In Alger’s novel, Ragged Dick, he shows his view of New York, which is that people are able to shine above from little. Alger’s book showed that it was possible to break barriers, and to rise, supporting the rag-to-riches myth. Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Street shows the other side of this. In his novel, the character of Maggie, who he describes as capable of rising above if given the chance, is unable to do so due to circumstances and is dragged to prostitution, despair and death.
New York during the time the novels took place was known as “Empire City”, the nation’s largest and grandest metropolis. It was a master of finance, trade, and industry. It was also an attraction for many immigrants, and served as an economic market for the world. However, New York was also very corrupt. Many people tried to bring order to the “distended society” but mostly in vain. According to Hewitt, a respectable mayor, the city was imperialistically destined to succeed naturally; it only depended on its inhabitants whether they allowed it or not. Hewitt’s opponent, Henry George was less emphatic than Hewitt. He thought that with the increasing wealth, there was a struggle of the deepest poverty, struggle for existence, and idleness. He warned that if the problems were not addressed then there would soon be people on the streets and under such circumstances, progress is not real.
Mark Twain coined this time the “Gilded Age”, a time where greed was the token of realm but everything that shined was not gold. He also wrote a story that questioned the standing idea of the time that the rich were deserving and that the poor were undeserving and inferior. The social contract at the time was defined in means of survival of the fittest and material wealth, with many supporting Social Darwinism.
Economically, the city made many accomplishments. However, most of the methods used to create huge dominating businesses were unpleasant, with owners being called “robber barons”. Robber barons of the time include Rockefeller (oil), Vanderbilt (railroads), and Carnegie (steel), among others. With many of these robber barons establishing their businesses on Wall St, Wall St. became the home for new wealthy businesses. Rockefeller stood as an example of the rag to riches myth. He believed in Social Darwinism and thought that it was normal to eliminate competitors.
Rockefeller’s competition endangered so many businesses that people and the government began to reassess the social contract and government regulation. They began to put regulations on these trusts. Initial regulations were weak and trusts continued to grow, specifically in NY. In 1892, in fact, 1/3 of millionaire’s lived in NY. Economically, NY was so strong that it was called “the center around which other regional metropolises orbited, the great organizer of American commerce.”
With economic progress, the city also progressed physically with gas, electricity, railroads, mansions, and bridges. The majestic Brooklyn Bridge was an example of the progress and served as an urban symbol. Another great icon of the time was the statue of liberty, which of course became America’s symbol of freedom. The growth of the city however, did not come without corruption. In fact, with the Tweed Ring incident, it earned the title as “the worst governed city in the world.”
William Tweed emerged as a powerful man in the Gilded Ade, who provided a functioning, but corrupt, political system to the City. He had served various elected and appointed positions and because of his connections (and access to bribes and gifts), he was able to dominate the Democratic party and Tammany Hall. He represented the City’s shift from only patrician politicians to one open to middle class men. While he promoted democracy, he was also very corrupt. He had friendly judges naturalize new immigrants for votes, have people vote under different names, and have gangs sent out for opposition voters. However, even though he was corrupt, Tweed did have pro-city bills passed. He secured allocations for schools, public baths, hospital and many other things. He also made a lot of money through his empire, and his extravagance sometimes offended New Yorkers.
Eventually, due to corruption, a movement began within Tammany and soon enough violence erupted on the streets.With the Orange Riot of 1871, in which Nativist attitudes of the 40’s and 50’s resurfaced specifically between the Catholic Irish and Irish Protestants, Tweed was no longer in control. This occurred because of Tweed’s failure to keep his Irish Catholic supporters. A year later, before an anti Irish Catholic parade of the Irish protestants, Tammany feared that a riot would break out. He therefore tried to stop the parade but in vain. The parade carried out with 1500 policemen on all side of the Protestants. Irish Catholics proceeded to throw stones and bottles at the marchers. Soon enough, the soldiers (mostly Catholic) began to fire. Bloodshed ensued and many casualties were taken. It was called the Tammany riots. Tweed’s corruption was finally proven when Tammany Ring’s bookkeeper passed away and the new bookkeeper gave Tweed’s the accounts to New York Times.
Eventually Tweed was arrested for all his actions and sent to jail where he stayed till death. Tweed showed to Americans that the powerful men of the Gilded Age were mostly all corrupt and that greed could negatively affect democracy.
The Gilded Age, although a victim of corruption, was not only a time of greed and disinterest in human suffering. Many were concerned of the “Social Question” and opted to help the poor. Even well-to-do influential New Yorkers decided to help. One of the main people who played a role in the urban problems was Jacob Riis. He was a journalist who took graphic photographs of the suffering he saw in the Five Points. Asking New York, “What are you going to do about it?”. Many different reforms began to take place as a result of Riis’s urging. In 1901, NY became the first city to require schooling for children under 12.
Riis also spoke against the evil of color causing Blacks to stand up for themselves. They fought against segregated schooling and won in 1900, when Roosevelt signed a desegregating school law for the state. During this time the upper classes were also learning about the urban problems. Lee Lowell serves as a perfect example of this. She was a woman from an upper class family who dedicated her life to charity and helping others. She advocated for a living wage, joined the Social Reform Club, and helped Riis in a children aid program among other things. She also served as the president of the New York Consumer League, which helped middle and upper class women boycott stores that exploited female workers.
Settlement Houses also came through and were supported by mostly upper and middle class men. Organizations such as the Salvation Army and the Ethical Culture Society also emerged. Due to the generosity of the rich, the City soon earned the name the “most charitable city in the world”. Riis called this time “the awakening”.
Through the Gilded Age people learned that they cannot only rely on themselves, but also had to rely on each other. This marked the transition from individual action to collective action. New York began to form labor unions. They stood behind the idea that no one would help them if they didn’t help themselves.On January, 1874, they formed a mass meeting from Tomspkins Square Park. Police withdrew permission of the rally at the last minute, and 1600 of them peppered the rally. The event turned violent with the police attacking the people rallying. Some people praised the police for saving NY from the riot, while many others were upset with police brutality. Three years later, police brutality appeared again when people planned for a national railroad strike. Henry Ward Beecher, also known as Brooklyn’s preacher, spoke harshly of activists seeking better pay. He said that people should be certainly given enough to live, but that a dollar a day was enough.
During this time, Samuel Gompers emerged as the nation’s leading labor organizer after playing part in the cigar makers’ strike. He believed that strikes were crucial for self advancement. He also believed that only coordinated protest and organization by workers themselves would be effective.
Labor activism began to surge, with 1200 strikes in NY city alone in 1886. Activists fought to reduce long shifts specifically. Central Labor Union was one of the large union leagues that formed. They organized walks and blocked roads and also participated in boycotts. The state responded with orders to arrest leaders and rioters on the basis of “conspiracy against trade”. Employers also called on police to help them against rioters.
CLU then turned to politic with Henry George as their candidate for mayor. George spoke for a better government, social justice and the abolition of industrial slavery. Tammany and the Democrats in turn supported Abram Hewitt. Through Tammany’s manipulation of the polls, Hewitt ended up winning. However, George was deeply respected for his campaign in and out of the US. Also after the election, more labor candidates entered politics, running for various offices. There were so many of them, that soon enough Tammany shifted to being pro-labor and reaching out to labor.
However, the labor’s successes were brief, as Gompers had once predicted that they would be due to the divisions between the people fighting for its control. Gompers was determined to separate the unions from politics. He began the American Federation of Labor, also known as the most important labor organization in American history.
Due to increased child labor in the late 19th century, newsboys began to speak up for themselves. In 1899, they met at City Hall Park and called a strike. While their organization did not last, the boys were successful for four major reasons. These reasons were that they were able to cooperate due to an established community, the gained sympathy of adults, they were able to spread to the city, and lastly because they had newspapers covering them. Riis had always supported betterment for children as he knew that they would be the adults of the future.
