Urbanization In The Gilded Age Essay

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The definition of urbanization is “the process of making an area more urban.” Perhaps the idea of New York City or Chicago comes to mind when thinking of the word, but the turmoil dragging along behind the movement of immigrants and migrants into cities such as those were viciously overwhelming during the late 19th century – otherwise known as the Gilded Age. Although the United States seemed prosperous toward the outside world, the reality of it was that, because of the urbanization of cities to suffice for the labor needed to run factories, it was disgustingly overcrowded. ("The Rise of the City | Boundless US History") There were deadly diseases, extreme poverty, and other grungy issues going along with the glory of a growing economy. Despite …show more content…
In fact, the overcrowding was a cause of people using former middle-class homes to split up into several different rooms, or “rookeries.” ("The Rise of the City | Boundless US History") These buildings were liable to house fires, which happened rather often in the cities. For example, in October of 1871, a massive fire broke out in the slums of Chicago; one of many thus far in the time period. This fire, however, took the lives of up to 300 people. ("Illinois in the Gilded Age: The Chicago Fire | Illinois During the Gilded Age") Alongside the constant threat of fires breaking out, there was also disease among the endeavors that the immigrants and other laborers had to endure. Particularly, New York underwent extreme contamination from diseases such as smallpox, typhoid, malaria, yellow fever, and tuberculosis. The outbreak of these diseases arose from the unruly sewer system in the city and the unkempt maintenance of the homes that the population resided in. The epidemic of disease had become so threatening that families in poverty tended to have a multitude of children, simply because that meant that some would survive into adulthood. ("Not
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