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Why and how did cities expand in the late 19th century?
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In the late 19th century, cities expanded primarily due to industrialization and immigration. Industrialization required large numbers of workers, leading to job opportunities in urban areas, which drew people from rural areas and abroad. Immigrants, particularly from Southern and Eastern Europe, settled in cities for economic opportunities and to live in ethnic communities. This influx led to urban problems such as overcrowded housing and crime but also fostered economic growth and diversity.
The second half of the Nineteenth Century was a time period of rapid and dramatic urbanization. This was partly a factor of immigration patterns, but it was also closely tied to the country's rapid industrialization. Industrial Economies involve strong tendencies towards urbanization. Industrialization (as oppose to the agriculturally based pre-industrial economy) requires far larger concentrations of workers in order to effectively run institutions like mines, factories or foundries, and so manufacturing centers must be inevitably linked with these densely populated urban centers. Therefore, as countries industrialize, you usually will observe job opportunities migrating from the countryside to the cities. Thus, as the country moved more and more into the modern era, and the process of industrialization only accelerated, it should not be surprising that cities grew dramatically as well. The two tend to be closely linked.
In the late 1800s, cities grew mainly through immigration. As can be seen in...
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the link below, there were huge numbers of immigrants in American cities by this time period. Foreign-born people made up 33% of the population of large cities by 1870. Many important cities like Chicago and New York had populations that were over 40% immigrant.
Typically, these immigrants stayed in the cities in large part because that was where economic opportunity was. This was a time when the US was becoming more and more industrialized and there was plenty of work in cities for people without any particular skills. Because there were so many (albeit hard, low-paying, and menial) jobs in the cities, immigrants ended up staying in those cities.
Of course, this was not all good. The influx of immigrants (many or most of them poor) caused all sorts of problems in cities. Chief among these were things like unsafe housing, crime (including organized crime), and corruption in city governments.
Why did American cities grow dramatically in the late 19th century?
Demographics and economics tend to be closely connected, as can be seen in the history of the Industrial Revolution. In pre-industrial, agrarian economies, economic activity was focused primarily on agriculture, especially given that most people lived in the country. As industrialization took shape, however, these economic realities began to change.
Industrial manufacturing requires a concentration of workers in order to adequately function; after all, you cannot effectively run a factory with only a handful of workers. This means that, by its very nature, industrialization tended to be centered in urban, high-density populations where one could find ready access to labor. At the same time, the presence of industry would have led many workers to migrate out of the countryside into the cities, hoping for employment.
When looking at the history of the United States, you can observe this same patter: economic expectations and demographics are closely intertwined. The United States in the late 1800s had entered into the Industrial Age, and the demographic trends reflected this. With corporations centering their operations in urban centers, urban populations grew dramatically as people moved into the cities looking for work and opportunity. Additionally, you should factor in the role that immigration played in shaping these demographics as well (as well as what factors might have drawn them to the United States). Immigration played a key part in this picture.
To conclude, I would suggest that the rise of the industrial economy was the key factor in shaping American urbanization, and that the growth of these cities was a reflection of those transformations.
The first cause of urbanization in nineteenth-century America was industrialization. Unlike agricultural labor, which was dispersed through the countryside, factory labor was concentrated in manufacturing towns. People moved to cities for factory jobs, and the availability of labor made cities attractive to manufacturers, creating a virtuous cycle. The existence of dense population clusters would then attract other businesses such as retailers, construction, and services.
Next, the great northern manufacturing cities were located in states that did not have slavery as an institution, making them attractive to African-Americans, whether escaped or freed slaves.
Although some immigrants moved west on to the prairies to take advantage of plentiful land and farming opportunities, others clustered in cities. Immigrants from a given country would often move to communities where their compatriots were well established.
There were several reasons why cities grew so quickly in the United States in the late 1800s. One reason had to do with immigration. Many immigrants were coming to the United States during this time. There was a large influx of immigrants from South and East Europe in the late 1800s. Many of these immigrants settled in the cities. They settled in the cities because there were many people from their native countries living there. By living in ethnic neighborhoods, these immigrants could be with people who would help them learn about American ways of life. They could be with people who shared similar traditions, customs, and languages. This would make assimilation easier for these immigrants.
Another reason cities grew was that there were jobs available in the cities. As factories grew due to the industrial revolution, more workers were needed. These factories were located in the cities. Thus, jobs were also available. Additionally, cheaper housing was available in the cities. Many immigrants lived in the overcrowded tenement apartments because they could afford the rent to live there.
Finally, the cities offered more opportunities for doing things. The rural lifestyle was an isolated and lonely one. In the cities, there were more opportunities to do things. People could attend social and religious functions easier in the cities than they could in the rural areas. It was easier to get around in the cities than it was in the rural areas.
There were many reasons why cities grew in the late 1800s.
The major reason why cities grew during this time was industrialization. As industry boomed, cities boomed. Industry was booming as new processes were being invented to make things like steel more easily and cheaply. As this happened, cities in the United States attracted masses of people from the rural US and from foreign countries. These people came to the cities in search of jobs in the new factories that were popping up and getting to be very big. Cities and industries, then, grew together in the late 1800s as America experienced rapid economic growth.