Transformation of American Society Power Point Notes

Industrial America A Nation
Transformed
1860 - 1910
1. The Western Crossroads 1860 - 1910
2. The Second Industrial Revolution – 1865 - 1905
3. The Transformation of American Society –
1865 - 1910
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Transformation of American Society
1865 - 1910
1. The New Immigrants
2. The Urban World
3. Daily life in the Cities
• During the late 1800’s, industrialization,
innovation, and advances in technology led to
the transformation of American life.

1860 - 1910
1. A New Wave of Immigration
• From 1800 to 1880, 10 million immigrants came
to the United States. Most were Protestants
from northwestern Europe, known as old
immigrants.
• Between 1891 and 1910, some 12 million
immigrants came to the United States. 60% of
people living in U.S. cities were foreign. 70% of
these immigrants were from southern or
eastern Europe.
• Most traveled in the poorest accommodations
called steerages.

1860 - 1910
Arriving in America
– Millions arrived in late 1800’s at Ellis Island in
New York Harbor and Angel Island in San
Francisco.
– Many arrived and settled in crowed and
diverse cities where they found only lowpaying,
unskilled jobs.
– Residents in many cities formed religious and
non religious aid organizations, known as
benevolent societies, to help immigrants with
many types of care, such as education, medical
care, and jobs.

1860 - 1910
The Natives Response
• Many native-born citizens saw immigration workers
as a threat and blamed them for much of the
working doings of society.
• Many believed that immigrants’ willingness to work
cheaply robbed Americans of jobs and lowered
wages for all.

Nativist’s and Immigration
1860 - 1910
– Nativists achieved great success in the
west with immigration restriction laws
against the Chinese.
• In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion
Act, which denied citizenship to people born in China
and prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers.
• In 1894, the Immigration Restriction League sought
to impose literacy tests to all immigrants.
• Despite all the restrictions to the Chinese and
other immigrants, the rapid industrialization of the
United States would not have been achieved without
the immigrant workers.

2. Changing from a Rural
Society to an Urban Society
1860 - 1910
• By the late 1800’s, new technological advances
began to transform the urban landscape.
• A vast population growth of the city between
1865 and 1900 changed the facet of the city.
– Architects built skyscrapers, or large,
multistory buildings, to accommodate
for the dramatic increase of
populations in the city.

1860 - 1910
The Elevator
– In 1853, Elisha Otis developed a
mechanized elevator that made it
easy for architects to construct
skyscrapers.
– While skyscrapers extended cities
upward, mass transit extended cities
outward.
• Mass transit made it much easier for workers
to get to work faster and live farther away.
• The expansion of transportation to areas
beyond the city hub, led to the growth of
suburbs, residential neighborhoods on the
outskirts of cities.

1860 - 1910
Three Classes
• Three classes emerged; the Upper, the Middle,
and the Lower.

1860 - 1910
Upper Class
• The nouveau riche (noo-voh REESH), French
meaning newly rich, was the urban upper class
who quickly earned fortunes on the newly
formed industries.
• Many of the upper class spent their money
freely so that all new how successful they
were. This behavior was coined conspicuous
consumption and many Americans criticized
their behavior.

1860 - 1910
Middle Class
• By the late 1800’s the middle class was swelled
by doctors, lawyers, small business owners and
accountants, clerks, engineers, and managers.
• Women even joined the ranks of the middle
class on a small scale.
•Girls, what do you carry in your purse?

1860 - 1910
Lower Class Life
• Tenements, poorly built apartment buildings,
housed many of the cities poor, in NYC, nearly
half the population.
• These rundown buildings were clustered in
poor neighborhoods.

1860 - 1910
Jane Addams
The Drive for Reform
– To confront the problem of
urban poverty, settlement
houses, community service
centers, were established in
poor communities and offered
residents educational
opportunities, skills training, and
cultural events.
• Jane Addams was influential in setting up
American settlement-housing.
• She set out and improved living conditions
in many poor neighborhoods.
• Janie Porter Barrett founded the first
African American settlement house.
Janie Porter Barrett

1860 - 1910
Social Gospel
– The Social Gospel
was an idea that
called for people
to apply Christian
principles to
address social
problems.
• Many churches provided
classes, counseling, job
training and applied the
Social Gospel.
• Caroline Bartlett organized
the People’s Church in
Michigan and provided free
public kindergarten as well
as set up meals programs
for workers.
Caroline Bartlett

3. Daily Life in Cities
1860 - 1910
• “It must be admitted unhesitatingly that we are only just learning how to
play. We steal away for our holidays . . . determined to rest and take life
at its easiest. We promise ourselves to forswear all thoughts of business
and the outer world.”
• Casper W. Whitney, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, December 1894

Education
1860 - 1910
– Social reformers tried to expand educational
opportunities.
• The Compulsory Education Laws were laws that required
parents to send children to school.
• Attendance at schools rose from 7 million to 15 million in a
span of thirty years.
– Philosopher John Dewey set out to change the
traditional school.
• His “Laboratory School” at the University of Chicago
stressed cooperative learning by doing.
• He not only emphasized reading, writing, and mathematics,
but he also emphasized the arts, history, and sciences.
– The number of American colleges and
enrollments rose as well from about 500 to
1000 universities.
John Dewey

1860 - 1910
Publishing
– The rise of literacy among Americans
led to an age of publishing.
• The sale of newspapers between 1865 and 1910
increased from about 500 to 2,600.
• Yellow Journalism referred to the hugely
popular cartoon, “The Yellow Kid,” which was
used to attract readers. It was about a young
tenement-dweller who reflected stereotypes
many Americans had about immigrants.
– In His Steps, written by Charles M.
Sheldon, was the era’s most popular
book, selling millions of copies. “What
would Jesus do?”

1860 - 1910
Leisure and Sports
– During the late 1800’s, Americans increasingly counted on
leisure, or free time to provide relief from city
life/work.
• In 1857, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead designed
Central Park in New York City.
• His success spawned the City Beautiful Movement, which stressed
the importance of public parks and attractive boulevards in the
design of cities.

Baseball
1860 - 1910
• The basic organization and rules of the game evolved in the mid-
1800’s from the British game rounder’s.
• 1869-Aaron Champion organized the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the
first baseball team.
• Baseball had become the “national game of the United States.”

1860 - 1910
Football
• Football was developed in the late 1800’s, in
upper class New England schools.
• Walter Camp, a Yale football player, mad
significant contributions to the game.

1860 - 1910
Basketball
• James Naismith, in 1891, invented the game of basketball.
• The physical education teacher created a game that could
occupy students during the winter month.

Entertainment
• Many Americans spent much leisure time
enjoying theater and music.
1860 - 1910

Theater
1860 - 1910
– Edwin Booth, a
premier actor
of the day,
portrayed many
Shakespeare
tragic heroes.
– Vaudeville-
French word
meaning “light
play;” featured
a wide
selection of
“shorts.”

1860 - 1910
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Entertainer of all
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Artist of all artists,
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Music-Ragtime
1860 - 1910
– This style of music was created by African Americans in the
1890’s.
– The King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin, “Maple Leaf Rag.”