The Empire City begins with a quote from Horatio Alger, in which advice is given to a young ‘street urchin’. The chapter covers most of the Gilded Age in New York, which took place during the late nineteenth century. Retiano discusses Alger’s book: Ragged Dick which draws focus to how New York City during this time period was facing a great many changes and could be considered both a land of promise and hope and a land of danger and exploitation. The possibility of upward mobility emerged, when combined with the benefits of social Darwinism and laissez-faire capitalism. She label’s Alger’s book an optimistic take on the period as his character becomes an urban hero. She then claims Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets provides a pessimistic view of the same as his heroine could not overcome the demand of the changing city.
New York City was in the throws of the Industrial Revolution and was experiencing both its benefits and its drawbacks. The ‘Empire City’ dominated national finance, trade, and industry however it was wrought with poverty, political corruption, and exploitation. Mark Twain labeled the time period “the Gilded Age” as it focused on wealth and production at its surface but was filled with poverty and destitution within. “All that glittered was not gold” (p. 81). Those who were rich often stepped on the heads of others. Robber barons such as John D. Rockefeller, who dominated and monopolized the oil business, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, who did the same with the railroad, made New York the industrial powerhouse that it was through their social Darwinian tactics and upward growth. Competitors were taken over or steamrolled and organizations like Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust grew with little government control or regulation. The growth added to New York City’s power and appeal and by 1900 it housed two thirds of the American millionaires of the time.
This growth in power and status led to physical updates as well. The industrial revolution came with inventions, gas, electricity, better transportation, better communication, and a growing landscape. New York City icons such as the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge emerged. The five boroughs were combined and New York City became the largest city in America in 1898.
For a time, bosses such as Tweed and Tammany Hall dominated politics in New York City through corruption and exploitation. Eventually, evidence was gathered to take the Tweed organization down with the help of The New York Times. Once Tweed’s bookkeeping was made public in the Times, he attempted to escape punishment by fleeing to New Jersey and then to Spain, but he was eventually captured, and returned to New York. There, he wrote a confession that exposed many powerful corrupt officials, was imprisoned, and never pardoned. However, with Tweed’s loss of power came the 1871 Orange Riot (between Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants) occurred.
As previously stated, the Gilded Age, ignored or hid the poor from the public eye. However, writers brought attention to the poverty of the time. Charles Loring Brace’s novel: The Dangerous Classes of New York, as well as Jacob Riis’ writings in the New York Tribune and his book How the Other Half lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York were a few of many attempts to expose the inequality, suffering, and wide wealth gap due to social Darwinism. Many New Yorkers became actively “concerned about what the called ‘the Social Question’” (p. 89) and contributed some form of kindness to those in need. Reform was attempted when William L. Strong was elected as mayor by a new Committee of Seventy to remove Tammany from power. As reform was endeavored, controversies over children, public education, and segregation emerged. Other reform organizations were created by members of the upper- and middle- classes. A sort-of “Crusade against poverty” occurred.
Labor, too, was a cause of much contention during the Gilded Age in New York City. This is because, while there was a booming laissez- faire capitalist economy, the only ones who benefitted were the rich. “Modernization challenged assumptions about equality of opportunity, social mobility, hard work, individual initiative, fair plate and personal morality” (p. 95). Workers were exploited: often underpaid and overworked. To counteract this inequality, strikes were commonplace. However, participants were often struck down by police with little improvement being accomplished. Labor unions were started by men such as Samuel Gompers. Gompers headed the Cigarmakers’ Union in 1877 however the internal debates between skilled and unskilled, large factory and small shop workers, caused it to have little success. The Knights of Labor, the Central Labor Union, etc. all nevertheless tried to band together to counteract the control of big business. The Central Labor Union drew government and public attention to the poor labor conditions in 1886 by nominating reformer Henry George for mayor. While he didn’t win the office his popularity among voters, he drew more attention towards reform. Unions across the country in states such as New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, Florida, etc., began nominating labor reformers for political office.
In 1886 Samuel Gompers spearheaded “the creation of the most important labor organization in American History” (p. 102). This was the American Federation of Labor which focused on improving overall quality of employment (such as better pay, hours, conditions, and benefits). Labor unions were made up of people of all ages, as shown by the strikes among the young boys who sold newspapers.
The Gilded Age was a period of conflict between rich and poor, big business and small, corrupt politicians and reformers, social Darwinism and struggling classes. New York City grew to be great in name and power, but its lower class inhabitants suffered greatly, struggling with poverty and few worker/laborer rights. It was a time of abuse, corruption, and exploitation, as much industry, economic growth, and invention.
