New York City Society: 1780-1860

There is little doubt that by the time the Civil War was boiling up on the political and cultural landscape, America was a vastly different nation than it had been at its inception even just one hundred years before. One place particularly marked by dramatic changes in society was New York City where changes to the city's society - including its status, commerce, technological developments, financial development, immigration, religion, race, and class structure -- throughout the time period of 1780 to 1860 influenced its political and economic situation by 1860.

In 1780, the United States was a hugely vast continent. Even though the country itself contained just 890,000 square miles, most of which hugged the coastline, it was still more than six times the size of England and Wales. About 95 percent of America's population in general lived in rural areas, but New York City with its population of 33,131 was second only to the urban center of Philadelphia, which had a population of 44,096. Though New York City suffered two fires during the British occupation that destroyed a large part of the city, it did not destroy the city's draw to become a political center for the fledgling nation. On December 23, 1784, New York City became the new nation's first capital city. Though this honor lasted only until 1790, it was at Federal Hall in New York City that George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States on April 30

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y served as commercial leaders throughout the period. For thirty years, the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, which was the mouthpiece for the merchants, had a Yankee president, except for one eight-month period. The influence of New Englanders was so prominent that they formed the New England Society of New York City and held dinners where they would toast each other's accomplishments. At one such dinner in 1831 the toasts included those such as "'New England habits--industry, enterprise and shrewdness,' �The rich and precious cargo of the Mayflower --Yankee capital--the real wealth of nations,' and �The universal Yankee nation!'" Between the entrepreneurial influx of New Englanders and Europeans and the construction of the canals, New York City experienced a booming economy in the early 1830s. Much of the prosperity was built on speculation, however, with the Federal government even encouraging such business by selling millions of acres in public lands in western states like Michigan and Missouri, mostly to speculators, who bought and resold land in hopes of turning a large profit once the canals, railroads and turnpikes were developed. During this time of prosperity, the U.S. Treasury had developed a budget s

Category: History - N