The development of some of the first and largest North American cities was due to British colonization. They settled cities that were on the coast and near good resources because that was easiest for them. After the American Revolution, cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston became the center of the new American world. This was because they were the most developed once the British left, and they were in optimal locations to continue to expand. This is when the cycle of urbanization and suburbanization started. People flocked to cities because they believed there was better opportunity there. Then, once the cities became crowded and unsanitary, people left to suburban areas in order to escape the city life. They were still able to travel to the city for work due to advancements in technology. Cars, trains, and other modes of mass transportation were the main push behind suburbanization. Cities became crowded not only due to population growth, but due to immigration. Soon, the only option was to push Westward because the cities in the East became too crowded. Once the second wave of migration started, people in the cities became frustrated with the immigrants. They believed that the immigrants were stealing their jobs because they would work worse jobs for less money. This caused a panic and the government even went so far as to make laws regulating immigration to the United States. These exclusion laws in 1921 and 1924 were similar to immigration laws in other countries. One such country is Australia. After British colonization, the Australian government created a “White Australia” policy. This policy excluded non-white immigrants from entering the country. The main way of excluding immigrants, was through a diction test. The test came in many different languages and was given until the unwanted immigrant failed. The United States did not get this extreme in excluding immigrants, and eventually came to accept the roles immigrants played in developing the cities. Now, cities are a conglomerate of people from many different countries. This is crucial to the cultural development of this country, because this time period is the start of the United States we know today.

Discussion questions: What started the rumors of the American dream? How would American culture and development be effected without the influences from immigrants?