Summary of “Chapters in the evolution of an

American metropolis” By Samuel H. Popper

Slides prepared by Patrick Adams

Newark emerges as a manufacturing center

• By 1860, Newark ranked as one of the important industrial centers in the United States. It had all the desirable features of a manufacturing city. Its tax rate was moderate, transportation facilities were good, freight rates were low, and it had a reservoir of a permanent and skilled working force.

• Newark was home to many skilled laborers, especially during the 1840s and 1850s when many skilled Germans emigrated from Germany.

• Leather Goods• Clothing, Hats, Trunks, Carriages,

Jewelry• Beer and Iron Products• Santa Anna, the Mexican General,

had his personal carriage made in Newark

Newark supports the South?

• Early in Newark’s history, the South was the principle market for Newark’s manufactured leather and clothing goods.

• However, this made it vulnerable during the Panic of 1837, because its market was so heavily dependent on domestic markets

• During the Civil War, Newark opposed the use of Union force

The Civil War

• The Civil War was a turning point in Newark’s history. Although, Newark opposed the War at first, the war brought Newark’s economy to full capacity and attracted even more industries to the city.

• When the Civil War ended, Newark began selling its manufactured goods (now mostly consumer) to the West and internationally. Causing Newark to explode!!

Newark exploded from1870-1910

• Localization economies happen when many companies in the same industry situate near each other.

• When many companies from different industries situate near each other, its called Urbanization economies.

• The presence of firms in one industry attracts firms in other industries• For example, during this period manufacturing industries gave rise to financial and mercantile

industries such as Prudential which opened its doors in 1873.

Population and all Occupations in Newark

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

1870 1890 1910

Population

PercentageIncrease ByDecade

Alloccupations

PercentageChange

Smelting and Refining

• Newark provided a cheap site for smelting and refining

• Newark was close to New York City

• The Morris Canal connected Newark with coal fields in Pennsylvania. A cheap fuel source for the furnaces

Inventions and Industry Galore

• In 1826, Seth Boyden perfected a process for making malleable iron, thereby laIn 1826, Seth Boyden perfected a process for making malleable iron, thereby laing the foundations for the foundry and machine shop industry of Newark

• Thomas Peddie perfected the technique for electric nickel plating and established works for the building of dynamos

• John Wesley Hyatt in 1870 perfected a precess for the making of celluloid• Rev. Hannibal Goodwin, perfected the process for making motion picture film which improved

further on the celluloid• Electricity gave a boost to the manufacturing of electrical equipment in Newark• The growth of bread, tobacco, and the building industry was related to the population growth of

Newark at the time

Seth Boyden Terrace housing projects named after the inventor Seth Boyden.

Germans, Beer, and Newark

• Larger beer brewing in Newark was almost exclusively a German enterprise

• Of the city’s 278 brewers and malsters in 1870, 237 were of German birth.

• Brewery sites were cheap, and skilled German labor was abundant.

• Newark was also close to a lot of farms providing the necessary malt for brewing

• Growing cities of the East such as Buffalo provided large markets for Newark’s beer.

Jewelry making

• Newark was well known for making jewelry and thus attracted skilled jewelers from Europe

• Newark jewelry industry benefitted from nearby smelting and refineries

Newark Recycling• Newark’s leather industry was unmatched in the 19th and early 20th

centuries! • Trimmings from hides in the raw state were sold to Newark glue

factories• Shoe manufacturers bought trimmings and roundings for in sole

stocks• Chemical factories used the hide shavings for their chemical works• Production costs were greatly reduced by profits derived from the

sale of waste materials• Leather was able to adapt to many purposes• The market for enameled leather made in Newark was expanded by

1910 for use in upholstering furniture, as lining for new motor vehicles, and in the making of fancy goods.

Factors in Newark’s explosion

• Newark had widespread markets for its manufactured good

• New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the West for raw materials

• High and low skilled labor supplies

• Good transportation thanks to the Morris Canal

• Agglomeration Economies!!!