2. Between 1870 and 1914, the United States, which had always been a nation of immigrants, took in the largest number of newcomers in its history. Over 23 million foreigners arrived, most steaming past the welcoming torch of the Statue of Liberty before fanning out across the continent in search of jobs and relatives or neighbors who had preceded them. The saga of the immigrant is so tied to American mythology that it is easy to forget that the United States was not the only destination of Europe's wandering peoples.
3. In the half-century from 1870 to 1920, the United States was transformed from an agrarian society into an urban one. The mechanization of agriculture, the creation of a national transportation system, and the growth of industry laid the foundation for big cities; the arrival of millions of immigrants provided much of their population. Although many immigrants came from small farms and villages, increasingly they settled in the city, where they clustered in ethnic neighborhoods and where factories, construction work, and shop keeping provided jobs.
4. The key to the city's success was its leaders' ability to envision the future path of the national economy and develop strategies to use New York's advantages to ensure it was in a position to dominate that economy. The two most important examples of this were the city's decision to build the Erie Canal, which positioned New York to control the exports of the U.S. hinterland to Europe; and its "triangle trade," which allowed New York's commercial interests to control the cotton trade between the South and England. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the discovery of electricity and the invention of the telephone, motion pictures, wireless radio and television solidified New York's economic hegemony.
5. One of New York's most remarkable qualities has been its ability to capture economic gains from commercial developments that began in other regions. For example, steel (Pittsburgh), automobiles (Detroit), motion pictures (Los Angeles) and oil (Houston) all created bases for potential regional challenges to the Big Apple. But in all four cases, New York ended up co-opting or controlling its rivals. One indicator of this achievement is that all three of New York's great philanthropic foundations--the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corp.--were created with money from fortunes made outside New York.
6. The origins of Five Points began around 1802 with a landfill that covered a foul pit of chemical and animal waste. In the 1700's lower Manhattan contained a large lake filled with an abundance of fish and surrounded by wild marsh lands teaming with birds and other wildlife. The lake became known as the Collect Pond and was very popular with fishermen and local residents who would picnic along the shores in the summer and skate on the ice in winter. It was a lovely place until the tanneries, breweries, and slaughterhouses moved in and caused massive pollution and contamination of the lake's water. In 1802 the city's Street Commissioner recommended that the Collect be drained and filled in due to the stench and health problems caused by the pollution.
7. The gangs were repaid by the political parties or governmental authorities with offers of choice jobs, money or by allowing the gangsters to run their vices without harassment from the police. The gangs were mainly territorial, ethnic based and centered around two areas of the Five Points: the heart of the Five Points and the Bowery. The gangs with headquarters in the heart of Five Points were the Forty Thieves, Kerryonians, Shirt Tails, Plug Uglies, Roach Guards and Dead Rabbits and were Irish. Some of the gangs identified themselves with special clothes or colors. The Roach Guards wore blue striped pantaloons, the Plug Uglies sported enormous plug hats, and the Dead Rabbits wore red stripes. The gangs sometimes fought each other and sometimes banded together to fight with the Bowery Boys or the American Guards (native born).
8. 1800 -- The City's population grows to 60,515 residents, including 3,333 free blacks and 2,534 slaves. 1801 -- The New York Post is founded by Alexander Hamilton, both as instrument to push the Federalist agenda and to make his theories regarding banking and money more known to the public.1802 -- Also in 1802, a considerable uptown estate is completed for Alexander Hamilton by John McComb Jr., the same architect who design 1816 -- The Village of Brooklyn is incorporated, but has to wait until 1834 to its City Charter. Its application was opposed by Manhattan, which favored a municipal union under its own leadership. 1817 -- The Brooklyn brothers, James and John Harper start a printing firm using high-speed roller presses. It is destined to become the largest printing establishment in the United States Hall.
9. 1865 -- The Civil war ends on April 9, and New York City bursts out in celebrations punctuated by cannon fire. When within a week the surprising news of of President Lincoln's assassination reaches the City, it plunges into mourning. President Lincoln's funeral cortege arrives in April 24, and about half a million mourners lined the City's to gape and show their sorrow 1867 -- Prospect Park opens in Brooklyn, after a long delay caused by the Civil War. Also designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, this 526-acre park is brought to completion in just 10 years. Also in this year, the first cable-car line on elevated steel girders is demonstrated by Charles T. Harvey. It makes a quarter of a mile run along Greenwich Street. 1869 -- On Black Friday, September 24, the stock market collapses, and businesses fold one after another, and myriads of individuals are ruined as the country enters a severe depression. The event was apparently spurred by a group of speculators headed by robber barons Jay Gould and James Fisk, when they tried to enlist the support of Federal officials in an attempt to corner the gold market. Also in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History opens its doors to the public. At first housed in the arsenal in Central Park, it moves to its present location on Central Park West and 79th Street in 1877. One of the largest of its kind in the world, the American Museum contains in its buildings and exhibits some 30 million artifacts and items, as well as the Hayden Planetarium with a magnificent laser-beam caster...
10. At the beginning of the 20th century, New York announced the construction of the world's tallest building, the Woolworth Building. It was erected between 1909-1913 by the architect Cass Gilbert for Frank Winfield Woolworth, who founded the 5-and-10-Cent-Store chain. In all, the building cost $13.5 million, which Woolworth paid in cash. The 241m technological monument, containing 60 stories and 28 high-speed-elevators, remained the tallest building until 1930, when the Empire State Building was erected. One other noted museum is the Museum of Modern Art, which displays, in contrast to the Metropolitan Museum, paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architectural models and plans, design objects, films and videotapes of the 20th century. The Museum is equipped with two cinemas and a garden decorated with modern sculptures.
11. As millions of tourists crowd into New York each year, they particularly look forward to spending their assets. NEW YORK CITY is known for many things — finance, fashion, tall buildings, high rents, yellow cabs, the Yankees and the Mets — but automobile manufacturing never seems to make anyone’s list of the city’s highlights. Yet, from the start of the 20th century until well into the 1930’s, more than 50 makes of cars were built in and around New York.
