Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889
Daily Life in the Late 1800s-Cities Grow
and Change
Thru-out Europe and the US,
the Industrial Age brought
rapid urbanization
That’s the growth in the
proportion of people living
in cities and towns
Cities were also transformed
In the past, cities had served
trade, political, military, or
religious functions
Now cities were destinations
for raw materials in factories
The Industrial City
Large industrial cities
needed factories, a large
workforce, a reliable
transportation network,
warehouses, stores, &
offices
Lowell, Massachusetts-the
1st city to have all the
above
At Lowell’s heart-textile
factories, which hired
young women from the
surrounding area &
European newcomers
Other Industries Fuel Growth
Meat-packing fueled the
growth of Chicago,
which grew from
50,000 in 1850 to 1.7million in 1900
Pittsburgh grew because
of steel mills & nearby
coal mines
Industrial cities had a
constant stream of
pedestrians competing
with electric streetcars
& horse-drawn
carriages
Population Density in Cities
Merchants advertised their
wares by shouting out
prices from doorways
Construction crews were
always making noise as
they built banks, office
buildings, & homes
So many people made for bad
health-the air was always
smoky from coal burned
to run steam engines &
warm homes
London fog combined with
smoke to make smog-an
1873 smog episode killed
268
An 1879 episode lasted 4 long
months
Migration to Cities
Despite the unhealthy
conditions, people
flocked to the cities in
the late 1800s
They wanted jobs, but
also to escape hunger,
political oppression,
or discrimination
Some people came from
the countryside, while
boatloads of
immigrants left their
own shores to go to
Latin America,
Australia, or the US
Immigration to America
1870-1900—12-million
people immigrated
from Europe to the US
Many came from Ireland,
England, Germany,
Italy, Russia, & China
1890-42% of New Yorkers
had been born in
another country
Immigrants poured into
Boston, Chicago, San
Francisco, & other
cities-where many
lived in miserable,
crowded tenements
The Livable City
Eventually, reforms eased the
squalid conditions
Cities modernized their water
& sewer systems
These improvements
extended to homes, where
better plumbing allowed
more families to have clean
drinking water, toilets &
bathtubs
Electricity brought appliances
such as vacuum cleaners,
refrigerators, & electric
stoves
Not Enough Space
Builders ran out of room to
build spacious buildings, so
they built upwards
1883-Architect William Le Baron
Jenney designed the first
multi-story steel-framed
building-a skyscraper-in
Chicago
It was 10 stories tall-and 4 years
later, the high-speed elevator
was perfected, so buildings
could get even taller
What to Do About Congested City Streets?
Underground railway systems,
or subways, helped relieve
overcrowding
1863-London opened its first
subway line-Budapest,
Hungary opened its
subway in 1896
The original purpose of the
subway was to get
residents to a city park
easily
City planners tried to preserve
green spaces within the
city
1860s-Napoleon III did it for
Paris, while Frederick Law
Olmsted designed US city
parks so all residents could
enjoy them
The Suburbs
As cities became more congested, their boundaries expanded to
include surrounding areas
People moved out to the edge of cities because they were less
crowded, quieter, & cleaner
Public transportation helped suburbs grow-by the 1880s, streetcars &
ferries linked cities to suburbs
Later, suburbs developed along rail & bus lines
Education in the Cities
Industrialization created a
need for a more
educated workforce
Factories needed
managers who could
read, write, &
engineers with
technical skills
Armed forces grew larger,
& officials wanted
officers who knew
about the wider world
People became more
involved in politics, &
supported public
education to develop
informed, patriotic
citizens
Getting Kids to Schools
After 1870-European
countries & the US passed
laws requiring all children
be educated
Eventually, some governments
funded education through
high school
Not all social classes received
an equal educationChildren of the lower
classes stayed in school
only as long as the law
demanded
Many of them then quit
school & went to work
Education for “Others”
1881-Tuskegee Institute was
founded by Booker T.
Washington as a private
school to train AfricanAmericans to be teachers
Education for girls laggedfew countries required
them to go beyond
elementary school
The few girls in high school
took math & science
classes that led directly to
factory careers
Few colleges admitted
women, so educators
began funding colleges
just for women
You Had to Know How to Read
Every city had a number of daily
newspapers that expanded their
coverage from current events to
arts & sciences
Lively stories in weekly installments
kept people interested
Political cartoons poked fun at public
figures
Since newspapers often took
positions opposed to each other,
people chose the one that agreed
with their political or religious
stance
The linotype machine & new electric
press machines allowed
journalism to grow, especially
when the telegraph made up-todate coverage possible
Leisure Time
Britain-people in their
off-work time flocked
to play football
(soccer) or rugby-or
watch others play
America, baseball a
popular pastime for
troops during the Civil
War but quickly
became an amateur &
professional sport
Football too, became
popular, as fans could
travel quickly to see
their favorite teams
play
Railroads & Music
Mid-1800s-railroads allowed
British working families to
travel to vacation spots
Seaside resorts such as
Blackpool provided
entertainment, relaxation,
& fresh air
Cultural activities became
more accessible
Before 1800s, musicians
usually performed in
people’s homes
1800s-cities built new concert
halls & theaters supporting
more orchestras, bands, &
choral groups
Ticket prices were within reach
of more audience members
Art Becomes Accessible, Too
Art moved from being
restricted to an activity
of the rich to open to
all
Museums such as the
Louvre in Paris made
great works of art
available
Public libraries opened
their doors.
In the reading room of
the British Museum in
London, thousands of
books were accessible
to scholars
Changes in the Arts
Artists, writers, &
musicians developed
new styles in response
to what they saw in
the world around
them
Early 1800sRomanticism-a
emphasis on feeling &
intuition, & a reaction
to the reason of the
Enlightenment
Romantic artists loved
nature, deep
emotions, the value of
the individual, the
past, & imagination
Some Important Romantics
Englishman William
Wordsworth-expressed the
romantic spirit thru
emotional poetry
German Ludwig van
Beethoven celebrated
human freedom in his
musical works
Frenchman Theodore
Gericault painted suffering
heroes that caught public
attention
English artist & writer William
Blake painted scenes of
mystical beauty
A Reaction Develops to Romanticism
Mid-1800s—Realism
developed as a
reaction to
romanticism
Realists painted scenes
from everyday life, no
matter how
unpleasant
Englishman Charles
Dickens wrote novels
about the struggles of
London’s poor
Russian Leo Tolstoy wrote
War & Peace, showing
that Napoleon’s wars
were horrible
From Realism to Impressionism
Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian
playwright, broke new
ground in A Doll’s House,
which exposed unfair
treatment of women within
families
Realist painters showed lowerclass people with quiet
dignity
1860s-French painters began a
movement called
Impressionism
They tried to capture an
impression of a scene using
light, vivid color, & motion,
rather than just showing
realistic details
Causes of Urbanization
Effects of Urbanization
Growth of Industrial
Factories
Crowded Cities
Migration of Workers
Unhealthy Conditions
Increase in Education,
Leisure and Arts
Improvements in City
Life
Causes of Urbanization
Effects of Urbanization