AMH 2020 Week 2 1 Urban Lifes Landscapes and Culture City Urban o Before 1900 we were a rural country o 2 out of 5 people then moved into the cities o By 1900 more than 1 3 of the U S population was working as an industrial laborer o 27 million people between 1865 1914 immigrated to the U S o About 1 million immigrated per year o Almost everybody in the working class was ethnic And in the south most of the working class were poor whites and blacks o Whole communities existed of different cultures This helped people adjust to new culture They segregated themselves so it would be as much of a tragic experience o While many people like their segregation assimilation was the key To learn English and to blend in with middle class Americans o Children assimilated quicker which helped communities assimilate faster The Urban Landscape o Mulberry St in new york was an all eastern European community known to be poor and dangerous o Ethnic communities had grocery stores and their own cultures o City life became to be characterized to have plenty of energy and ethnicity o The city was not clean in the poorer parts of town and a lot of roads were o Builders and landlords made cheap buildings that went up quick and were entertainment not even paved not good quality o Bandits roost was known as a tenements neighborhood Tenements o Had no running water o No bathrooms o Immigrants with live with family or other village members until they o Housing reforms tried to change this way of living but it didn t happen could establish themselves quickly o Pressure to get children off the streets made more schools open and the attendance of school more mandatory Police Jobs the poor things o The need for cheap housing was huge o We re not well trained and tended towards corruptions o They tended not to punish powerful leaders and to not hesitate to punish o Textile grew and women and immigrants could help the wealthy hand sew o Dock workers too o Children helped their families have income o Life was too lonely and hard for the immigrants and blacks o Jobs preferred white European immigrants to black workers except in the meat packing industry o African Americans only got jobs when the Europeans went on strike o everything was mostly outdoors because their tenements were nasty and Urban cities small o Markets were outside Civic Reform and improvements Science and technology o Professional firefighters and policeman o People saw the we needed stable communities o It helped workers and laborers o Crime needed to be managed o Running water was needed along with sewers to help keep diseases out o Healthy urban cities promoted health and prosperity of cities o Healthy workers made better workers o Medical advances o New diets and foods o People were finally understanding the point of hygiene o 1920s indoor bathroom were prevalent in offices and middle class homes o Gas lights became inside buildings o Innovation improved bedrooms o One of the greatest inventions the rubber condom Public spaces o City libraries o Parks o Theaters and museum s o All attempts to improve city life city and social status o Women were the forefront of this art reform o Central park landscape design was a vast green refuge in the largest city o The power instilled virtue reminded city people of the old rural lives they to preserve natures beauty had o Central park benefitted the poor and the wealthy o Improved the quality of life of city residents o Local bars were great places to do business o Very first movie theaters were lower class population o Was called a nickelodeon because it only cost a nickel Sports o 1903 was the first world series o Huge business for rich white men who owned the teams o Basketball and rugby was popular too and mostly stated in college campus before becoming professional sports o Blacks also had their own sports leagues Vaudeville skimpy girls clothes o Shows that had all types of entertainment i e jugglers dancers singers o Sigfield follies was a particular show that had girls who wore skimpy o They were role models and became acceptable American icons o Vaudeville comedies made jokes of life s difficulties o Lillian russel first American pop star and had a scandalous life She served as a role model to women and was very influential Bicycle o Most influential form of transportation o Petitioned American government to roads paved o Cycling became a very popular sport o Influential on woman s lives because they had more mobility and power o Increased social contact between men and women and bicycle clubs were often courting grounds o Fashion was influenced by bicycles and pants were accepted now The Rise in Mass Consumption o City life was associated with new technologies o Cache of city life was used as advertising to promote items and city life o Department stores were huge o They were critical because they promoted American middle class o Helped immigrants understand American lifestyle by seeing what other o appliances began to have access to all classes o People started labeling themselves on what they could buy not where their lifestyles American s could buy from order catalogs o Cheaper goods from mass production were in grocery stores and mail o Catalogs made things available in rural areas from city life o Sears roebuck and Co was the largest catalog company This you could compare to our Wal Mart these days o Catalogs made the nation seem smaller because it was easier to get items everywhere o Magazines also emerged in this time o Offered articles and tips on beauty love cooking and fashion o Enabled Americans to share their own personal stories and opinions o Cameras became available and things were easy to be documented o The brownie box could be bought by even low class people o Pretty girls were usually ideal for advertising o The Oreo was invented in 1912 The city in American culture o Artists tended to respond in two distinct ways Relished capturing the undermines of America Bars boxing city scenes and how cities actually feel Were interested in representing American life in urban ways more interested in the realistic feeling of cities Urban scenarios more interested how the urban landscape effected our natural landscapes Concerned on the impact this new life was having on families and how people responded