Themes in American History

In the 1800s, the cities located nearby river and ocean were growing rapidly. Cincinnati in Ohio state and New York City were also the cities that were growing economically at the time period. Because of the Ohio River, there were lots of business opportunities for the residents such as hotels and shops in Cincinnati (Chudacoff, 5th ed., pg. 65). New York City had grown as one of the bigest port in the United States by trading with other countries. The similarities between these cities were that the cities were labeled as “the walking city” because of its size and major mode of conveyance; the cities rarely extended beyond two miles from the city center (Chudacoff, 5th ed., pg.66). The population of the two cities grew fast also, however there was difference between them. The Irish started to immigrate in New York mainly, however, in Cincinnati, the main immigrants at the time period was the German (Ohio History Central, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=681).

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The evolution of transportation allowed for explosive growth in immigration and the sizes of Americas cities. In New York City the increase in immigrants from Europe caused cities to overcrowd. This forced the development of public ferry lines. Before the public ferry system was established, transportation between NYC, its boroughs and the main land territory bordering the Hudson river, was possible only because of private, local shipowners that had to be hired to make the trip. This private ferrying system prevented the expansion of the population, as its limited capacity and its prices effectively made it impossible for the lower classes to travel. With  public transportation becoming available in early and mid 19th century, the immigrant population were given a way to settle in different parts of the land.

Transportation also allowed the immigrants arriving in New York City to expand across the country into places such as San Francisco, California. The only way European immigrant could get to California and other far off American land was by ship, that had to travel around south America then north to California, or by land, which was a quite long  journey through hostile Indian territory and the harsh  American landscape. With the creation of the train and its connection with the east coast, the west was opened to settlement by immigrants. Since the major stations for trains were cities and, compared to NYC, were small in size, arriving immigrants tended to stay in the cities as overcrowding was not as established as in NYC. That will not always be the case as those same cities, such as San Francisco would eventually outgrow its limit to house all the people arriving and the growth of its native population, causing an opening up of land outside cities in California to settlement by new immigrants and the native population tired of city life.

A main difference between NYC and San Francisco’s  increase in immigration is the difference in the nationalities of the immigrants. In NYC the majority of its immigrants were made up of Europeans,specifically Irish ,Germans and Italians.This is not to say that these nationalities did not find their way to Californians cities, but they did stick to the north eastern region of America. The western part of America’s immigrants were made up of people from Spain and other Spanish groups,such as Mexicans. This is due ,in major part, to the fact that San Francisco was once a part of the Spanish empire and its language being Spanish.

Ferry Building 1889, foot of Market Street Photo: Greg Gaar Collection, San Francisco, CA

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Civil War is a war between northern and southern states to fight for slavery abolishment.  Besides that, the conflict sparked social and economic conflicts were existed among the states long before the war. Both New York City and St. Louis had profound effects from the war.  One of the bloodiest urban riots took place in July 1863, an official estimated of 1,000 deaths from the riot erupted in New York City. There were so many reasons for the riot, such as labor unrest, class and ethnic tensions and growing violence of street gangs. But the major reason was the race riot, which involved attacks on African Americans by wealthy whites. (Chudacoff, pg80, 6^th Ed.) Compare with the social conflict on New York City, the war reshaped the commercial patterns on western cities, such as St. Louis. St. Louis was one of the nation’s fastest growing cities in the 1850s. It is well known for its river transportation around and beyond the upper Mississippi River valley.  When the hostilities broke out, the Union army closed the lower Mississippi River to commercial traffic and imposed strict surveillance over all goods shipped out of St. Louis. The Civil War turned St. Louis’s geographic advantage into a liability. (Chudacoff, pg81, 6^th Ed.)

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By early 1800s, after the revolution, large number of slaves acquired freedom. Most of them moved into the cities such as New York and Philadelphia.  There are two main reasons why many ex-slaves left for major cities. First of all, there are several job opportunities so that they can earn their own money for living. Second, at that time, ex-slaves get a chance to get married and live with their families. Moreover, free African Americans could establish schools, churches, benevolent organizations and so forth (Chudacoff pg.60).

Free African American

However, compare to philadelphia, more than twice number of freed African American in New York City are skilled workers. It is because white New York craftsman used to rely on slave worker during 18th century. The other main reason is many cities’ mulato emigres from the South had skilled trades (Chudacoff pg.61).

In conclusion, whether free African American labors were skilled or not, the main point of their life is they can establish their own society, community, family and enjoy their culture.

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During the period of 1800 and 1865, the Erie Canal was built because of the in need of the trading in west coast. That was the first transportation system between New York City and the west coast. It made transportation much easier at that time. As the result, the Central Pacific Railroad Company was established in San Francisco in 1863 and they would like to construct the Pacific Railroad from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Oakland, California to increase trading. These two projects both faced one problem: the lack of labors. In the case of New York City, as the increase of the immigrants, more and more immigrants were hired to do the work. Almost the same as the case of San Francisco, however, the company hired labors from China. In both cases, many workers died during the construction because of the harsh and dangerous working condition. At last, the Erie Canal was not supported by the federal government. President Jefferson rejected the project and called this “a little short of madness”, but the New York governor, Dewitt Clinton, supported this idea. The Pacific Railroad was supported and funded by the Congress.

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During the 1840’s the Southern city of Savannah, Georgia was much slower in its urban growth and development when compared to New York City. While NYC was strongly developing its economy through trade, marketing and shipping, Savannah’s economy was highly dependent on processing of staple crop. However, similarly to New York City’s growing economy, Savannah soon blossomed with the leading cotton shipping ports in the world of Antebellum (Chudacoff 41). ” By 1820 Savannah was the eighteenth largest city in the United States and had established its preeminence as an international shipping center, with exports exceeding $14 million. Cotton remained the principal export until the Civil War” (The New Georgia Encyclopedia www.georgiaencyclopedia.org ).

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New York: Slavery has been a key element in the development of New York City since its former time and it has served as the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. Slavery was not fully abolished in New York until 1827 however the gradual abolishment process began in 1799.  By the 1800s slave trade proved to be a profitable business for the merchants in New York City. Almost every merchants and business man had a stake in the slave trade. By 1850s the owners of slaves would hire out or rent their slaves to nearby employers thus making it profitable for both slaves and masters. The slaves would have the opportunity to food, drink and entertainment. They had time to run their own churches and enjoyed a great mobility and cultural autonomy. They not only got the opportunity to social with their own race but also with poor whites. However it was not possible to supervise for the masters to supervise their slaves each and every minute especially if they were hired out. Slave codes then came into the picture resulting into a formal segregation which excluded slaves from most public accommodations. The law required the slaves to have license for certain jobs and they were forbidden to learn how to read and write.

Nashville: Slaves where one of the most valuable assets for Nashville. It served as a market for both the purchasing and selling of slaves. It had a large population of skilled slaves and by 1800 forty five percent of Nashville inhabitants were slaves. However by 1860 this number started gradually declining to the immigrants from Europe. Living in the city provided the slaves with great opportunity to read and write and experience quasi-independence that was unknown to those who were still living in the plantation. Most of them were skilled worker, had family and maintained a social life and religion.

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Difference

During 1850’s Urban slaves enjoyed greater mobility and cultural autonomy than did the rural counterparts. City slaves partook of a wider world. They had access to food, drink, entertainment, and the common sociability of urban life. They sometimes ran their own churches and they often sneaked away to talk and drink with fellow slaves, free African Americans and even working class whites in the backalley groceries and grogshop scattered throughout every southern city. Preferring to avoid costs of housing their slaves, some master gave their slaves permission to live as well as work away. When slaves lived out, they often resided in rented rooms on the fringes of town where free blacks and poor whites also lived. On the other hand, rural slaves such as Bondsmen on plantations lived in the slave quarters and saw only their masters’ families and occasionally slaves from a nearby plantation. (Chudacoff and Smith, 73)

Common

The Civil war, like all wars, had a disruptive effect on American cities during 1863. The riots erupted in New York Cities as well as in Richmond, Virginia. In New York, the turmoil lasted for four days which resulting more than four hindered deaths. Similarly, many people died in Richmond as well. However, the war itself had varying effects on cities, depending on the social and economic climate. (Chudacoff and Smith 81-83)

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Boston started the riots that swept colonial America

Boston and New York were two of the most prominant cities during colonial rule. They were both port cities and they were both business oriented. Both Boston and NYC had a large number of merchants and traders as well as local citizens and skilled laborers. When England imposed the Intolerable Acts, both cities fought against them. However, when they were repealed New York City stopped most of its resistance while Boston carried on with its rioting. Chudacoff and Homberger seem to disagree on which city played the most important role in the revolution. I would have to agree with Chudacoff that Boston made the greatest difference. Boston was the center of change. It fought gainst the crown to protect the interest of its citizens. In New York city, the merchants had more control, so when the taxes were reppealed, they went right back to business. Boston remained active and eventually became one of the leading causes for revolution against the crown

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Pittsburg was similar to NYC in that the city was able to take advantage of its geographical location with the Pennsylvania mainline canal, earning the title “Gateway to the West”. Located on one of the world’s biggest coal deposits, the city’s economy was run by factories that manufactured steamboats and household heating. Whereas many Southern rural cities depended on Northern urban cities to import and export goods, this was a city with no such dependency. Also, while NYC’s economy revolved around their trade and commerce, Pittsburg had an additional advantage with its abundant natural resources such as natural gas and petroleum that allowed the city to not function merely as a port but as exporter. The War of 1812 further boosted Pittsburg’s economy. The British cut off their manufactured supplies to America and the country became more dependent on American manufacture, heavily depending on inland trading.  Thus, Pittsburg’s manufactured goods became even higher in demand.

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The two North American cities New york and New Jersey developed in many different ways during the mid and early 1800s. Both the cities have significant similarities as well as some differences.

                                    New Jersey prospered during the early 1800s. New factories sprung up through out the state. Paterson became a textile center and later became known for producing trains and silk. Trenton produced clay products, iron and steel. Camden, Elizabeth, New wark and Jersey city all became major manufacturing centers in the 1800s. New york city was developing in different ways; the Erie Canal was completed in the 1825 providing boats a gateway to the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The economic impact of the Erie Canal was tremendous. Businessmen were able to ship goods in and out of the New York City through this man made river ( official website of the New Jersey State and www.inetours.com).

 One difference between the two states is, Legislation was passed in the  1804 to abolish slavery in the state of New Jersey; where as in the New York city slavery was still in existence until 1827.

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New Orleans and New York have their share of differences and similarities. The most obvious difference is that one is a city from the North while the other is a city from the South.  Each has it’s own different lifestyle. With the North being more notable for freedom for slaves and industrial services, the South was none for its intolerance towards slave freedom and their agriculturalist lifestyle. For New Orleans, this wasn’t held completely true. New Orleans “resembled northern counterparts in their commercial functions and social complexity” ( Chudacoff and Smith page 72) Although they were one of the few cities that had commercial functions, the business people relied heavily on the Northern capital and markets. This big one similarity, one difference between New Orleans and New York was that in New York diversity was well known and in a sense accepted. In New Orleans the French speaking people and the English speaking people had to be divided in the city “between a French quarter and an American Quarter, separated by a street with a broad medican called the Neutral Zone” (Chudacoff and Smith page 67) The diverse population in New York was in a sense mixed weren’t living in their own sections as was the case in New Orleans.

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After the American Revolution many cities started to develop, this allowed man y business enterprise to form. Some of those cities that grew because a strong national government was formed were Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Cleveland.  Before they became cities they were small towns trying to foster growth, this motive for growth allowed small towns to become cities. They competed against each other by creating incentives lure many merchants. Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit were small cities that had no direction but to become megacities. They looked to other cities like New York, Baltimore, and Boston for consult. The main cities they looked for help were Boston and New York.

Boston and New York were the main cities that many small towns looked at for help to grow. Both cities were similar in many ways. New York and Boston were formed during the colonial era before   the American Revolution. New York City and Boston were located near the port because their access to the ocean was vital to many merchants. What is really amazing is that their origins started because merchants wanted to have an area that allowed business to operate. Because of their business friendly atmosphere the British Empire saw how economically important they are to the crown. But there to response to the Crown activity in their daily affairs makes them different.

Even though Homberger focused on how important New York is to America history, Chaudacoff sees Boston played the most important role to America history. After the crown repealed the Townshend Act many cities stop protesting except Boston, Boston sought that welfare of its people were treated appropriately. In New York City, merchants had the final decision while in Boston it was the collective decision of townspeople. That is why Chaudacoff writes that many people lost interest in Boston due to its expensive taxes. That is why many people did not stop the protest. They were given taxes that they did not like or voted on. Boston became the center where hatred and resistance toward the crown was persistent. They also became center of the crown punishment on spread fear among the colonist if they provoked the king. But what really separate Boston from New York or any other city was that it can became center of change.

After the revolution Boston became an experiment city. Well every city was an experiment but in Boston the most social experiment was formed.  They were the first to have base salary policemen to encourage public safety. Even though Boston did not have a large population compared to Baltimore and New York, it was a city that resembled more of our present day European welfare cities. Where the public welfare and quality of life is the most important.

Boston

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Please download the midterm review guide here.  The exam will be given in class on June 21.

I will answer any questions that you have about it in class tomorrow and Monday.  I will also provide more detailed information about the format of the exam.

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The focus of our course is on history relevant to that of New York.  However, while learning of the transition in New York history my curiosity grows for that of the unmentioned California cities.  For my post i decided to compare and contrast California with New York during the Civil War.  It is unclear if between 1800 and 1865, cities were established in California.  The text mentions that California was divided into upper and lower California at the time.  California officially became a state in 1850 and surprisingly played an important part during the Civil War.  Both upper and lower California belonged to the free Union but California had strong confederate ties because many southerners moved to the lower California area during the war.  During the civil war many confederates wanted control over lower California because of the large amount of gold present in that area but also because after the Union blocked off Southern ports, confederates wanted control over the southern California harbors.  Similar to the city of New York at this time, California was very involved in the civil war and had freed slaves living there as well.  However California was not as much of a large trade center in the United States and was just being discovered for what it was actually worth.

information taken from:  http://www.drumbarracks.org/Original%20Website/California.htm

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Slavery existed both in New York and in Delaware. Both of these places turned to Africa to get hold of slaves but Delaware was pushed out by the more aggressive Europeans. Delaware eventually turned to Indian slaves, but did not have much success due to diseases and migration that left the land free of Indians. African slavery was not big until Peter Stuyvesant took over. By reclaiming the Delaware Bay, African slaves were brought across the Atlantic to work on the new colony, Delaware.  By 1776, the Revolutionary War disrupted the economy, so slaves were not as important anymore, and made slave trading and slave owning unprofitable. By 1810, 78 percent of Delaware’s blacks were free while only 63 percent was free in New York. In Delaware, slaves sold out of the states were automatically declared freed, and slave ships were barred from its ports. The Revolutionary War had an impact on slavery on both of these colonies. There was a huge decrease in the amount of slaves after the war. Unlike the other northern states such as New York, the freeing of black slaves have been done voluntarily and not with legal requirements (www.slavenorth.com).

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Commercialization and Urban expansion made a huge impact to American cities, such as New York City and Philadelphia. All American cities could be characterized by their compactness (Chudacoff 65). After 1810 slaves that were freed by the Gradual Manumission act began to increase the free African-American population in the city. The city became the center of free African-American life. They were drawn to cities because of higher chance of employment and a higher concentration of free African Americans. There is a greater chance to find an acceptable marriage partner to establish a family, and participate in activities of African churches, schools, Fraternal societies, and organizations (Chudacoff 69).

Afican-American Scubwoman

In New York City, freed slaves were more likely to have a better skill than freed slaves in Philadelphia, because  New York artisans had relied heavily on slave labor throughout the eighteenth century and because many of the mulatto had skills trades (Chudacoff 70). However, in both cities, the majority of free African-American Population were women and main jobs were a domestic servants, laundresses, produce sellers, and prostitutes.

Domestic work was the most common form of job done by urban black woman.

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New York City was a city port that accepted many immigrants. By the 1850’s more than half the residents of New York were foreign born (Chudacoff pg.64). San Francisco became part of the United States in 1848 and soon after came the Gold Rush. San Francisco also accepted many immigrants but it seems that the Chinese was the main fastest growing group of people. White miners in the gold fields began to ask the state protection from competitive Chinese miners. San Francisco then imposed tax on “foreign” miners to encourage the Chinese to leave (Chudacoof pg.67). A similar action was taken on freed slaves that lived in New York and other cities; freed slaves had to pay an annual tax, even though they were “free.”

European Immigrants Arriving in New York, 1850's

Chinese Miners in San Francisco

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New York City

When looking at New York and New Orleans during the 1800’s both are on opposite ends of the map. They seem like complete opposites in comparison, but they do contain similarities between them. New York is well known for its diversity, for example “by the 1850s, more than half the residents of  Boston and New York City were foreign born” (Chudacoff & Smith 72). This isnt’ a surprise as New York is well known for this, however, New Orleans is actually very diverse as well. “By 1860, 40 percent of New Orleans’s population was foreign born” (Chudacoff & Smith 72). In comparison, the ratio’s are similar, but when comparing this in number of people it isn’t as close. The foreign born population of New York in the 1850s was about  257750 (Chudacoff & Smith 60). While in the 1860s the foreign born population of New Orleans was about 67470 (Chudacoff & Smith 60).  This shows that even after ten years the New Orleans foreign born population was no where close in number the New York foreign born population was about 3.8 times the foreign population of New Orleans. This leads us to the big difference between both cities which is the size of them. New York was more greatly populated and more larger than New Orleans. For example in 1860 the New York population was 813,600 while the New Orleans population was 168,675 (Chudacoff & Smith 60).  The total New York population in 1860 is about 5 times more than the population of New Orleans. Overall, the two cities of New York City and New Orleans are both similar and different in certain aspects.

New Orleans

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