Themes in American History

New York City is one of the biggest metropolises in the U.S.A and has a rich and diverse history of
growth. It was first discovered by the Dutch in 1625 then taken over by the British in 1664. Since its earliest
formation New York City has always been the center of economical, cultural, and social development. Its
concentrated power was brought created by those who came to this great land to work hard and contribute to
its prosperity. The city that never sleeps soon became the original city, dominating over the other cities in the
U.S.A. The Museum of the City of New York is one of the most intimate museums in the city. It is a great source
of education and learning about the history,culture and the personal struggles the people had to contend with ,in
order to make a new land their home. The Museum of the City of New York  is a large museum with five floors of
exhibits. At the moment only the first two floors are open for visitors, the rest of the exhibits are closed for
renovation.I was fortunate enough to visit the museum myself, and would like to talk about what is so interesting
about the Museum of the City of New York and why we should all visit it.

The very first exhibit I have discovered was “New York Interiors (1690-1906)”. This exhibition views New
York City in chronological order starting from the city as a Dutch colony onwards until the 20th century.
What I noticed after studying the Dutch Alcove, which is represented by the example of the early colonial New
York settlement, was that the room seems to contain only basic necessary items, such as bed, table and chairs,
and some other furniture. There is no decorations or fancy accessories here. As discussed in class, the Dutch
colony of New Amsterdam was a leading commercial center of trade. However,The Dutch colonizers were not
interested in the well being of New Amsterdam’s immigrant inhabitants. They didn’t contribute much to the city’s
economic growth. Thus, the Dutch political approach in ruling over the city resulted into a poor social growth.

Museum of the City of New York, second floor, New York Interiors exhibit / Dutch Alcove

The second alcove replicates New York’s desire to imitate the Democratic ideas of ancient Greece with
the Republican virtues of the ancient Rome. This time range coexists with the Classical era (1750-1820) and is
famous for the cultural enlightenment in art and music. Affluent New Yorkers soon enough picked up some of
the basic themes of Classical style, which is depicted by the different type of furniture, center tables, sofas,
decorated by a beautiful painting on the wall, and the statue of ,most likely, one of the Greek mythological
goddess. It is also interesting to note the “roundness” of everything ,especially the table,,this is due to the idea
that corners would force people to sit on either side signifying division. Much like the round table in king Arthur’s
court ,round tables were adopted in the classical era to show an equality among those who sat.

Museum of the City of New York, second floor, New York Interiors exhibit / Cherry Street Alcove

The third alcove and the last one that I am going to discuss in my paper is called Pierrepont Alcove. The
window wall and the ceiling of this alcove came from Pierrepont Place in Brooklyn, named after the gentleman
Henry E. Pierrepont (1808-1888). It was designed by the English immigrant R. Upjohn who was also famous for
his design of the Trinity Church (1839-1846) in lower Manhattan. Looking at this room I was thinking on how
much English culture still shaped the development of interior design in one of its former colony. This room was
dominated by sophisticated ornaments covering the walls, the floor and the top of the chimney. The wooden
chairs accompanied by the sofa underlined the comfort and elegant style of the middle class society of New
York.

The inventions in public transportation

Another exhibit that grabbed my attention was presented by the public transportation of New York in
19th and 20th century. The Electric streetcar and the MTA bus of the late 20th century were examples of the
most commonly used types of transportation provided by the city. The nickname for the electric streetcar was
the”Trolley”; it was introduced in Brooklyn in the 1890s and until 1919 the railways expanded between all the
city’s boroughs. Power was provided by overhead electrical wires that each streetcar was connected to. Trolleys

were a quicker and more convenient option for public transportation and were highly appreciated by New York’s
population. This particular type of transportation had become quite popular in New York during this time and it
surpassed the subway by the end of 19th century. Motorized buses,however, replaced trolleys around the
1930’s as they were considered to be more practical in use.
Historically New York City has struggled with fires of different origins throughout the centuries. This led
to the prompt development of the fire truck, which where divided by three types: horse carriage, hook and ladder
trucks and fire wagons. Although being owned by separate companies, horse carriages and hook and ladder
trucks, worked together to fight fires.

Museum of the City of New York, first floor, The American Style: Colonial Revival and the Modern Metropolis / Transportation exhibit

Boss Tweed and the political machine

One of my favorite exhibits was a small exhibit on New York City’s political machine which was
represented by a little piggy bank in a shape of Boss Tweed, the leader of a political club known as Tammany
Hall, founded in 1789 in New York. The bank advised: ” Put a coin in his hand, and see how promptly he pockets
it, and how politely he bows his thanks.” In this way the historians highlighted the most corrupted time period of
the city of New York. Boss Tweed ,up until these days symbolizes a wealthy and powerful political figure, whose
goals were achieved by stealing and cheating people who did not vote for him and on contracts which he and
his “gang” would take a portion of the profits. This style of politics was notably called “the spoils system”. I
personally found it well illustrated by this one little bank.

The Museum of the City of New York is a masterpieces of architecture that communicates its purpose in
contrasting styles. It gives the viewer a sense of progress and the tribulations that NYC had gone through from
its very beginning. It is simply beautiful and worth visiting especially if you are a true New Yorker and wish to
know the history of, and future of this city.

Comments Off on My visit to The Museum of the City of New York

The American Industrial Revolution (1870-1920) changed the United States citizens from an agricultural people to one that is highly industrialized. They began to performed much of their work in factories and on machines. This transition took fifty years and caused a dramatic change in the nation’s economic history. In the second industrial revolution from (1860-1920), unskilled immigrant laborers were the dominant factory manufacturing labor force. Industrial development in the United States exhibited two major production technologies: factory- assembly (1820-1920), and factory continuous (1920-). By far the greatest reason for new immigration was for employment. The Southern and Eastern European Nations most new immigrants fled were in dire economic times with high unemployment and limited opportunity. The stunning growth in the US industrial development fueled a seemingly endless demand for workers, which the desperate immigrants seemingly fulfilled.

Many newly arrived immigrants found themselves at the mercy of corrupt political forces like Boss Tweed’s Tammany Hall in New York City. Political machines such as these used the votes of newly arrived immigrants to dominate and corrupt the political process in many of America’s growing cities.

The contributions of the new immigrants were transformative to America. The ethnic diversity of the immigrants changed America into a more multi-cultural society with varied language, traditons and practices. The cultural contributions of the new immigrants can be seen in the art, food, music and culture of modern America. (Direct Essays, regentsprep.org, www.mcgill.ca)

Comments Off on Industrial revolution and Immigration in the Big Apple.