Towards an Urban America

An Industrial Society

Important Individuals

• Alexander Graham Bell- telephone• Henry Ford- autos and assembly line • Thomas Edison- light bulb• Jane Addams-Hull House in Chicago • Andrew Carnegie- steel • J.D. Rockefeller- oil• Cornelius Vanderbilt- railroads

Society

• Immigrants-worked in factories• Urban life-ghettos, tenements, overcrowded

• Settlement houses-community center in the slums

• Discrimination-women, children and minorities

Working conditions during Industrialization

• Sweat shops-making garments for low wages• Child labor- as young as 5 years old worked in

factories• Long hours- no laws on number of hours worked• Unsafe working conditions-workers safety was

not a concern• Low wages- Average of $3.00 a week

Living Conditions in urban areas

• Tenements-unsanitary and cramped conditions

• Ghettos-terrible housing conditions in cities• Political machines- politicians that were

greedy and untruthful (offered jobs and housing to immigrants- which was against the law)

Reasons for Urban Growth

• Migration of African Americans to Northern cities ( for jobs)

• Immigration (for jobs)• Industrialization (created jobs)• Rural to urban migration (country to city)

Sweatshops

Location of Key Industries

• New England (New York)= textiles• Detroit= automobiles (Henry Ford)• Pittsburgh= steel (Andrew Carnegie)• Chicago= meat packing (Upton Sinclair

wrote THE JUNGLE)

Factors that supported industrial development

• Natural resources (iron ore, copper, lead)• Transportation networks (railroads)• Inventions (telephone, light bulb)• Workers (Immigrants, child labor) • Access to energy resources • Financial resources $$$$

Methods to improve working conditions

• UNIONS• *Knights of Labor• *American Federation of Labor- (AFL)

• STRIKES• *Homestead Strike- Carnegie Steel • *Pullman Strike- railroads

Growth of big business

• Lower production costs (assembly line)• Consumer goods available (mail order) • Advertising• National markets• Corporations

Increased Immigration

• Better opportunities• Religious freedom • Escape from oppressive government• adventure

Contributions of Immigrants

• Source of labor• Food• Language- new words• Customs• Religious diversity • Farming methods• Discrimination of Chinese and Irish

How native-born Americans treated immigrants

• Nativist movement (born in US is better)• Chinese Exclusion Act ( No Chinese

allowed)• Gentleman’s Agreement with Japan ( No

Japanese allowed)• Barriers to education and employment

Name the state! • Pittsburgh *New Orleans• St. Louis *San Antonio• Chicago *Atlanta• Philadelphia *Detroit• Salt Lake City *San Francisco• Boston *Santa Fe• Seattle *Denver• Los Angeles