The Gilded AgeUrbanization

Bryant Lewis

Population MapsPopulation Density in 1850

Population density in 1900

Reasons for Urbanization

• Immigrants• Eastern European Jews sought freedom from religious

persecution• Other eastern Europeans wanted to escape poverty and

other hardships• Chinese and Japanese workers came to send money home

• Industry• By 1900, most Americans worked for an employer • The railroad industry became big business in Chicago• Many failed farmers moved to cities for industrial jobs

Immigrant Experiences

• Immigrants created their own distinct areas such as Chinatown and Little Italy inside larger cities• Immigrants made up 14% of national population,

but over half of American industrial workers• Many immigrants were unskilled and illiterate,

causing them to take the first job they could find• Jobs included iron workers, coal miners, construction

workers, and street pavers

Wages and Expenses

Click icon to add picture

This Pennsylvanian steel worker put 78 cents into savings each week. These expenses provided only the bare essentials, including a 2 room house for the family. These small savings caused many families to borrow money in emergencies, which caused even less in savings.

Income Rent Food Fuel Insurance

Other Expenses

Weekly Savings

$13.88 $2.00 $5.98 $0.38 $0.88 $3.86 $0.78

Problems with Urbanization

• Fires• October 8, 1871, A fire in Chicago causes $200 million in damage, killed

250 people, and resulted in 98,000 newly homeless

• Sanitation• NYC horses created over 500,000 pounds of waste every day

• Corruption• In 1872, Boss Tweed was convicted of defrauding the NYC govt. of

$200,000

• Poverty and Homelessness • Over 1 million people lived in 32,000 dumbbell tenements in New York

City

Water Issues

Urban Fires

• Triangle ShirtWaist Fire: When the owners of the company locked the doors from the outside, all 146 employees were killed. Law suits were eventually filed; but when the owners claimed insurance, they actually made a profit from the fire

Once Upon A Time…

•…urbanization led to better plumbing and indoor bathrooms. These changes created an increased need for sanitation improvements. Then, in 1879, Edward Scott came to the rescue when he risked the lonely battle field and borrowed $2,000 to start a business producing and selling toilet paper.

Millions of citizens lived in buildings similar to this. With thousands of these building in the cities, the total urban population grew to over 30 million by 1900 and outnumbered the rural population by 1920

Laundry in New York

Works Cited

• Carroll, James. "Urbanization During the Gilded Age and Progressive Era." AP U.S. History Urbanization. College Board, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

• Census Bureau, United States. "Population Distribution Over Time." Census.gov. United States Census Bureau, 1 Jan. 1900. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

• "Edward Scott." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.

• "John D. Rockefeller: An Ironic Success." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

• Kirchner, Franziska. "Central Park." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.

• "Knickerbocker Village: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: David Von Drehle And Kevin Baker At The Tenement Museum." Knickerbocker Village. Knickerbocker Village, 26 Mar. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

• "Laundry day in New York City, ca. 1900." Photos/Illustrations. Library of Congress. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

• "Maps of United States - Demographics." Etc.usf.edu. University of South Florida, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

Works Cited (cont.)

• McGuire, William, and Leslie Wheeler. "John D. Rockefeller." American History.

• MrNexuscorre. "Urbanization of the Gilded Age Expectation vs. Reality." YouTube. YouTube, 19 Nov. 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

• ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2015

• "Population, Urban and Rural, 1790-2000." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

• Shmoop Editorial Team. "Economy in The Gilded Age." Shmoop.com. Shmoop.com, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.

• Singer, Bill. "The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: 100 Years Later." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

• "Urbanization, 1900." Map. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

• U.S. Geological Survey. "Stormwater, Impervious Surface, and Stream Health." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Sept. 2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.