The social and economic lure of the city attracted both foreign and domestic migrations, and these newcomers adjusted to city life in ways that transformed their new urban homes.
Rapid urban growth forced adaptations to severe problems of government mismanagement, poverty, crime, inadequate housing, and precarious health and safety conditions.
The urban environment served as the locus for new philosophical ideas, expanded leisure opportunities, fresh approaches to education, rapid expansion in journalism, and a new consumerism.
The new order of "high" urban culture inspired both serious writers and artists to render realistic portrayals of the seamy side of city life, while many middle- and upper-class Americans were engaging in expanded forms of leisure and entertainment.
A thorough study of Chapter Eighteen should enable the student to understand:
The patterns and processes of urbanization in late-nineteenth-century America.
The changes in the pattern of immigration in the late nineteenth century, and the native response to these changing patterns.
The new economic and social problems created by urbanization, and the technological responses to these problems.
The relationships of both urbanization and immigration to the rise of boss rule.
The early rise of mass consumption and its impact on American life and leisure.
The changes in leisure and entertainment and the growth of mass-culture opportunities including organized sports, vaudeville, movies, and other activities.
The impact of new mass communications technologies on the character of urban life.
The main trends in literature and art during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The impact of the Darwinian theory of evolution on the intellectual life of America.
The profound new developments in American educational opportunities, particularly for women.
