The Vision Becomes a Nightmare REMEMBER! High Society Wealthiest families established posh districts in the heart of cities (aka you have to be super rich and come from a family name to roll with these people) Construct feudal castles, French chteau, Tuscan villas, Middle-Class Society Industrialization leads to a growing middle class Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, Managers, Architects, etc. Moved away from the central city and took advantage of new mass transit (trolley cars, subways, etc.) Working Class 3 OUT OF 4 PEOPLE IN NYC LIVED IN TENEMENTS Dark, crowded, multi-family apartments Remember! CRIME Minor criminals (pickpockets, thieves, etc.) THRIVED in these huge, ever-growing, overcrowded conditions VIOLENCE Murder rate jumps from 25 per million people to 100 per million people POLLUTION & DISEASE Improper sewage disposal contaminated city drinking water Triggers episodes of Typhoid fever and Cholera FIREMrs. OLeary anyone?? REMEMBER??? CULTURE SHIFT & SHOCK INDIVIDUALISM The belief that no matter how humble your beginnings, you could rise in society and go as far as their talents and will power would take them Horatio Alger Horatio Alger former minister who moved to New York and penned rags to riches stories Premise was always the same a poor person goes to the big city and becomes successful Charles Darwin pens On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859 Argues that plant and animal life evolved over millions of years through the process of natural selection Natural selection = survival of the fittest Species that cant adapt to their new environment will slowly die out and those that can will survive and thrive Herbert Spencer takes Darwins biological theory and apply it to society Tries to argue that human SOCIETY has also evolved through human competition and natural selection Goes a step further and argues that SOCIETY progressed (or got better) when only the fittest people survived SOCIAL Darwinism Who do YOU think these people were? ITS ALL POLITICAL A new political system emerges you scratch my back, Ill scratch yours Essential city services would be providedfor a price (mainly, political votes and power.) Rise of Political Machines informal political group designed to gain and keep power Cities grew faster than government essentially, and these Political Machines capitalized on it (took advantage) City-dwellers need food, shelter, jobs, heat and most importantly protection Party bosses (those who ran the political machines) who provide these servicesin exchange for votes. Political Machines consisted of full-time politicians whose main goal was to keep power and the money that came with it. Political Machines often joined forces to limit competition, while increasing their own power and wealth with a Party Boss at the head Exercised control at ALL levels of city government Ward and Precinct bosses got to know local residents and offered them assistance in exchange for political support While they do provide aid, they also stifled opportunity for citizens Controlled access to city jobs: With a good word from a boss, a poorly qualified, but loyal voter could land a great job Businesses pay bosses not to have government interfere In Search of America I just get [housing] for them, buy clothes for them if their clothes were burned up, and fix them up till they get things runnin again. Its philanthropy, but its politics too mighty good politics. Who can tell how many votes one of these fires bring me? The poor are the most grateful people in the world, and, let me tell you, they have more friends in their neighborhoods than the rich have in theirs. George Washington Plunkitt Results come election day? Urban immigrant groups, who have tremendous voting strength, show up in HUGE numbers and vote the party bosses into office and to stay in office Graft and Fraud Party bosses also controlled the money (no problems there right) Political machines and party bosses grew rich off of graft getting money through dishonest or questionable means. EX: Politician might find out that the city is planning on building a new park and buys land near the city with the intention of selling it back to the city for a profit. Outright fraud occurred Party bosses would accept bribes from contractors (who were supposed to fairly bid for jobs) Sold permits to friends to operate public utilities (i.e. railroads, waterworks, power systems.) Tammany Hall New York Democratic machine In the early 1870s, Boss Tweed cheated NYC out of as much as $200,000,000!! William Boss Tweed has New York City under his thumb aka he has total control of it New Jersey is completely separateshows just how distinctive and controlled these bosses were Everything from businesses, homes, schools were controlled Money bag in place of head Brains are controlled or filled with money and thats it Well dressed, almost busting at the seams Boss Tweed His position above the police officer and his position above the prisoner Police officer looks like a child almost Boss Tweed looking down at both By the late 1800s, The Senate became known as the Millionaires Club Tiny Senators are completely overshadowed by bloated trusts and monopolies Senate of Monopolists by the Monopolists for the Monopolists! John D. Rockefeller Holding Congress in his hands Looking at the wheels of government like its a toy Total and complete control What a funny little government. SOCIAL CRITICISM Many Americans embraced Social Darwinism (feeds into xenophobia and the popular Nativists right?) Others disagreed, saying that the only way society could progress would be for Americans and their government to take a more active role in regulating business, the economy and helping those in need Remember the rise in Socialism?? Edward Bellamy publishes Looking Backward, Basically, a man wakes up in 2000 and America has become a perfect society Theres no crime, poverty or politics Government owns all the industry and shares the wealth EQUALLY with all Americans Christian solutions to the Urban problem The Social Gospel movement ( ) Better conditions in cities according to Biblical ideals of charity and justice Believed that competition was the cause of many of societies problems, thus leading good people to behave badly Domestic abuse, drinking, stealing, etc. Inspires many churches to expand their missions building gyms, providing child care, soup kitchens, etc. Salvation Army & YMCA Salvation Army offered practical aid and Christian counseling to the urban poor YMCA offered help through Bible studies, prayer meetings, and quickly adopted facilities like libraries, gymnasiums, pools and low-cost temporary hotel rooms Revivalism Dwight Moody preacher and president of YMCA Forms church in Chicago and starts organizing revival meetings introduces hymns into services Settlement Houses Kind of an offshoot of the Social Gospel (Christian duty to help those in need) Jane Addams Establishment where Middle-Class residents lived and helped poor residents (mainly immigrants) Famously opens the Hull House in Chicago Women run them! Women run them! Provide everything from medical care, recreation activities, English lessons, hot lunches, etc. Education Sheer number of public schools explodes post-Civil War - By 1910, most states had laws regulating education Not everyone had access to public schools In order to fund it, cities had an advantage over rural areas Blacks were denied education Booker T. Washington becomes a leader W.E.B. Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement called for full liberties (later becomes the NAACP) Many schools taught assimilation how to become an America to immigrants cultural difference were discouraged College was sex segregated educated woman was seen as unmarriageable STALEMATE IN D.C. Rutherford B. Hayes Enters the White House in 1877 and immediately attacks the patronage/spoils system Appoints reformers to his cabinet (Stalwarts) Hayes is not very popular (Stalwarts) because he had abandoned Reconstruction and let the Democrats regain total control in the South James Garfield Halfbreed Member of the Halfbreed faction in the Republican party Attempted to reform the spoils system (patronage,) but remained loyal to the party But somebody isnt going to be too happy when he doesnt get a position Chester A. Arthur takes over after Garfields death Along with public opinion, Arthur decides to go after the spoils system Pendleton Civil Service Act Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 tested applicants of govt jobs for ability AND federal employees could not contribute to campaign funds Although Arthur was a Stalwart, he supported the Pendleton Act and actually placed 14,000 jobs under the control of civil service Federal government was FINALLY beginning to shift away from the spoils system!!