Industrialization, Urbanization and Politics (1877-1896)

 

The Forces that Shaped Modern America:

(1)          INDUSTRIALIZATION--transforms nature of work

(2)          URBANIZATION--shift away from rural dominance

(3)          IMMIGRATION--seeds of multicultural diversity

(4)          TECHNOLOGY--a constant, both then and now

(5)          IMPERIALISM/WORLD POWER--economic, political and military

 

Industrialization and Urbanization

 

1.  Technology fuels the growth of:

(A)        Heavy industries

(B)        Mass production/new sources of power

(C)        Fast, efficient and regular means of transportation

(D)        Big business

(E)         “Boom and bust” economic cycles

 

2.  Urban Expansion

(A)        City populations doubled and tripled

(B)        Decline in the birth rate

(C)        Sources of urban population growth:

*internal migration—jobs, amusements, luxuries

*external immigration

        >>Old Immigration (1843-1884)

        >>New Immigration (1885-1914)

(D)        Rise of ethnic & working-class neighborhoods

*overcrowding and sanitation problems

(E)         “Clustering” becomes common, sorted by class,

occupation, ethnicity and race

 

3.  Fears and Reforms

(A)        Urban pollution

*water purity/shortages

*garbage and sanitation

(B)        Urban overcrowding

*tenement housing

*crowded streets

(C)        Crime

*murder/robbery/prostitution rise dramatically

(D)        Immigrant labor and “un-American” ways

*public education

*parks

* “blue laws”

 

4.  Consumer Goods, Advertising and Recreation

(A)        Upper and middle classes benefit most

*women entering workforce in greater numbers

(B)        Higher living standards breed disposable income

for consumer goods

(C)        Rise of mass advertising and marketing

*usually print ads

*first use of slogans and “spokespeople”

(D)        Entertainment and Recreation—“the Electric

City”

*professional sports

*nickelodeons

(E)         Rise of the Success Ethic—“The American

Dream” aka the “Horatio Alger myth”

5.  Rise of Labor and Trade Unions

(A)        Reaction to industrialization and urbanization

(B)        Original groups were general unions open to all

*Knights of Labor (1869)

(C)        Move towards specialization and skilled labor

Unions

        *American Federation of Labor (1886)

                >>Samuel Gompers

Often unsympathetic to immigrants/immigrant labor

 

6.  Gilded Age Politics

(A)        Few major differences between Democrat and

Republican

(B)        Big Issues:

*Immigration

*Expansionism

*Civil Rights

*the Tariff

(C)        A lot of reform legislation, but little enforcement

(D)        Urban political machines were common

* “Boss” William Tweed’s Tammany Hall (NYC)

(E)         Personality-driven campaigns, esp. Presidential

 Races

        *Example:  Presidential Election of 1884

                >>Cleveland (D) vs. Blaine (R)

(F)          High voter turnout, as high as 90% at times

*Average turnout today is 40-45%