Notes

American cities in the North grew significantly in size between 1830 and 1860. One of the first factors for increased growth within cities in the north was The Market Revolution. This revolution essentially transformed the north into what we would now call a modernized society. This was done through creating interconnections between cities, connecting it's populous, as well as modernizing with factories and railroads, collectively boosting the economy (Pg. 213). These newly found modernizations contributed to an increased amount of industrialism, as well as developing a more urban way of life. The immigrant population impacted the growth of northern American cities significantly due to the large wave of immigrants coming to the United States between 1830 and 1860 (Pg. 214). The majority of the immigrant population was originally from Europe, with two main countries making up most of the immigration that took place, Germany and Ireland, and even accounted for more than twenty percent of the American population in the north. Those who immigrated to the north within the United States had come in groups, and had specific neighborhoods populated with immigrants from their country of origin, seeking what we now know as the American dream (Pg. 213). Despite a minority of American's living within city limits, many different cultures mixed that normally would not, being rich or poor, black or white, immigrant or not, this socialization and new way of life within a city, was becoming more and more common in the north. Combining all of these cultures to reside in one city, obviously resulted in major growth for each cities population, despite the majority of American's living as farmers (Pg. 213). Creating this new form of social life in the north, and mixing cultures and groups of people that wouldn't normally interact, helped develop these cities through what we now know as, urbanization. Not all of the north was living within city limits, but still spent time their being a consumer, as well as still continuing their work in the countryside as farmers, while still balancing their newfound social communities. Once these cities continued to develop, and were somewhat established, the growth increased significantly. The rate at which these cities were growing is astounding, with seven cities in the north in 1860 having over one hundred thousand citizens, while in 1830 there was only one city with at least one hundred thousand people, New York City. To further explain the significant amount of growth cities were going through in the north, in 1830 New York City had a population of 200,000, and by 1860, it had grown to over 814,000. Not only did larger cities more than double in population, but other smaller towns were established in the north and had almost one hundred towns with at least 10,000 citizens. Due to the Market Revolution cities became incredibly important, housing many businesses and jobs.