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DAILY LIFE IN THE CITIES
America’s Birth as an Urban Society
Goals for this presentation… Understand the growing role of urban areas in
shaping American culture in the late 19th Century
Describe the causes and effects of growing literacy in urban areas.
Explain the role of newspapers and other forms of mass literature in shaping the opinions and attitudes of Americans
Discuss how sports and entertainment were transformed in urban areas supporting the birth of a mass culture
The Hook and Key Questions Hook: “ Growing cities developed many of the
habits and institutions that we take for granted today in modern America .”
Key Questions: What factors would support the growing influence
of books and newspapers in the late 19th century? How did the growing wealth and influence of
cities support changes in American culture? How did the institutions of sports and entertainment create the beginning of opportunities that many of us hope to enjoy today in the 21st century?
Cities and the Rise of Mass Society: 1880 to 1910
In 1880, America was still a primarily a rural nation Percentage of population living in urban areas
1850- 15% 1900-39% 1950-59% 2000- 79%
Urban- Incorporated areas (such as cities and townships) with over 2500 people
Since 1900, most of America’s population growth has been urban
Cities grow in power and influence relative to rural areas
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
The Emergence of Cities, 1880
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
The Emergence of Cities, 1920
America’s Move to Town
We have noted the some of the challenges faced by the rapid growth of urban areas driven by the demands of the industrial revolution and fueled by a wave of immigration.
It is in these cities we see some very important changes in American society that would eventually spread across the nation Mass education and literacy Mass leisure and spectator sports Mass entertainment
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Urbanization and the environment
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Urban mass transit
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Mulberry Street, Little Italy, New York City, ca. 1900
Mass Education in the late 19th Century
Social reformers saw education as a way to improve the lives of urban poor Teach immigrants patriotism and the American
way of life Civil loyalty and democratic values American history to unite people- fear of foreign
ideas and revolutionary ideas Compulsory Education Laws spread
1870- 57% of school age children were attending school
1900- 72%
What does this table tell us about the growing role of education in America?
Table 1: Average Years of Schooling in the Labor Force
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 United States 1.14 2.10 3.56 4.91 6.24 8.34 9.94 11.8 13.1 New England 2.61 3.98 4.77 5.64 6.95 8.65 10.2 12.2 13.6 Middle Atlantic 1.54 2.88 4.36 5.50 6.47 8.15 9.83 11.8 13.2 South Atlantic 0.65 1.22 2.04 3.76 5.18 7.71 9.53 11.5 13.0 E. South Central 0.36 0.93 2.30 4.20 5.58 7.48 9.43 11.1 12.7 W. South Central 0.35 0.74 1.92 3.51 5.04 7.70 9.41 11.3 12.7 Mountain - 0.93 3.33 4.58 6.32 9.06 10.4 11.9 13.1 Pacific - 2.50 3.69 5.13 6.72 9.27 10.4 12.4 13.1
From: Income and Education of the States of the United States:1840-2000Scott Baier, Sean E. Mulholland, Robert Tamura and Chad Turner∗October, 2005
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Italian Immigrants and Social Education
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Vocational education
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Women as students
Mass Literacy, Popular Journalism and Literature
Growing literacy rates increasing leisure time and improved printing technology supported the first mass media and popular literature Number of newspapers in circulation multiplied 5X between
1865 and 1910 Cites and most towns had many newspapers competing
with each other Attracted readers though features, comics, advice columns, serial
stories Inflammatory reporting called yellow journalism lured readers with
sensational stories (Like the Weekly World News today)
This marks the beginning of a truly mass media where millions of people experience the same thoughts and ideas at roughly the same time- Begins the process of homogenizing American experiences
Leisure and the Cities
The concentration of population with a diverse background and talent helped support Vaudeville Included comedians, singers, musicians and dancers- a live
variety show Would gradually be replaced by the movies in the 1920’s Nickelodeons- Father of movie theatres- short “films”
viewed through a hand cranked machine Wild West shows presented a romanticized view of the
disappearing frontier Rag time music became the rebellions rock music of the
“Gay Nineties” (The traditional meaning of gay is happy)
Dance music with heavy rhythms Scot Joplin's Maple Leave Rag recored on a piano roll
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Vaudeville
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
The Kenetoscope: The Featured Technology at a Nickelodeon
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
The King of Rag Time
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
A workingman’s social center
Parks and Leisure Time
As cities grew, a movement to manage growth and reserve public spaces grew The Cities Beautiful Movement
Create wide open streets and public parks for people to gather
New York Central park- an attempt to maintain a rural landscape in a growing city
Amusement Parks cater to Middle Class and increasing number of middle class Apply new electrical technology to provide an
enchanted experience Coney Island- The Grandfather of Disney Land
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York
Participatory Sports: The Bicycle Bicycling began in the
late 19th Century Recreation and later a
form of transportation Introduced in 1870 Became widely popular
by 1880
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Tandem tricycle
America’s Three major spectator sports took shape in the late 19th Century
Baseball- America’s Past Time Football- Too Violent to be Legal? Basketball- America’s gift to the world
Baseball: America’s Past Time
Based on British game rounders Grew widely popular during the Civil War-
rules regularized 1869- First Professional team: Cincinnati
Redstockings 1876- The National League formed
Reflected the trend of professionalization and regimentation
Drew crowds in the thousands Grew segregated due to “The gentlemen's
agreement” First World Series in 1901 between National and
the new American League (Sometimes called the junior circuit)
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Baseball card, 1887
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
America’s Past Time
Football
Based on the British game of rugby Grew in popularity in the “Ivy League” colleges of
the Northeastern United States Walter Camp- player at Yale attempted to fix rules
for a unique game Line of scrimmage, snap, center and quarterback added Emerges distinct from rugby and soccer Professional teams by the late 19th century- in the
shadows of baseball Incredibly violent- talk of outlawing it (18 college
and 46 high school players killed in games in 1905)
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
America’s Past Time
Basketball: The Most American of Sports
Baseball is the most international of the three sports that rose in the late 19th Century- Wholly developed in America
Dr. James Naismith- Physical Education instructor in Springfield MA invents a sport that could be played indoors Placed peach baskets on two ends of a gymnasium First rule change- cut out the bottom of the baskets!
Game grew international as Dr. Naismith had students from around the world
Grew more slowly as a spectator sport than football and baseball
America, 8th EditionCopyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Basketball