The Birth of Urban America - From Town to City Jerry Baydo The grimy lattice-work of the drawbridge swung to slowly, the steam-tug blackened the dull air and roiled the turbid water as it dragged its schooner on towards the lumber-yards of the South Branch, and a long line of waiting vehicles took up their interrupted course through the smoke and the stench as they filed across the stream into the thick of business beyond... Thus Henry B. Fuller depicted the Chicago of the 1890s in his urban orientated novel With the Procession (1895). By 1900 American cities were a hodgepodge. They were centers of business and finance; most industrial and political developments took place there, railroads providing the most important connecting links. Most labor activity was urban based; and cities were centers of culture. Unfortunately, however, poverty was most obvious in large metropolitan regions. Having insufficient funds to move on, many immigrants congregated in urban slums, shocking contrasts to the more affluent neighborhoods. Other urbanites traveled from city to city searching for greater opportunity, making late nineteenth century American society one of the most mobile in history. The relationship between business-industrial growth and urbanization was intimate. As urbanization accelerated in the 1880s and 1890s, so did business. By the end of the Civil War there were business negotiations involving millions of dollars; however, by the end of the nineteenth century hundreds of millions of dollars were sometimes involved. And in 1901 America's first billion dollar company was organized, the United States Steel Corporation. The 1880s and 1890s are a transition point for the American economy, as industry overtakes agriculture as the predominant element in economic growth. Statistics make this change intelligible. In 1880, for instance, the United States produced 43 million tons of bituminous coal; in 1900 212 million tons were produced. Likewise, anthracite coal production rose from 30 million tons to 57 million tons during the same period. Pig iron and steel further illustrate this trend. In 1880 four million tons of pig iron were produced; twenty years later production increased to 14 million tons. Soaring from one million tons in 1880 to ten million tons in 1900, steel - perhaps more than anything else - ushered the United States into the twentieth century. Between 1880 and 1900, America's industrial production doubled. Overtaking England in the 1890s, the United States assumed the industrial leadership of the world. To previous generations, the size and power of America's newly created business-industrial conglomerates would have been unbelievable. Perhaps frightening might be the word that some would have applied to the change. By means both fair and foul, Philip D. Armour (meat packing), Andrew Carnegie (steel), James B. Duke (tobacco), Charles R. Pillsbury (milling), John D. Rockefeller (oil), and other so-called robber barons, became multimillionaires. While the end result of their production undoubtedly contributed to a rising standard of living, this handful of men created business combines that seemed above and beyond the law. It was said they controlled the best politicians money could buy. Monopoly was theoretically outlawed by the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890). It was not, however, effectively enforced within the time period covered by this essay. All of this rapid growth was accompanied by urbanization; one could not have occurred without the other. Among other things, cities provided business with a labor force and a market. Eventually certain cities were identified with specific types of business-industrial development. For example, Chicago became related with meat packing, Milwaukee with brewing, Minneapolis with milling, New York City with banking and finance, Pittsburgh with iron and steel, and Toledo with natural gas. During the last twenty years of the nineteenth century American cities were changing. Previously most were commercially orientated; trade was at the heart of this change. However, by the 1880s industry was beginning to dominate many cities, particularly the largest. As industry meant jobs and jobs meant prosperity, city governments - and often chambers of commerce - made valiant efforts (land grants, tax exemptions, etc.) to provide the incentives thought necessary for industrial growth. Again, by presenting statistics, a significant increase in urban factory workers can be illustrated. There were thirty cities in the United States claiming more than 10,000 factory employees in 1880; there were 54 in 1900. Moreover, within the same time frame, those cities with 5,000 to 10,000 factory workers rose from forty-five to eighty-one. To take advantage of a growing urban market as well as declining postal rates, American business launched nationwide advertising campaigns, mostly through newspapers. From 1865 to 1900 advertising expenditures increased ten times, the 1880s and 1890s accounting for the greatest expansion. Name brands were born. Urbanites were told they could wash the dirt and grime of the factory from their bodies - and by implication, from their souls - by using Ivory soap. Coca Cola, Dr. Lyon's (tooth powder), Kellogg's (dry cereal), Kodak (film and cameras), Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound (a nostrum, 21 percent alcohol), and others became equally as well known and as widely used. Lytis Technology's role in the business-industrial development of the American city was vital. Some technology related directly to industrial production. For example, improvements were devised for manufacturing steel (open-hearth com process and furnace linings) and aluminum (electrolytic process); paper (wood pulp) and cement (rotary kiln) were made more efficiently. And by 1900 the electric engine was just beginning to replace the steam engine (5 percent of all engines). Other technology was more directly related to physical changes in urban environments. New uses of steel and concrete, for instance, led to the development of the skyscraper (Home 1 -CONFYND process and turnace linings) and aluminum (electrolyuc process); paper (wood pulp) and cement (rotary Kiln) were made more emicienty. And by 1900 the electric engine was just beginning to replace the steam engine (5 percent of all engines). Other technology was more directly related to physical changes in urban environments. New uses of steel and concrete, for instance, led to the development of the skyscraper (Home Insurance Building, Chicago, 1885) and in general to the more economic use of center city land. Such inventions as the telephone (1876), the incandescent electric light (1879), and the electric elevator (1889) combined to make the skyscraper, soaring ten stories or more in height, into a veritable nerve center for business-industrial enterprise. Additionally, the cash register (1879) and the pneumatic tube (1893) helped businessmen market their products, while thousands of typewriters (1867) and adding machines (1885) revolutionized the American office, by the end of the nineteenth century. American business protected its property with relentless persistence. For precisely this reason, specific municipal services were improved. While professional police departments predated the Civil War, additional advances were made later: for example, police became more specialized (detective divisions, bicycle patrols, etc.) and communications grew more efficient (telephone call boxes). The Bertillon system of classification was introduced (criminal classification by precise physical measurements) and mug books expanded. With the support and encouragement of business, professional fire departments provided better training and added new equipment, much of it steam-powered. Telegraph alarms replaced manual bell alarms, thus improving fire warning systems. Also, water - perhaps the single most essential ingredient for urban survival – was supplied by both private and municipal companies in increasing quantities. Piping in water some forty miles, New York City's Croton system was one of the more impressive urban projects of this nature. Labor developments are also part of this story. Before the Civil War employer-employee relationships were frequently close. Although industrialization speeded up in the 1850s, most factories remained small, and much manufacturing was in shops where business was conducted informally. Often, everyone was on a first-name basis. But the war spurred factory development. As a result of the growth of and subsequent impersonalization of the factory, owners hired managers and superintendents, and the gap between employer and employee widened. Following the war, this trend continued. Then, as city growth became more and more evident, urban workers emerged with problems different from those of their predecessors. The American worker sought what he considered his fair share of the national bounty. Advertising informed him of innumerable consumer goods, and naturally there were some he wanted. He simply desired a better life than his parents had; he hoped his children would enjoy better ones still. This is the American dream. After the Civil War, pay and working conditions improved. However, by 1900 the salary for many workers was still but one to two dollars per day; the average annual wage for industrial work was $435. Work weeks averaged fifty-seven hours and were six days long. Moreover, 150,000 children, according to the 1890 census, were employed in factories. Also, many jobs were extremely dangerous. Because of employers' disregard for safety, there were workers being forced to take unnecessary risks. For example, in 1893 one railroad employee in ten was injured, one in 115 killed. Mining was another of the more hazardous occupations. For each year in the 1890s one miner in 150 was injured, one in 400 killed. TELEOR THE JOURNAL OF UNDER KNIGHTS OF LABOR Urban workers most effectively dealt with the growing size and power of their employers through unionization. In some respects unions functioned as clubs, lodges, and other fraternal associations. As workers left the countryside, something had to replace their accustomed harvest festivals and fishing, hunting, and swimming outings. But, of course, the pursuit of higher wages and better working conditions was of paramount importance. First of the post-war national unions, was the National Labor Union (1866). However, its life was short. Not long after transforming itself into a political party in the early 1870s, it died. Next the Knights of Labor (1869) was organized. At first, growth was slow and membership even declined during the Depression of 1873, but with the return of prosperity in the early 1880s, the Union won some victories and gained considerable power. Unfortunately, the Knights were associated with, and even blamed for, the Haymarket Square bombing in 1886. Membership subsequently tumbled and the influence of the organization rapidly declined. The largest and most successful of all nineteenth century unions, however, was the American Federation of Labor (1886). Avoiding the "socialistic" cooperatives of the two previous nationals, the AFL concentrated on improving the economic position of its membership, which was monopolized by the most highly skilled workers. Under the leadership of Samuel Gompers, the AFL rose to 500,000 members by 1900. But at the same time there were only a million and a half union members out of 17 million non-agricultural workers in the United States. Still in its infancy, unionization had a long way to go. Along with boycotts, strikes were a major union weapon. As most union members were city dwellers, most strikes were urban based. According to a report of an industrial commission in 1900, there were more than 20,000 strikes in the United States in the 1880s and 1890s alone. In late nineteenth century America, however, four big strikes stand out. The Baltimore and Ohio Strike (1877) resulted from a wage cut. Troops were dispatched to Pittsburgh to quell mob violence, and additional forces were sent to Philadelphia where twenty-six persons were killed as soldiers attempted to clear the streets. Sympathetic strikes eventually broke out as far away as San Francisco. The previously mentioned Haymarket Square bombing grew out of a nationwide strike for the eight-hour day. Centering in Chicago, where 80,000 workers struck, a bomb exploded at a protest meeting, killing a policeman and wounding many others. Receiving extensive press coverage were two extremely prominent strikes in the 1890s. Like so many others the Homestead Strike (1892) was precipitated by wage reductions. Before it was settled the manager of the Carnegie Steel Company, Henry Clay Frick, hired 300 Pinkerton detectives, resulting in a "battle" with workers; there were deaths on both sides. The later Pullman Strike (1894) resulted from several grievances; wages were cut while rents and other services in Pullman's "model" town remained stationary. Sympathetic to the strikers, Eugene Debs ordered his American Railway Union to boycott Pullman property. Subsequently, 150,000 workers left their jobs. Unfortunately, as was the case in so many instances of labor protest at this time, the army was called in to break the strike. Under the guise that such was necessary for property protection, this was standard procedure. Patterns of immigration are also vital to birth of urban America. From 1845 to 1860 the first great wave of immigrants arrived in the United States. During this fifteen-year period, approximately three million immigrants came from Northern and Western Europe. For primarily economic reasons, they migrated from the British Isles, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia. After the Civil War, this same pattern continued for twenty years. In the mid-1880s, however, a switch took place. Immigrants now began arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe : they came from Greece, Italy, Poland, Russia, and Syria; Jews came from various nations. The yearly arrival of these new immigrants, as they were called, began to outnumber the old immigrants in the 1890s, and this trend continued into the twentieth century. Although coming to America for economic reasons as well - supposedly the streets were paved with gold - he new immigrants were also motivated by other factors; fear of military conscription and religious persecution headed the list. Again, statistics show change. From the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for instance, 17,000 immigrants arrived in the United States in 1880; 114,000 came in 1900. In 1880 12,000 Italians migrated to America; in 1900 the figure rose to 52,000. From 1865 to 1900 13 million immigrants came to this country, the bulk in the 1880s and 1890s. Growth, Cities and Immigration: Crash Course U.S. History Growth, Cities, and Immigration: Crash Course US History #25 IMMIGRANT CITIES تتتتتتتتتتتتت Most of the immigrants were city dwellers. Among the old immigrants, the Irish and Germans were largely city based. However, an even higher percentage of the new immigrants lived in cities. More than 80 percent of Russians, for example, lived there; 75 percent of Italians and 65 percent of Greeks were urbanites; almost 100 percent of Jews lived in cities. Cities were chosen for reasons of comfort and convenience, or because farming skills were lacking, or sometimes because immigrants simply did not have the money necessary to move away from their port of entry. At the end of the nineteenth century, American cities had a higher percentage of foreign born than at any previous time in their history. Census records reveal that one third of Boston was foreign born; so was one fourth of Philadelphia. Undoubtedly the most cosmopolitan city in the United States, New York City possessed a population that was 80 percent foreign born or second generation. Within the city limits, there were one half the Italians of Naples, one half the Germans of Hamburg, and one half the Jews of Warsaw; there were twice the Irish of Dublin. By the turn of the twentieth century, most large eastern cities had a "little" Italy or a "little" Poland. On the West Coast there were numerous Chinatowns. Continued >> Most immigrants were welcomed, at least at first. They offered cheap labor, something much in demand in a land undergoing extensive business-industrial growth. Furthermore, railroads saw immigrants as potential clients for their western lands, and of course, both railroads and steamship lines welcomed immigrant fares. However, nativism inevitably developed. Prior to the Civil War, it evolved as a reaction to the old immigrants, and from the mid-1880s onward, it rose again as a reaction to the new immigrants. Led by the American Protective Association (1887), restrictionists claimed the new arrivals were dirty and unkempt. There were allegations that they could not be assimilated, supposedly because most were atheists who were importing the isms: socialism, communism, and anarchism. Although the goals of the APA were not fulfilled until the 1920s, when restrictive quotas were established, Chinese exclusion was provided in 1882 and contract labor forbidden in 1885. Moreover, during the latter nineteenth century, specific legislation prohibited the immigration of prostitutes, alcoholics, polygamists, and other so-called undesirables. To demonstrate their allegiance to the cause, some states even outlawed the teaching of foreign languages by 1900. The deprived life-style of many of these newcomers encouraged prejudice. For principally economic reasons, many lived in congested urban slums. By the 1880s rows of three- and four-story tenements had gone up in all of America's larger eastern cities. Not all were occupied by the newest arrivals, but they predominated. Manhattan - as one of the most obvious examples – had 30,000 tenements by 1890. They served as home for approximately one million residents, and two or three families to a single unit was "normal." Often there was only one water faucet to a floor, and if there was an inside toilet it was usually on the ground floor or in the basement. Such facilities were normally outside. Only three to six feet separated one tenement from the next. Periodically, tenement-house laws were passed. However, interest groups made most ineffective, and this problem remained unsolved as the United States entered the twentieth century. Tenement Life: Pictures from 1860-1910 Tenement Life 1860-1910 Upon their arrival in America, immigrants desperately sought acceptance, security, and support. For this reason, among others, they herded together in ghettos. For a time, customs from the old country were retained through dress, food, and religious observance; "foreign language newspapers were published to inform them of news back home. But adjustment to the new country was imperative and this was where the ubiquitous political boss most often came in. Although normally not an officeholder himself, his money and influence controlled many who were. Boss rule was frequently sunk in a foundation of gambling, liquor, and prostitution. Many times streetcar leases were boss controlled, as were many gas, electric light, and telephone franchises. Boss William Marcy Tweed of New York City was probably the most famous or infamous, but there were others. For example, there was "King" James McManes of Philadelphia, "Czar" Martin Lomasney of Boston, and Christopher Magee of Pittsburgh. Not long after passing quarantine inspections, most immigrants were greeted by a representative of the local machine, the ward heeler who did the footwork for these political armies. Often a place to live was provided, and most new arrivals were given some groceries. Perhaps a job interview was arranged. Moreover, the favors would continue in the days ahead. There would be a turkey at Thanksgiving, and dance tickets and baseball passes were frequently gifts from the machine. For the very poor, wedding and funeral expenses were paid. The machine bailed drunks out of jail; when illness struck or when hospitalization was required, the machine was there to help. Somehow the machine found husbands for even the most unattractive daughters. In return for all this the machine asked for unquestioning political support. For obvious reasons that support was generally given. Interconnecting America's growing urban centers, was a varied transportation network. For barges there were miles of canals. Hard surface roads were serviced by stagecoaches, carrying both passengers and freight. Teamsters specialized in heavier cargos. On water, steampower was antiquating sailpower, and all "modern" ships were now being built with steel hulls. But by the 1880s and 1890s the railroad had become the predominant mode of transportation. During the 1880s - "the railroad decade" - some 70,000 miles of track were laid as the number of transcontinentals rose from one to four. Time zones were established for the convenience of intercity scheduling. Although much of this work was poorly done, necessitating later reconstruction, by 1900 the United States had almost 200,000 miles of track, 40 percent of the world total. As in industry, many of the railroad conglomerates acquired enormous power. Jay Gould and William Vanderbilt, just to name two of the owners, were known for both their wealth and ruthlessness. While some of the roads went bankrupt during the Depression of 1893, most were reorganized by big city bankers, like J. P. Morgan, and they again rose to dominance. Like industry, government attempted regulation. State laws established maximum rates until struck down by the Supreme Court in the Wabash case (1886). Congress then passed the Interstate Commerce Act (1887), but the powers of this new commission were insufficient. More effective regulation awaited the twentieth century. JOY GOLD Intracity transportation is also important during this period. Despite their slowness, horse-car lines provided intracity services before the Civil War. They were satisfactory because even the largest pre-war cities seldom had "a radius exceeding three or four miles. But, as cities grew after the Civil War, intracity transportation improvements became imperative. Steam-powered cable cars ( San Francisco ) and elevated railroads (New York City were introduced in the 1870s, both of which were later electrified. The first electric streetcar line was opened in Richmond, Virginia (1887), and was so successful that twenty-five more lines were in operation within a year. By 1890 electric streetcar systems had laid 15,000 miles of track in the United States ; by way of comparison, there were but 4,000 miles of horse-car track. Moreover, completion of the Brooklyn Bridge (1883) and others eased urban access into the hinterland. Two new forms of urban transportation emerged as the twentieth century approached: the horseless carriage (1893) and the subway (Boston, 1897). As American cities industrialized, their appearance changed. In addition to the technological changes already described, certain urban sectors became more specialized. Some zones became exclusively factory-oriented. Other districts were associated with banking and finance, and still others with department stores and various retail establishments or with theaters, restaurants, and hotels. Furthermore, transportation improvements stimulated the geographic expansion of cities. For example, the radius of Boston grew from three miles in 1860 to ten miles in 1900. Also, suburbs boomed and "satellite cities" were born along intra urban or interurban railroad lines. Gary, Indiana, is but one example. The site of considerable labor turmoil in the 1890s, Pullman, Illinois, is another. With new rail systems feeding into the countryside, some companies began moving away from the city core. Fleeing central city congestion, Procter & Gamble of Cincinnati, for instance, is just one case of a company taking this action. To understand the phenomenon of urbanization, geographic mobility must at least be introduced. For many years, it was one of the most misunderstood forces affecting the growth of American cities. Historians used to believe that cities grew like a pile of wood: throw forty to fifty sticks on the pile and it grew that much larger. Or, in other words, if 50,000 persons entered a city, the population increased by 50,000. But this assumed that migration was a one-step process; it assumed that cities were very stable, even stagnant. It assumed there was no outward migration. Urban migratory patterns are of various sorts. First, there are immigrants entering the United States from abroad. There is also intercity migration, and the importance of the movement from the farm to the urban factory has long been recognized. It is difficult to keep young people in the country once they have seen the bright lights of New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, or even of Indianapolis for that matter. Although more difficult to measure, there is intracity migration as well; people have always moved from neighborhood to neighborhood. From all historical studies, late nineteenth century American cities were extraordinarily mobile. Anything but stable, they were like busy way-stations with passengers coming and going en masse. Several studies indicate the mobility of large eastern cities. For example, one reveals that only 64 percent of Boston's 1880 male population was still in town in 1890. Work dealing with a somewhat earlier period in two New York cities, Poughkeepsie and Rochester, shows higher mobility still. The information suggests that many of the poor refused to stagnate in big city slums. It is likely, on the contrary, that many urbanites traveled from city to city searching for greater opportunity. Even the Midwest, long thought to be the personification of stability, was highly mobile. For instance, from 1880 to 1895 only 22 percent of the households in five Wisconsin townships stayed put. Mining cities were probably the most mobile of all. A recent study indicates that only 19 percent of the 1870 residents of Virginia City, Nevada, were still there in 1880. Furthermore, it is estimated that more than 120,000 persons entered the town during the 1870s, although the population gain was but 4,000. People were constantly coming in and going out; the city appears like a revolving door in a busy department store. Aside from industry and labor, aside from immigration, transportation, and mobility, by 1900 American cities were creating a new life-style. Its influence, however, extended beyond urban centers; it was piped into the countryside via the mail-order catalogue as well as through magazines, journals, and newspapers. Imitation of city ways was the order of the day. While America's food was grown by the farmer (and often preserved by him in the mason jar, 1858), technology eventually made a balanced diet possible for urbanites. Before canning became common most city dwellers ate few fruits or green vegetables from autumn to spring. Instead large quantities of starches were consumed: for example, pies, doughnuts, potatoes, and bread. Before the Civil War, Gail Borden began canning evaporated milk; later Gilbert Van Camp grew rich canning food for Union troops (pork and beans in tomato sauce among others). But after the invention of the pressure kettle (1875) for reliable sterilizing, sales in canned foods zoomed. Tomatoes, tomato ketchup, salt herring, sweet corn, etc., were soon being canned on an assembly line basis. A $100,000 Dish
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