Class 8 - New York City: from Fur Trading to Big Business

We'll begin our study of New York with a glance at its rich history, beginning with New Amsterdam, century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Learn about New Amsterdam in the following video:

Here is an excellent animation that shows the evolution of New York City from early to modern times:

The Gilded Age” is the term used to describe the dramatic years between the Civil War and the early 20th century. During this period, America became more prosperous and saw unprecedented growth in industry and technology. But there was a more sinister side: ambitious industrialists, bankers and politicians enjoyed extraordinary wealth and opulence at the expense of the working class. New York City was at the forefront of the country's movement toward industrialization and globalization. Learn more about the Gilded Age in the video below:

Mark Twain coined the term "gilded age" to describe what he saw as a time of rampant greed and hypocrisy:

"The golden gleam of the gilded surface hides the cheapness of the metal underneath."

Caroline Astor, aka Mrs. Astor, ruled New York's high society for many years. You probably know her story from the very popular HBO series, The Gilded Age. Click below to learn about the "real" Mrs. Astor:

"It was the old New York way...the way of people who dreaded scandal more than disease, who placed decency above courage, and who considered that nothing was more ill-bred than "scenes," except those who gave rise to them.."

― Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence

Unlike the Astors (old money), the Vanderbilts were new money (the nouveau-riche) . Much as the Astors disliked them, they were the wave of the future. See below (note: their mansions reflected the bounty of not old money, but new, made not from furs but from railroads):

New York's Central Park was created in 1857. It was the first landscaped park in the United States. Below is an article about how it came to be:

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from the people of France. Click on the image below to learn more about the history of this famous statue:

Walt Whitman, American poet, wrote some lines about New York in his famous work, Leaves of Grass. This section is entitled Mannhattana. It is an ode to the city as it appeared to the poet in 1888: