But all cities at this time, regardless of their industry, suffered from the universal problems that rapid expansion brought with it, including concerns over housing and living conditions, transportation, and communication. In Pittsburgh, it was steel in Chicago, it was meat packing in New York, the garment and financial industries dominated and Detroit, by the mid-twentieth century, was defined by the automobiles it built. Much of this new growth took place in urban areas (defined by the census as twenty-five hundred people or more), and this urban population, particularly that of major cities (b), dealt with challenges and opportunities that were unknown in previous generations.Įventually, cities developed their own unique characters based on the core industry that spurred their growth. These factories encouraged more and more people to move to urban areas where jobs were plentiful, but hourly wages were often low and the work was routine and grindingly monotonous.įigure 19.3 As these panels illustrate, the population of the United States grew rapidly in the late 1800s (a). The development of the steam engine transformed this need, allowing businesses to locate their factories near urban centers. Production became dependent upon seasonal water flow, with cold, icy winters all but stopping river transportation entirely. Before the mid-1800s, factories, such as the early textile mills, had to be located near rivers and seaports, both for the transport of goods and the necessary water power. At this time, the attractions of city life, and in particular, employment opportunities, grew exponentially due to rapid changes in industrialization. Immigrants sought solace and comfort among others who shared the same language and customs, and the nation’s cities became an invaluable economic and cultural resource.Īlthough cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, and New York sprang up from the initial days of colonial settlement, the explosion in urban population growth did not occur until the mid-nineteenth century ( Figure 19.3). Furthermore, problems ranging from famine to religious persecution led a new wave of immigrants to arrive from central, eastern, and southern Europe, many of whom settled and found work near the cities where they first arrived. While the work was dangerous and difficult, many Americans were willing to leave behind the declining prospects of preindustrial agriculture in the hope of better wages in industrial labor. Workers were forced into grueling twelve-hour shifts, requiring them to live close to the factories. New electric lights and powerful machinery allowed factories to run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The new technologies of the time led to a massive leap in industrialization, requiring large numbers of workers. Urbanization occurred rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century in the United States for a number of reasons.
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