Rise of Mass Society Essays

Rise of Mass Society Essays Rise of Mass Society Essay Rise of Mass Society Essay Rise of Mass Society Mass society arose in the Gilded Age in many ways. People moved back to the cities for many reasons. Farmers were forced to relocate because of the production of heavy machinery, the educational, medical care, and just sheer leisure that the city could offer. With the additional people who had moved into the city also came concern for sanitation. The population of New York City doubling each decade it created for an unsanitary condition as the infrastructure was not adequate to sustain the amount of people living in the cities. By the end of the 19th century the population had gotten to four million. Such extraordinary human overcrowding shared with a simple infrastructure made for the best conditions for an intense rise in widespread disease. Mosquito and tick borne diseases like malaria along with cholera, typhoid, typhus, and yellow fever festered. The citys death rate increase rapidly, and children died in great amounts. The city seemed to be coming apart. New York Citys substructure was dependent on horses. Between 100,000 and 200,000 horses was living in the city at any time (2008). Each horse gave off 24 pounds of feces and many quarts of urine daily. Even with the presence of animals, the city had no efficient street-cleaning techniques. Horse carcasses presented additional problems with the street cleaning, as the carcass can weigh as much as 1,200 pounds, much heavier than any person can lift and move (2008). When a horse did die it would have been left to rot then moved when it was manageable. With the invention of the electric and trolley cars the need for horse drawn transportation lessened. Eventually the horse would not be wanted within the city as a mode of transportation as the cable car and the electric trolley cars entered the city. The advantages assured by automobile supporters appeared to be realized. Streets were cleaner, pollution from manure and the diseases created were diminished, goods were moved economically and proficiently, and movement of people from crowded cities to suburbs was faster by the automobile. Actions seemed to validate the benefits of the automobile over the horse. Railroads during the Gilded Age was one of, if not, the most important discovery during the time because of its ability to transport people and their belongings to many places of the country where it would have taken days or weeks to travel with previous means of transportation. Railroads promoted economic growth towards civilization because trading within the country was more accessible than ever before and new businesses were created because of the creation. Railroads unlike horses during the time couldn’t travel at a high speeds for a long time without or little stopping. In 1862 the Pacific Railroad Act was established to help create the transcontinental railroad by authorizing grants and loans to companies who were involved in the making of the railroad. The transcontinental railroad was a combination of two railroad companies working together, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific. Millions of immigrants were accountable for most of the labor in the making of the transcontinental railroad. Most of the immigrants were of Irish and Chinese background. The transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. The immigrants who helped created the railroads settled in the West because of the new industries being established in the West and all the opportunities the West presented itself. The transcontinental railroads expanded the population of the country instantly due to the discoveries towards the West. The railroads opened up many opportunities for people to start businesses and eventually created new industries. The railroads allowed the overcrowding of the East, due to the large amounts of immigrants, to minimize because of people moving towards the West in search for gold and better land for agriculture and ranching. The railroads provided jobs for many new settlers and immigrants in the West from the creation of the railroad itself, to the many jobs created because of the railroads. Since many people moved towards the West because of the new creation of the railroads, new towns formed into cities as the population of the West grew exponentially. With the farmers from the Great Plains and immigrants moving into the city there was a need for leisure time. The farmers had more time on their hands with the inventions of machinery for farming, they looked for things to do. Trains would bring spectators to watch the games several times a week. This was the beginning of the sport we call baseball. Post-civil war was an unsure time for everyone because of the change. Whether it was rebuilding their houses, towns or being equal with African Americans. Baseball was something that brought everyone together and made them forget about everything, it helped people enjoy themselves whether they were watching or playing themselves. It didn’t matter if one was white, black or purple it was part of their life. Baseball soon became known as Americas favorite past time for these reasons. At first baseball was segregated, as everything else was, there was even a Negro league. In 1888, the segregation ended and African Americans were allowed to play with whites. Some star players such as Cap Anderson refused to play with blacks. Even though the segregation had ended, blacks were still discriminated for over 60 years until Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers. The cultural phenomena during the Gilded Age developed in many ways. Farmers were forced to relocate into the cities due to not being able to expand their farms or from machinery. Immigrants moved into the large cities in order to obtain work. The city’s infrastructure was not adequate to sustain such a large population of people and horses alike. Many people died due to the unsanitary conditions of the city. Railroads assisted with migrating west, eliminating contaminate within the city, as well as transportation to spectator sports such as baseball.