A shock city is the urban place that represents a massive and rapid changes in social, economic, and cultural life (urbanization) due to many factors, including new models of transportation such as railroads, industrialization, and other factors. The first city that was considered the “shock city” was actually Manchester, England. It grew very quickly, and it was the world’s first industrialized city and the home of the cotton industry, cottonopolis - a metropolis centered on cotton trading. Same as Manchester, Chicago was also the “shock city” of North America because of its rapid growth. Both cities were industrial cities, Chicago rose from a struggling village sunk in the middle of a grassland creek to a metropolis city. Between 1830 to …show more content…
The first city that was considered the “shock city” was actually Manchester, England. It grew very quickly, and it was the world’s first industrialized city and the home of the cotton industry, cottonopolis - a metropolis centered on cotton trading. Same as Manchester, Chicago was also the “shock city” of North America because of its rapid growth. Both cities were industrial cities, Chicago rose from a struggling village sunk in the middle of a grassland creek to a metropolis city. Between 1830 to 1880 (fifty years) the city’s population grew from five hundred thousands to three point four millions of populations. Many Northern businessmen stayed in Chicago and the city grew rapidly from only real estate speculation and the realization that the city had an advantageous position which is good for the transportation network, such as, railroads and lake traffic. With the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848, it allowed shipping from the Great lake to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico through Chicago. Within the same year, the first rail lane to Chicago, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was completed. By the 1850’s Chicago became the nation’s major transportation hub because of the construction of railroads and it has became the home for shipping companies which used the transportation lanes to ship all over the nations. Many factories were also created during that time, most famously the harvester factory created by McCormick. Because of the expansion of the railroads throughout the upper Midwest and east, the manufacturing and retail sectors grew rapidly and also it became the dominant Midwestern center for industrialization, such as manufacturing, commerce, and finance. And Chicago has also
Skyscrapers, elevators, mass transit or public transportation, and forms of mass culture such as amusement parks, department stores, newspapers, and state and national parks. Along with these new innovations and technology, the swift expansion of city population also brought poor housing and working conditions. City residents were living poor and unhealthy lives. However, thanks to muckrakers such as Jacob Riis, the public were able to see how many city residents were living. His exposure of the terrible conditions people in the city lived in sparked many others to work for change in the city.
The Second Industrial Revolution affected the North, South, West, and Midwest in several ways. New unions and laws were introduced. More issues regarding differences in culture and social classes arose. Economies developed greatly with efficient farming technologies and manufacturing industries. Populations had major changes with increased amounts of people in urban areas around cities, and increased amounts of immigrants.
This invention created a more efficient and reliable way of transporting goods along the Erie Canal which greatly benefited the economy and helped found New York City as one of the great trading centers. To increase trade even more, the United States enforced railroads across the nation giving the building blocks for the transcontinental railroad built in 1869. However with all of the booming industry strengthening the economy it also hurt it.
Additionally, due to the railroads being built all across America, new raw materials were able to be moved from city to city allowing for rapid industrial and manufacturing growth which America always was challenged of since its break from Britain. The industrial revolution following the Civil War also differed as agriculture began to become more valuable to a developing nation. For instance, whereas before farmers were isolated from one another and lived in separate homes, due to the reliance of the nation to use the profits derived from agriculture to get more money to buy manufacturing goods stimulating industry more farmers began to move to the cities changing their lives completely. Due to the decrease in the agricultural, scattered, and isolated communities in the Midwest, America was able to become a more compact economic, independent, and industrial powerhouse. For generations, America had relied on old-fashioned, traditional ways of creating
The history of both cities has had profound impacts on the social and economic development
I choose to defend the prompt of my choice in more detail. In the 1870's, as the Civil War receded into memory, the United States became a leading Industrial power. Advances in technology and new access to the immense resources of the North American continent drove American Industrialization. This industrialization brought the growth of new American cities such as Chicago, and the arrival of a flood of immigrants from all over Europe to man the factories. During the Gilded Age, businessmen reaped enormous profits from this new economy.
The Westward Expansion of the United States from 1860 to 1890 began with President Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of 828,800 square miles of land from France in 1803. The purchase, known as the Louisiana Purchase, provided an opportunity for the United States to expand its territories to cater for its growing population due to the influx of migrants from Europe and China. The Homestead Act of 1862, the California Gold Rush, the abolition of slavery, and the completion of the first railroad network in 1869 were key factors that contributed to the movement of people Westward (Carroll, 2008). Many factors contributed to the rapid expansion of the territories in the West, and the migration had immense impacts on the economic and social conditions
New England emerged as the leading manufacturing center as a result of the abundant waterpower the region held for driving new machinery and seaports for shipping goods. The decline of maritime and industry made capital available for manufacturing and the decrease of farming in the region brought ready labor supply. As the factory system expanded, it encouraged the growth of financial businesses such as banking and insurance. Transportation including roads and canals such as Pennsylvania 's Lancaster Turnpike and the Erie Canal stimulated economic growth. Another factor that impacted the region was Eli Whitney 's brilliant mechanical invention of interchangeable parts that became the basis for mass production methods in the new rising factories that were sprouting and
Firstly, during the years around the time of the American
Since transportation was easier and faster, people could live in the suburbs on the edge of towns. For example, queens outside New York doubled in size in the 1920s. By the end of the 1920s, more than 26 million cars were sold, and lots of new towns were created. Another advancement that is important is the development of trucks. In the beginning, trucks were old fashioned and had lots of flaws.
Even with economic turmoil elsewhere in the United States, Chicago’s economy flourished. The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 had a tremendous impact on American industrial and economic superpowers following the aforementioned
As industrialization swept through England and hit upon Manchester, the city experienced exponential growth as formerly rural workers flocked to the city to seek employment in the new factories. This brought significant growth of the city in terms of population, infrastructure, and economy. However, the expansion witnessed by Manchester was not without its issues. As a result of this period of heightened expansion, it may have been true that the economy and infrastructure grew, but what grew was of a poor nature, with the streets narrow and crowded, the buildings produced en masse, and the living conditions generally poor in terms of health, food, and at times, money. Furthermore, the city became greatly polluted, exacerbating issues of health.
After the Civil War, the United States (U.S.) started industrializing in the early nineteenth century, bringing revolutionary revisions to America’s society and its industries. The abundance of natural resources, new inventions, and continuously immigrating workers, along with the creation of the free enterprise system and a spur of railroads, enabled the country to industrialize successfully. Soon America’s small towns were transformed into large cities filled with factories. In the late 1800s, a period known as the Gilded Age came about, suggesting that America’s industrialization and urbanization had two facets. On the surface, the U.S. showcased golden success and prosperity, while the interior aspect began to unveil the unsettling realities
In response to Manifest Destiny, and westward expansion, agriculture became a major industry in the Midwest, South, and West. For the farmers, industrialization had
Paris is much more than a name or a point on a map. To me, Paris is nothing like the other big cities of the world; it is my home town, and the greatest part of my life. I lived in Paris, my parents lived in Paris, my grandparents lived in Paris, and all the way back up the paternal side of the familial roots. As such, I have chosen this city to describe using the five themes of geography. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, and one of the country 's leading industrial, commercial, transportation, and financial centers.