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By the end of this section, you will be able to:
  • Explain the growth of American cities in the late nineteenth century
  • Identify the key challenges that Americans faced due to urbanization, as well as some of the possible solutions to those challenges
A timeline shows important events of the era. In 1876, professional baseball begins with the founding of the National League; Boston’s Fenway Park is shown. In 1885, Chicago builds the first ten-story skyscraper; Chicago’s Home Insurance Building is shown. In 1887, Frank Sprague invents the electric trolley. In 1889, Jane Addams opens Hull House in Chicago; Hull House is shown. In 1890, Jacob Riis publishes How the Other Half Lives, and Carnegie Hall opens in New York. In 1893, the City Beautiful movement begins; a city plan is shown. In 1895, the Coney Island amusement parks open; an amusement park is shown.

Urbanization occurred rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century in the United States for a number of reasons. The new technologies of the time led to a massive leap in industrialization, requiring large numbers of workers. New electric lights and powerful machinery allowed factories to run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Workers were forced into grueling twelve-hour shifts, requiring them to live close to the factories.

While the work was dangerous and difficult, many Americans were willing to leave behind the declining prospects of preindustrial agriculture in the hope of better wages in industrial labor. Furthermore, problems ranging from famine to religious persecution led a new wave of immigrants to arrive from central, eastern, and southern Europe, many of whom settled and found work near the cities where they first arrived. Immigrants sought solace and comfort among others who shared the same language and customs, and the nation’s cities became an invaluable economic and cultural resource.

Although cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, and New York sprang up from the initial days of colonial settlement, the explosion in urban population growth did not occur until the mid-nineteenth century ( [link] ). At this time, the attractions of city life, and in particular, employment opportunities, grew exponentially due to rapid changes in industrialization. Before the mid-1800s, factories, such as the early textile mills, had to be located near rivers and seaports, both for the transport of goods and the necessary water power. Production became dependent upon seasonal water flow, with cold, icy winters all but stopping river transportation entirely. The development of the steam engine transformed this need, allowing businesses to locate their factories near urban centers. These factories encouraged more and more people to move to urban areas where jobs were plentiful, but hourly wages were often low and the work was routine and grindingly monotonous.

Two panels show the growth of urban populations in the United States. Panel (a) illustrates the shift of the majority of the population from a rural to an urban setting in the years 1860–1920. Panel (b) shows significant population growth in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Chicago in the years 1860–1900.
As these panels illustrate, the population of the United States grew rapidly in the late 1800s (a). Much of this new growth took place in urban areas (defined by the census as twenty-five hundred people or more), and this urban population, particularly that of major cities (b), dealt with challenges and opportunities that were unknown in previous generations.

Eventually, cities developed their own unique characters based on the core industry that spurred their growth. In Pittsburgh, it was steel; in Chicago, it was meat packing; in New York, the garment and financial industries dominated; and Detroit, by the mid-twentieth century, was defined by the automobiles it built. But all cities at this time, regardless of their industry, suffered from the universal problems that rapid expansion brought with it, including concerns over housing and living conditions, transportation, and communication. These issues were almost always rooted in deep class inequalities, shaped by racial divisions, religious differences, and ethnic strife, and distorted by corrupt local politics.

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Source:  OpenStax, U.s. history. OpenStax CNX. Jan 12, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11740/1.3
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