New York City

The United States post-Civil War era from 1875 to 1900 experienced massive economic and industrial growth, especially in the North. The rise of new machines, industries (railroad, oil, steel), and buildings contributed to a major upsurge in the prosperity of the American nation. In 1860, no American city had a population over one million; by 1890, three cities had passed the million mark. New York City became the second largest city in the world after London in 1900. The substantial growth of the U.S economically can be contributed to a group of wealthy capitalists that ran businesses/industries and stimulated economic growth. However, historians have argued over whether these capitalists were “robber barons” that were corrupt and took advantage of the American people or “captains of industry” that helped the U.S grow at unparalleled speeds. Wealthy capitalists such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were indeed “captains of industry” who enlarged American industry and businesses, used their wealth to better their communities, and elevated the United States to new heights as one of the leading industrial powers of the entire world.

As western advancements were steadily plugging along, so were those of the east. With the Treaty of Ghent neutralizing waters between Britain and America, and the Hartford Convention re-evaluating trade embargos, and navigation acts, the post War of 1812 economy was known as the era of good feeling. The economy rapidly transformed into a national market. Trans-continental communication was necessary for the first time. Emergence of a national defense, national banks, an expanding postal system, and eventually a national road formed to accommodate new needs.

The Erie Canal was a major attraction for the farmers migrating from New England. New York City gained a sort of power with the completion of the Erie Canal; in addition, this power was dominance over the competing ports towards access of trading with the Old Northwest. Other states want to match the success of the Erie Canal in New York City, so they began barrowing money to build canals. The finances needed for these elaborate canal constructions put

Because of New York city’s trade ties to the south, there were numerous southern sympathizers early in the American Civil War. They were very far away from any of the civil war battles but New York sent the most men and money in the battles. New York helped make the Industrial age and as a consequence had some of the first Labor Unions. New York started to become the main point of entry for European immigrants to the US, it started with a wave of Irish during the Great Famine, millions came through Castle Clinton and Battery Park before Ellis Island opened in 1892 to welcome millions more, increasingly from eastern and southern Europe. The Statue of Liberty opened in 1886 and became a symbol of hope. New York boomed during the roaring twenties before the crash of the and Skyscrapers showed the energy of New York, it was the site of the tallest buildings in the world from 1912 through 1974. The build up of Defense industries for WW2 turned around the economy for New York or really the Country from the Great Depression, while hundreds of thousands of people worked to defeat the Axis

The beginning of the second industrialization era, sparked the migration of people from rural communities to the new for of urban society. In the United States people were attracted by the big cities due to new jobs created .For example Chicago “symbolized the growing urbanization: In 1860, the city 's population was barely 109,000; thirty years later, it swelled to 1.1 million”. (Text) With the construction of a vast railroad system moving goods,cattle and people was a lot easier than ever. After 1880 American cities boomed, power cable cars replaced the horse car, and after the invention of electricity they were replaced too with streetcars and trolleys. Subways were constructed in New York Boston and Philadelphia, in order to prevent traffic jams. People with similar racial or ethnic backgrounds clustered together in the center of the cities. Suburbs were incorporated and formed large metropolis. Railroads companies built terminals gas and electricity were a new source of power for the city dwellers. By the 1920’s “Electricity drove technology in 1920s America, and technology helped drive prosperity. By 1928, two-thirds of the families in towns and cities had electricity in their homes, stimulating a huge demand for new appliances such as irons, vacuum cleaners, and the era 's great economic engine: radio.” (Text) Immigration was another big challenge for the big cities. The one way ticket immigration began, immigrants were defined as males , in search of a good life in a

Harlem, New York in the Twenties was a place where colored people had migrated to show their talents. It was a time when African American Artist, Writers, Dancers, Musicians, and Doctors decided to show the world how spectacular they were. Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Langston Hughes were just a few famous names that arrived during this time. One sensational woman stood out among the rest, her name was Josephine Baker. She took a stand and fought for what she believed in, she was a strong and passionate women and she never let anyone get in the way of the things she loved to do. No matter how risqué or dangerous it may have been.

In Chapter 2 of the text “Slavery, Emancipation, and Class formation in colonial and Early National New York” explores the centrality of slave labor and race to the development of class relations in colonial and early national New York City. In the 1600’s slave labor was noted as the central point to New York’s colonial economy and to the survival of European culture. The North colonial economy relied more heavily on slavery for free laborer than Manhattan. As a result of the slave era African American males and females became to central force and the foundation of New Yorkers ‘slave economy. Between 1600 and 1738 the slave population

represented the "new metropolis." there were millions of European Immigrants coming to New York, the city was at its peak. Men like Rockefeller, Carnegie and others help turn the city into a bustling Metropolis. Immigration was the epicenter of New York. Since the colonial period much of New York's growth has resulted from immigration, both from other States and from abroad.

The issue with the re-developing of New Orleans is an area that has been debated between governors, investors, urban planners, residents and other professionals since hurricane Katrina, the costliest “natural” disaster in 2005. This wonderful place, is a Louisiana city near the Gulf of Mexico. Its strategic position, becomes the exit of the great Mississippi-Missouri river system, which drains the interior North of America. New Orleans is one of the lowest spots in the United States, it is already as much as 17 feet below sea level in some places, and it continues to sink more than an inch a year. Re-developing New Orleans will be a difficult aspect because of its location, topography and weather conditions. However, New Orleans is one of the most culturally rich urban

New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, outside Of New York City. Housing an approximate 77,062 people, this city is home to a diverse population of residents. The majority of this community is currently 50% White; however, the community is well blended due to the presence of Hispanics/ Latinos making up more than 20% of New Rochelle. Blacks or African Americans makeup an approximate 15% within the population. The male population of New Rochelle consists of a total 36,980, whereas the female population stands at 40,082, taking majority. The median age for the community lies at 38-years- old, and the urban, up- scale environment is home of the infamous, ‘New Roc City,’ in the downtown area of New Rochelle. ‘New Roc City’ serves as an

I was born in Bronx New York, and moved when I was just about to start Kindergarten. I had a lot of family who still lived in the Bronx so I would spend a tremendous amount of time visiting my cousins. I guess you could say I was basically raised in the Bronx. As a child growing into my teen years I would hangout in the school playgrounds to play Basketball with my cousins and who ever wanted to play ball. I was first introduced to the N word when I was around 10 years old. I heard it while I was playing with my cousins and a group of older kids were sitting at a table talking. The part that was odd is that some of those kids were black and white. As I grew up the N word followed me into Brewster NY where I resign currently. I had many

Industrialization in the North caused social upheaval with the assistance of transportation innovation and the commercialization of agriculture. Paul E. Johnson uses Rochester, New York in the Antebellum period as a microcosm of the changes occurring in the North. He explains, “The loss of social control began, paradoxically, with the imposition of new and tighter controls over the process of labor.” This control over the process of labor sparked from the need to manufacture more goods

New York would be much different than it is today, had it not been for slavery and indentured servitude. They both had an impact on how New York came to be. “...[indentured servitude and] slavery was a key institution in the development of New York, from its formative years" (Slavery in New York). In 1776, the daily lives of many people in New York City were confined by “chains” for both slavery and indentured servitude. These were both socially acceptable and similar in many ways.

New York in the 1920's: The time period of the 1920’s was widely known as an era of prosperity. It was also an era of contradictions for New York as a modern industrial city that, with engineering feats of such wonder, had conquered the sky and constructed a hidden network of underground power lines, sewer lines, and water lines. They also bridged the gap between the city's infrastructural capacity and its population then again widened. The city's roads did not keep up with the rapidly increasing popularity of the automobile.

Before the completion of the Erie Canal, America’s longest canal was a mere twenty-eight miles long. The Erie Canal, itself, was a miraculous 363 miles long and it allowed goods to flow between New York City and the Great Lakes with no problem. At the instant the Erie Canal was opened, new cities were beginning to be built by an inundation of farmers that had relocated in New England to trade along the canal. Suddenly, masses of homes, businesses, churches, and theaters sprung up along the coast of the Erie Canal. The opening of the canal gave New York City superiority over all of the competing ports that traded with the Old Northwest. The canal made New York City “the granary of the world, the emporium of commerce, the seat of manufacturers,