Today we are going to talk about Urbanization. Urbanization simply means the growth of cities. During the 1700s and first half of the 1800s, most Americans lived in rural areas. But starting in the last half of the 19th Century, American cities underwent a rapid increase in population. Between 1870 and 1900, American urban population grew from 10 million to 30 million. And by 1900 around 40% of Americans lived in urban areas. A few factors contributed to this period of Urbanization. 1st was the availability of jobs, particularly industrial jobs, which were mainly located in or near cities. When John Deere invented the Steel Plow and Cyrus McCormick invented the Mechanical Reaper, farm production increased, but fewer farmers were needed. Many former farm workers were now unemployed. In many cases the only place for them to go was to the cities. 2nd were two periods of immigration that began in the 1840's and ended in the early 20th Century. During this time, millions of European and Asian immigrants came to America in search of a better life. Most of these newly arrived immigrants arrived and settled in American cities like New York, Boston and Chicago. While some of them headed west, many stayed in the cities. Rapid Urbanization did lead to a number of urban problems. Cities were often crowded places and many areas, particularly poorer neighborhoods, lacked proper sanitation. Most poor urban dwellers lived in rough ramshackle housing called tenements and crime was rampant. Eventually reforms were made and city life improved. Many city governments were dominated by organizations called Political Machines. The most famous was the Tammany Hall Political Machine, led by William "Boss" Tweed, that ran New York City politics during the 1800s. Political Machines offered help to poor immigrants, but they were also notoriously corrupt. Political Machines put up candidates for various offices and "encouraged" people to vote for them. In exchange for votes, poor city residents were given help by the local "boss" finding a job or a place to live. With their people in office, the machines could profit by doling out lucrative city contracts to whomever they chose. The machines of course would demand payment. A typical scenario was something like this. During the city election, the local machine wants their guy to be the city treasurer. Through various tactics, some not so legal, they get him elected. Once in office, the treasurer now takes orders from the political bosses. Say the city wants to build a new public library. When it comes time to choose a construction firm, the political machine tells the treasurer to award the contract to the ABC Construction Co. In return for the favor, the Construction company. pays members of the Machine a kickback, all the while charging the city treasury outrageous costs, such as $10 for each nail used. In Summary: During the late 1800s, Cities grew, that's called Urbanization Cities grew because of the availability of jobs & immigration Rapid industrialization did lead to urban problems City politics were dominated by the Political Machine The most famous machine was Tammany Hall in New York City, led by William “Boss” Tweed.