington stated the Atlanta Compromise
WEB DuBois favored the leadership of the talented tenth
Social Darwinism was a popular theory
Progress and Poverty
A book by Henry George
Proposed a single tax on wealth to raise $$ to aid the poor
Clarence Darrow, Richard Ely, Edward Bellamy and others rejected social Darwinism and decried predatory wealth and
conspicuous
consumption
While Henry Ward Beecher believed that God has intended the great to
be great and the little to be little, other pastors favored the ideas of the
Social Gospel
Jane Addams (Hull House), Robert Woods, Lillian Wald and Florence
Kelley offered information, medical care, education, and assistance to recent immigrants
Social work developed as a profession
Studies of the urban poor were numerous
The gap between rich and poor was becoming wider and more apparent
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
John Marshall Harlan, The Great Dissenter, a former slave owner from Kentucky, said in his dissent:
Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights,
all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes
no account of this surroundings or his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land and involved.
In my opinion, the judgment this day rendered will, in time, prove to be quite as pernicious as the decision made by this
tribunal in the Dred Scott case.
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