Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 1931
- 2 Life, Death, and Learning in the Cities
- 3 Toward a New Economy, 1890 to 1930
- 4 State Crafting – American Style
- 5 Confronting the World
- 6 Winners and Losers, 1890 to 1930
- 7 New Deal Experiments
- 8 Fighting On God’s Side
- 9 The New Aristocracy, 1946 to 1969
- 10 The Suburban Conquest of the 1960s
- 11 Empire in the American Century
- 12 The Tattered Empire of the 1970s
- 13 The Cracked Core
- 14 The American Solution, 1981 to 2001
- 15 Conservatism: Rhetoric and Realities, 1981 to 2001
- 16 The Hegemony Trap
- 17 The American Dream, 1981 to 2001
- 18 The Creative Society in Danger
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- References
2 - Life, Death, and Learning in the Cities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 1931
- 2 Life, Death, and Learning in the Cities
- 3 Toward a New Economy, 1890 to 1930
- 4 State Crafting – American Style
- 5 Confronting the World
- 6 Winners and Losers, 1890 to 1930
- 7 New Deal Experiments
- 8 Fighting On God’s Side
- 9 The New Aristocracy, 1946 to 1969
- 10 The Suburban Conquest of the 1960s
- 11 Empire in the American Century
- 12 The Tattered Empire of the 1970s
- 13 The Cracked Core
- 14 The American Solution, 1981 to 2001
- 15 Conservatism: Rhetoric and Realities, 1981 to 2001
- 16 The Hegemony Trap
- 17 The American Dream, 1981 to 2001
- 18 The Creative Society in Danger
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- References
Summary
In the 1890s, it wasn't easy to figure out how to improve conditions for all of those Americans squeezing into the nation's rapidly growing cities. The census classified Fostoria, Ohio, as an urban community, but it was just a small town and it wasn't really growing between 1890 and 1930. In Ohio, Cincinnati was the largest city in 1890 and it was half again as large four decades later. Toledo and the state capital of Columbus more than doubled their populations in the same years, and the state's metropolis, Cleveland, had swollen to 900,000.
Among the cities of the Midwest, Cleveland's growth was impressive, but Chicago was clearly the leader and the region's major transportation hub. It had shot past Philadelphia by 1930 and was the only American city other than New York with a population of more than three million. Chicago's almost unbelievable expansion and its diverse population inspired poets and historians, sociologists and novelists for many years. They’ve given us superb portraits of the city's spirit, accomplishments, and growing pains.
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- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011