American Cities
(History 263)

Michael Ebner
Lake Forest College
Illinois, USA
Spring 1989

See also the Spring 2000 version of this syllabus. 

Professor Ebner's comments on teaching this course for 25 years in:
"Nurturing Romance Between Now and Then,"
Common-Place, The Interactive Journal of Early American Life 3:4 (July, 2003)
http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-04/school/

INTRODUCTION

We examine American cities in historical perspective, from the colonial era to the present day. Emphasis will be placed on matters physical, technological, social, economic, and political. Comparisons also will be drawn with cities of other nations. While rooted in the past, this course also lends itself to understanding contemporary cities.

FORMAT OF COURSE
We meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-10:20 AM in YH-511. Class sessions will combine lectures with discussions. READ THE ASSIGNMENT PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED SESSION.

Attendance is required. Students missing more than three sessions (except in circumstances of a legitimate nature) may be penalized a letter grade in their final average. This could imperil those on a borderline between grades.

Participation in discussion is encouraged. Sessions are designated on the course schedule. No grade is assigned for participation.

We shall take one Saturday field trip to Chicago, scheduled for April 15 (Saturday). Attendance is mandatory, so plan accordingly.

Written Exercise of various types will be the basis of evaluation. They are as follows:

  1. Book-Review (20%) due on February 21
  2. Mid-Term Examination (25%) March 9
  3. Research Project (25%) due on April 25
  4. Final Examination (30%) May 8
Penalties for late papers will be specified on the particular assignments. Make up dates for missed examinations will not be scheduled, except in instances when circumstances are extenua- ting.
ASSIGNED READINGS TO BE PURCHASED
  1. Howard P. Chudacoff & Judith E. Smith, The Evolution of Urban America, 3rd edition (Prentice Hall, 1987).
  2. Mark Goldman, High Hopes before the Fall: The Rise and Decline of Buffalo. New York (S.U.N.Y. Press, 1984).
  3. Gilbert Osofsky, Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto, Negro New York, 1890-1930, 2nd edition (Harper & Row, 1971).
  4. Friedrich Ratzel, Sketches of Urban and Cultural Life in North America, edited & translated by Stewart A. Stehlin (Rutgers Univ. Press, 1988). [This book originally appeared as Stadte- und Culturbilder aus Nordamerika (1876)].
  5. Daniel Schaffer, (Ed.) Two Centuries of American Planning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988).
"RESERVED" READINGS IN DONNELLEY LIBRARY
  1. Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker. Robert Moses and The Fall of New York City (Knopf, 1974), 1-21.
  2. Kenneth T. Jackson, "The Capital of Capitalism: The New York Metropolitan Region, 1890-1940," in Anthony Sutcliffe, (Ed.) Metropolis, 1890-1940 (Mansell, 1984), 319-54.

 -S Y L L A B U S-

Part 1 --- A FRAME FOR URBAN HISTORY

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

THE CITY IN HISTORY
  • Caro: 1-21 (reserve)
  • Schaffer: 1-10
THE CENTURY OF CITIES, 1800-1900
  • Schaffer: 11-39
DISCUSSION #1 [NYC as Symbol of Urban America]
  • Jackson article: (reserve)

Part 2 --- ORIGINS OF MODERN AMERICAN CITIES, 1507-1870

COLONIAL CITIES
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 1-37
CITIES IN THE NEW NATION
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 38- 46
  • Ratzel: xiii-xxix
URBANIZATION TAKING HOLD
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 46-75
  • Ratzel: 3-53
PRE-CIVIL WAR CITIES
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 76-80
  • Ratzel: 54-93
DISCUSSION #2 [Origins of American Urbanism]
  • Ratzel: 94-141
URBANIZATION & INDUSTRIALIZATION
  • Schaffer: 41-60
PHYSICAL CITY
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 80-108
  • Schaffer: 61-85
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 151-169
DISCUSSION #3 [The Industrial City]
  • Schaffer: 86-112

Part 3 --- THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN AMERICAN CITIES, 1870-1920

"GIANT MAGNET"
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 109-120
  • Ratzel: 145-178
INDUSTRIAL COLOSSUS
  • Goldman: 1-97
"TEEMING MASSES"
  • Goldman: 93-176
  • Ratzel: 179-195
AFRO-AMERICANS
  • Osofsky: xii-123
JACOB RIIS AS URBAN REFORMER
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 121-138
  • Osofsky: 127-149
BOSSES & REFORMERS
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 169-206
  • Schaffer: 113-37
DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
  • Ratzel: 196-293
LIBRARY ORIENTATION SESSION

Class meets today in Room # 27 of Donnelley Library, situated in the basement. Reference Librarian will conduct an instructional session that will be specifically devoted to your research assignment. ATTENDANCE MANDATORY.

DISCUSSION #4 [Prospects for Urban Reform]

Part 4: MODERN AMERICAN CITIES, 1920-1987

TOWARD THE PERIPHERY
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 207-226
  • Goldman: 177-223
FIELD STUDY: CHICAGO AS URBAN LABORATORY

We shall depart from the parking lot adjacent to Commons at 8:45 AM promptly, rain or shine. Tour will include visits to:
  1. Six-corners neighborhood on Northwest side of Chicago,
  2. the Bridgeport neighborhood of the Daley family,
  3. the site of the former Chicago stockyard district,
  4. the Prairie Avenue Historic District,
  5. a group luncheon in Chinatown,
  6. a walk along the Gold Coast on the near Northside, and
  7. a visit to The Chicago Historical Society. We shall return to campus no later than 5:00 PM. Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. Cameras encouraged. ATTENDANCE MANDATORY.

Bring along a friend! Guests are welcomed, they students at the College or not, to join us, subject to available seating on bus. If you wish to reserve a space, please discuss with me no later than April 13th.

TECHNOLOGY
  • Schaffer: 167-96
CITIES IN CRISIS: THE 1930's
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 226-256
  • Goldman: 224- 41
  • Osofsky: 150-201
LEWIS MUMFORD, ROBERT MOSES, & JANE JACOBS
  • Chudacoff/Smith: 260-283
  • Schaffer: 197-230 + 265-78
URBAN PASTS & URBAN POLICIES
  • Chudacoff\Smith: 283-308
  • Goldman: 242-296
  • Schaffer: 231-64
FINAL EXAMINATION