NEW YORK TEACHER'S GUIDE - A DOCUMENTARY FILM - PBS
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TEACHER’S GUIDE NEW YORK A DOCUMENTARY FILM Directed by RIC BURNS Funding for this teacher’s guide was provided by FORD FOUNDATION
A Acknowledgments Letter from Ric Burns
This guide was produced by Dear Teacher,
I vividly remember the first moment I realized I had to live in New York. It was in the
summer of 1974. I was nineteen years old, riding down Fifth Avenue on the Number
4 bus, when it occurred to me that people from Michigan (where I grew up) could
Educational live here. This simple thought sent an electrical current surging through my body so
Resources Center
strong that it made my heart pound as hard as it is possible to pound without having
Ruth Ann Burns, Director
a heart attack. I've lived here ever since.
Publisher: Robert A. Miller
Editor: David Reisman, Ed.D. There really is no place in the world quite like New York. For generations, its dark
Design: B.T. Whitehill, Daniel Rhati-
gan, Adam Helfet-Hilliker beauty and inimitable power have stirred men and women to the depths of their
Writers: Jordan Brown, Allan L. souls, seeming the very embodiment of all ambition, all aspiration, all romance, all
Damon, Eric Rothschild, Anne
Marie Santoro, Gloria L. Sesso desire. The very names of New York's streets and districts have been woven into our
Photo Editor: Christina L. Draper collective imagination, until they have become shorthand for the whole range of
Copy Editor and Proofreader:
Sue Young Wilson human experience. Broadway and Times Square. Wall Street. Madison Avenue. Fifth
Research: Kimberly Yuen, Michael Avenue. Park Avenue. Harlem. Grand Central Station.
Weinraub
Advisers New York confronts us with the most basic questions. What forces converged to make
Robert M. Dytell, President,
Association of Teachers of Social such a city possible? What does it tell us about ourselves as a people? Is there any
Studies/UFT way of explaining something so dense, complex, incomprehensibly vast, multiple
Steve Rivo, Steeplechase Films
and overpowering?
Constantine Theodosiou, Social
Studies Teacher, Beach Channel For seven years, I've been working on NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM, struggling
High School, New York
Grady Turner, Director of Exhibitions,
with my production team to create a single narrative out of the nearly four hundred
The New-York Historical Society years, four hundred square miles, and millions and millions of people that collectively
Special thanks to the New-York constitute the polyglot, complex history that is New York. I've never been more chal-
Historical Society
lenged or obsessed by a subject in my life.
NEW YORK:
A DOCUMENTARY FILM More than any other place in America, New York is the city Americans love to love,
Directed by Ric Burns
is a special presentation of and love to hate — the King Kong of cities, the city that has inspired greater ambiva-
lence than any other city in America. Yet, for almost 400 years, New York has been the
cauldron of capitalism and democracy in America, and the supreme laboratory of
A Steeplechase Films production in modern life, where the most crucial American experiment of modern times continues
association with WGBH Boston, to unfold — the exhilarating, often harrowing experiment to see if all the peoples of
Thirteen/WNET New York, and
the New-York Historical Society. the world can live together in a single place.
Director: Ric Burns
Producers: Lisa Ades and I hope that this guide is useful in provoking thoughtful debate in your classrooms
Ric Burns
Writers: Ric Burns and
about the themes, stories and lessons included in our series, about your own city or
James Sanders town, about the importance of cities in general, and perhaps most crucially, about
Funding for this teacher’s guide was
the nature of America itself.
provided by
Major funding for NEW YORK:
A DOCUMENTARY FILM was
provided by: Ric Burns
The Chase ManhattanCorporation Director
Ordering Information
National Endowment for the
Humanities Five two-hour videocassettes for NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM
are available through PBS Home Video, 1-800-PLAY-PBS. The com-
panion book to the series, NEW YORK: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY,
by Ric Burns and James Sanders with Lisa Ades, is published by Cover photos, clockwise from upper left:
COURTESY OF NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY
PBS/Corporation for Public Knopf, a division of Random House, and is available for $60 wherever FILM, © CORBIS IMAGES, COURTESY OF
Broadcasting books are sold. NEW YORK, the series’s original soundtrack com- STEEPLECHASE FILMS, COURTESY OF NEW
YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM, © NATIONAL
posed and arranged by Brian Keane, is available on RCA Victor for ARCHIVES — NT-959A-3, MUSEUM OF THE
Ford Foundation $18.98 at stores nationwide. CITY OF NEW YORK
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations This Page, background photo: © CORBIS IMAGES
Copyright © 1999 Thirteen/WNET New YorkIntroduction I
New York: trade, finance, and culture, tions, and fun, explorable
A Documentary Film and a source of ideas that environments. Lesson plans
Directed by Ric Burns have shaped our country. It for teachers and guidelines
illuminates little-known for parents are included.
facets of American history,
To take a virtual tour of
and provides perspective on
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
“hidden” New York, to play a
social, political, economic,
New York trivia game, or learn
and cultural trends in our
more about the six episodes
nation today.
and the making of the series,
visit the NEW YORK series
HOW TO USE
Web site. Both Web sites are at
THIS GUIDE
www.thirteen.org/newyork/
COURTESY OF NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM
This guide is intended to help or www.pbs.org/newyork/
you use NEW YORK: A DOCU-
MENTARY FILM as a supple- BROADCAST
ment to junior-high and high- INFORMATION
school social-studies courses.
The first five episodes of NEW
Selected activities may also be
YORK will be broadcast on
used in language arts, music,
TEACHER’S PAGES the following dates on PBS
and art classes.
The teacher’s information (check local listings):
THEMES pages provide scene lists for Episode One, The Country
the first five episodes of NEW and the City (1609 –1825)
Key themes in this guide
YORK — tables of contents Sunday, November 14, 1999
include governance, public
for each two-hour film — to
N
ew York is one of the health and other reforms, Episode Two, Order and
help you determine which
most exciting cities in culture and public policy, Disorder (1825 –1865)
segments of the programs to
the world. It’s a cen- immigration and race, eco- Monday, November 15, 1999
use in class. (A scene list for
ter of economic and cultural nomic life, and the role of
Episode Six was not available Episode Three, Sunshine and
life, attracting people from women in New York City’s
at press time.) Vocabulary Shadow (1865 –1898)
around the globe. New York is history. The guide is intended
words, brief descriptions of Tuesday, November 16, 1999
where ambitious people to help students consider
prominent people and places,
come to test themselves, crucial questions related Episode Four, The Power and
and resources for each pro-
where those who feel different to these themes, and to the People (1898 –1914)
gram (books and Web sites)
can find a sense of belonging. help them use what they’ve Wednesday, November 17,
are also included. General-
Some of its buildings and learned about the history of 1999
interest resources are listed
industries are synonymous New York as a starting point
on the back cover of the Episode Five, Cosmopolis
with modernity, while evi- for finding out more about
guide. (1914 –1931)
dence of its rich past is every- their own community.
where. Its contrasts of great Thursday, November 18, 1999
LOG ON — THE NEW
wealth and poverty, its incred- STUDENT’S PAGES The series will be rebroadcast
YORK WEB SITE
ible organization and appar- The student’s pages are to be with Episode Six, The City
ent defiance of logic — so Learning Adventures in Citi-
photocopied and distributed and the World (1931–2000)
dense, so complex, so difficult zenship: From New York to
to students before viewing a in Spring, 2000.
to grasp at once — lead one Your Town is an educational
program, or segments of the
to ask: Why did this happen Web companion to NEW
program. These pages VIDEOTAPING RIGHTS
here, and not someplace else? YORK for young people.
include a brief program Off-air taping rights of NEW
How did New York come to Teachers, kids, and parents
description, a primary source YORK: A DOCUMENTARY
be what it is today? can learn about the history
(a text, political cartoon, map, FILM are available to educa-
of New York and do activities
NEW YORK: A DOCUMEN- or photograph), discussion tors for one year following
designed to help kids learn
TARY FILM is a six-part PBS questions, a brief profile, each broadcast release.
more about and participate
series that examines the and activities. Some of the
in their own communities.
history of the city, from its activities are intended to be
Funded by the Markle Foun-
beginnings in 1624 as a done over a long period of
dation, the Web site is full of
Dutch trading post through time. Please review the mate-
video clips from the series,
its transformation into an rials carefully before making
historical documents, illustra-
urban colossus — a center of assignments.
Background photo: © COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETYNEW YORK: A Documentary Film
1 The Country And the City (1609–1825) Broadcast Date: Sunday, November 14, 1999
Overview from different nations. By the P R I M A R Y S O U R C E
1640s, there were 18 different
N ew York City began as a
Dutch trading post. In
1609, Henry Hudson, a British
languages spoken there.
“The Country and the City”
explorer hired by the Dutch, chronicles New York’s history
sailed into what would later from its early years as a Dutch
become one of history’s colony to its takeover by the
busiest, wealthiest harbors. British Empire in 1664, to its
Hudson had planned to find a pivotal position during the
faster route to the Orient for American Revolution.
the Dutch, to give them a Although America’s capital
COURTESY PAUL COHEN, MANHATTAN IN MAPS/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
competitive edge. Although moved from New York to
Hudson failed to find the Washington, D.C., in 1790,
fabled “Northwest Passage,” Manhattan became the eco-
he saw the potential for trade nomic capital of the nation.
with the native people in the The program ends in 1825
Manhattan area, who called with the triumphant comple-
themselves the Lenape. A tion of the Erie Canal, cham-
thriving fur-trading business pioned by DeWitt Clinton and
in New Amsterdam sparked accomplished by numerous
Manhattan’s role as a leader immigrant laborers. Clinton’s
in the world of commerce and entrepreneurial act ensured
capitalism. The colony wel- New York’s position as a
comed hard-working people financial and cultural center.
P R O F I L E
DeWitt Clinton
Manhattan’s population grew rapidly in the early 19th
century. To simplify the sale and purchase of unsettled
land located between 14th Street and Washington Heights,
a commission led by Mayor DeWitt Clinton proposed
© CORBIS IMAGES
reshaping the natural landscape and dividing the land
into about 2,000 rectangular blocks. Each plot of land was
equal — 100 feet long x 25 feet wide. The commission pre-
sented this “grid” concept on a sprawling, eight-foot map.
DeWitt Clinton symbolically pouring water from Lake Erie into
the Atlantic Ocean. Questions
1. The grid commission 3. Compare this grid to a cur-
By the early 1800s, thriv- long, dangerous trip assigned the streets num- rent map of Manhattan. What
ing American cities in the overland across the state. bers (e.g., 1st Street, Fifth similarities and differences do
Midwest looked as though Completed in 1825, the Avenue) rather than names. you notice? What clues sug-
they might take away canal linked Albany to
How did this facilitate the gest that parts of lower Man-
business from New York. Buffalo and made the
buying and selling of land? hattan were developed prior
To maintain New York’s transportation of people
How does this urban plan to the 1800s?
dominance as a commer- and products more eco-
cial center, DeWitt Clinton nomical. While he was reflect the ideals of democ-
(1769–1828) proposed the mayor and governor, racy?
digging of the Erie Canal. DeWitt Clinton’s vision,
2. In what ways do you
This 363-mile-long water- creativity, and commit-
think Manhattan’s natural
© CORBIS IMAGES
way would connect the ment improved public
landscape needed to be
Hudson River with Lake education, aided the city’s
Erie. Merchants would no poor, and updated city changed in order to execute
longer have to make the planning. the grid plan?NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
Student’s Pages The Country And the City (1609–1825) 1
Complete one of the following activities.
THE “NEGRO PLOT” STREET NAMES AND City. Research the history of • Were any famous battles
OF 1741 STRUCTURE the Erie Canal. Find out, in fought in your area?
On March 18, 1741, mysteri- Using resources from your detail, how a canal boat got • In what ways has your town
ous fires broke out in New local historical society or from one end to the other. or city changed since older
York near the governor’s public library, find out how What kinds of boats were people’s childhood days?
house. Soon after, other unex- some prominent streets in used? How did stone locks
help during the journey? How Work with another student to
plained fires destroyed more your town got their names.
long did it take for a boat to research the answers to these
homes and businesses. Who made the naming deci-
get from Buffalo, New York, questions. To gather addition-
Although there was almost no sions? Are any streets named
to Manhattan? Once you’ve al information about your
evidence, the English govern- after founders of your town?
gathered enough research, area’s history, you can use an
ment became convinced the Are any streets named after a
create a diary of a student audiotape or videotape
fires were part of a “Negro person whose business has
traveling down the Erie Canal recorder to interview some
Plot.” Nearly half the adult played an important role in
during the 1830s, with one elderly townspeople (possibly
your city’s economy? Then,
entry per day of your trip. relatives) about their earliest
with help from your local his-
Describe the sights you see, memories. Alternately, you
torical society or public
and include some excerpts of could interview an expert at a
library, research how your
dialogue you “overhear.” Your local history organization. If
town’s current organizational
goal is to help your readers there is a Native American
plan originated. For example,
feel as though they’ve gone organization nearby, inter-
why is “downtown” located
back in time. When you’re view one of its members
where it is? Present your dis-
done, share your Erie Canal about his or her tribe’s history
coveries in the form of a large
diary entries with your class. in your area. Share your find-
map or mural that shows an
You may also view the Erie ings with others in your class
overview of your town or city
Canal slide show at the in the form of a written
and how it came to be. If you
NEW YORK Web site, at report, a short play, or a
wish, offer a proposal for how
http://www.thirteen.org/ videotape presentation.
you would re-organize your
town if you were in charge. newyork/laic/episode1/
What industries and busi- topic7/e1_s1-ec.html
nesses would you want to
THE GILDER LEHRMAN COLLECTION ON DEPOSIT AT THE PIERPONT MORGAN LIBRARY, NEW YORK. GLC 4205.
male slaves in New York were attract? Would you add more EARLY INHABITANTS
L O O K I N G
thrown in jail. In brutal pun- public parks? Improve public AND SETTLERS
F O R W A R D
ishments reminiscent of the transportation? Add another • Who were the first people
Salem Witch Trials, 13 slaves zoo? Another shopping mall? to live in your area?
Episode Two,
were burned at the stake, 16 • Did they belong to a Native Order and
blacks and 4 whites were A TRIP DOWN THE American tribe? Disorder
hanged, and 70 more New ERIE CANAL
• When did settlers arrive (1825–1865)
Yorkers were deported. Using Although the Erie Canal is no from elsewhere in the New York becomes the
books and Web sites, work longer used for commercial world? nation’s greatest indus-
with a small group of students purposes, in the mid-1800s,
• Did the Native Americans trial metropolis, as a
to research the “Uprising of this waterway was essential massive wave of Ger-
1741.” With suggestions from and the other settlers get
for transporting products and man and Irish immigra-
your teacher, create a simu- along?
people to and from New York tion turns the city into
lated TV news program that one of the world’s most
describes the events of this complex urban environ-
uprising. Be sure to include ments. “Order and Dis-
debate among the different order” features the con-
points of view, such as a slave struction of Central
who lost a family member; Park, Walt Whitman’s
poetic celebration of
Mary Burton, the young white
New York, P.T. Barnum’s
servant who testified; Justice
dime museum, Abraham
Daniel Horsmanden, the key Lincoln’s speech at
investigator; an English busi- Cooper Union, and the
nessman; and so on. New York Draft Riots.
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETYNEW YORK: A Documentary Film
2 Order and Disorder (1825–1865) Broadcast Date: Monday, November 15, 1999
Overview P R I M A R Y S O U R C E S
I n 1825, New York was
peaceful, orderly, and rural,
with a population of less than
The land where Central Park
was built was not uninhab-
Questions Study Winslow Homer’s paint-
ing “Skating in Central Park.”
ited. The map below shows 1. How would you describe
175,000 people. The next few 1. How are the people in the
Seneca Village, a thriving Seneca Village based on the
decades brought the tensions painting making use of Cen-
community of African map?
and possibilities of the mod- tral Park? Why? Which classes
Americans that existed from
ern age to Manhattan. Its resi- 2. Why do you think the park of people are in the painting
1825–1856, located between
dents were faced with prob- designers were willing to — upper class, middle class,
81st and 86th Streets near
lems including crime, gangs, destroy Seneca Village to cre- or lower class? How do you
Eighth Avenue. It was
fires, and disease. New public ate the park? How would the know? What does the painting
demolished during the con-
services were urgently need- designers of Central Park suggest about the purpose
struction of Central Park.
ed. A huge wave of immigra- defend their actions? and function of Central Park?
tion from Europe brought Study the “Topographical
3. What defense could the 2. Using the sources, explain
hundreds of thousands of Survey for the Grounds of
leaders of Seneca Village use which class of people
new arrivals, who had to Central Park.” Seneca Vil-
to try to stop the park’s devel- appeared to have benefited
find somewhere to live. lage’s population was stable.
opment? from Central Park. How can
The AMA Zion Church (con-
The city rose to the challenges Topographical Survey for you tell? Which group of peo-
sidered to be a “wealthy
of expansion, and Walt Whit- the Grounds of Central Park ple may not have benefited?
coloured people’s church”);
man celebrated New York’s showing Seneca Village Explain.
the Union Methodist Epis-
energy and spirit in his mas- copal Church, which housed
terpiece, Leaves of Grass. By one of the few black schools
1865, the city had a new fire in New York City; and All
department, waterworks, pop- Angel’s Church served the
ular newspapers, a world- community. Irish and Ger-
class Central Park, mass enter- mans began moving into
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
tainments, and whole new the area in the 1840s. The All
communities of immigrants Angels Church ministered to
who added to its diversity and a mixed population.
energy. Still, during the Civil
War, New York was the site of The map shows a village
the worst urban riot in Ameri- that contains farmlands,
ca’s history, in which working- houses, and churches. The
class white mobs murdered dark squares and rectangles
blacks in reaction to new fed- represent structures, most of
eral draft laws. The aftermath them homes.
of the riots brought the found-
ing of a new police force and
important reforms on behalf
of the poor.
“Skating in Central Park,”
Winslow Homer
P R O F I L E
Walt Whitman
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Walt Whitman (1819–1892) a passionate work of
was one of the most poetry that celebrates
extraordinary American egalitarianism and his
poets of the 19th century. own individuality, as well
He grew up in Brooklyn as sexuality and regenera-
and worked as a teacher, tion in nature. Considered
journalist, and editor of the “father of free verse in
the newspaper The American literature,”
Brooklyn Eagle before Whitman has influenced
publishing the first edition generations of American
of Leaves of Grass (1855), poets.NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
Student’s Pages Order and Disorder (1825–1865) 2
Complete one of the following activities.
LINCOLN’S COOPER THE DRAFT RIOTS
UNION SPEECH
© THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Using a text fro m the library
or the Web (www.netins.net/
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
showcase/creative/lincoln/
speeches/cooper.htm),
analyze a copy of Lincoln’s
“Cooper Union” speech from
February 27, 1860. Answer
the following questions:
Work in cooperative learning
1. What is Lincoln saying groups to create a Cause-and-
about the Republican Party’s Effect chart on the 1863 draft
relationship to abolitionism? riots. After each group com-
To John Brown? pletes its chart, take turns
presenting the information
2. As a class, debate whether
you feel is essential to each
Lincoln’s speech was a uni-
column. After the presenta-
fying or dividing force in
P.T. BARNUM AND tions, analyze the draft riots
America.
POPULAR CULTURE by answering the following
Divide into cooperative questions:
LEAVES OF GRASS
groups. Each group should 1. Why did the rioters engage
Using library resources, find
use library or Web resources in such violence? Were they
and share excerpts from Walt
to research and study one or justified in their frustration
Whitman’s Leaves of Grass,
more of the following items with the Draft Act? Why?
such as “Song of Myself” or
from P.T. Barnum’s American
“Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” 2. Why did the rioters target
Museum:
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
With a partner, discuss your African Americans?
• an itinerary of Jenny Lind’s first reactions to the poem.
appearances What do you think Walt 3. How do race and class help
• The Wedding of Tom Whitman is talking about? explain the draft riots?
Thumb Who is he glorifying? After
• sheet music from the circus discussing the poems with
L O O K I N G
shows the class, write an essay
F O R W A R D
explaining whether you
• a description or pictures
agree or disagree with Walt
of the “Seven Salons” of the Episode Three,
Whitman’s views of democra-
Museum Sunshine and
cy in New York City, and why.
• an excerpt from The Illus- Shadow
trated Guidebook For more on Walt, visit (1865–1898)
Walt Whitman’s City on This episode examines
After you develop your the NEW YORK Web site at
Answer the following: answers to the questions,
the era when the expan-
http://www.thirteen.org/ sion of wealth and
1. Describe the entertain- each group should report its newyork/laic/episode2/ poverty — and the
ment value of your story or findings to the class. Based on topic7/e2_topic7.html schism between them —
document. the answers and the informa- built to a crescendo.
tion in Episode Two, discuss “Sunshine and Shadow”
2. Why did Barnum include it
the following: features Boss Tweed
in his museum?
and Tammany Hall, the
1. To what extent did Bar-
3. What does it tell you about opening of the Brooklyn
num’s museum appeal to the Bridge, and the annex-
popular culture in New York
racist sentiments of the time? ing of Brooklyn,
and the United States at the
time? 2. To what extent was Queens, the Bronx,
© CORBIS IMAGES
and Staten Island into
Barnum’s museum an expres-
4. Why did the sideshow a single metropolis —
sion of American and urban
exhibits feature people of dif- Greater New York.
culture?
ferent races?NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
3 Sunshine and Shadow (1865–1898) Broadcast Date: Tuesday, November 16, 1999
Overview P R I M A R Y S O U R C E
I n the 33 years covered by
this episode, New York City
changed more dramatically
Harper’s Weekly, January 14, 1871
than in any period in its histo-
ry. From a merchant city to
HARPER’S WEEKLY IMAGES COURTESY OF HARPWEEK, WWW.HAPRWEEK.COM
the second largest metropolis
in the world, New York took
center stage.
Central Park, begun before
the Civil War, was supposed
to bring peace and breathing
space to New York. Instead,
the area around it was occu-
pied within decades, as the
“Gilded Age” brought stun-
ning wealth to J.P. Morgan,
Jay Gould, and Jim Fisk, who
built mansions on the park’s
eastern border, Fifth Avenue.
At the same time, legions of
new immigrants arrived, most
squeezed into tenements in
the older corners of the city
TWEEDLEDEE AND SWEEDLEDUM.
far from the park that had
been promoted as beneficial
(A new Christmas Pantomime at the Tammany Hall.)
to them. The bosses of
Clown (to Pantaloon). “Let’s Blind them with this, and them take some more.”
Tammany Hall and the photo-
graphs of Jacob Riis served
Questions Activities
P R O F I L E
these new poor in different Use the cartoon, Episode 1. Draw a cartoon with a
ways, but by the turn of the Three, and a little research political message. You don’t
century, the gap between to answer the following. have to be a skilled illustrator
rich and poor had never to do so. Even stick figures
1. Who are William M.
© CORBIS IMAGES
been greater. will do. If you can, in your
“Boss” Tweed (Tweedledee)
cartoon, comment on some
New Yorkers also tackled and Peter Sweeny (Sweedle-
local political issue or on
tremendous projects during dum)? What is Tammany
some issue in your school.
these years. They raised the Hall?
You are welcome to be biased!
money to put together the 2. What social class are the Horatio Alger
Statue of Liberty and raised 2. Stage a debate with at least
people receiving the Horatio Alger
her to her feet in New York five other students in your
money? How can you tell? (1832–1899) was a
Harbor. They built the Brook- class that wrestles with the popular writer whose
Where is the money coming
lyn Bridge, an engineering following situation: You are more than one hundred
from? At what time of year
marvel that cost the lives of on the edge of poverty. Would novels glorified the
is this cartoon taking place?
many and connected Brook- you support a politician or an American Dream. A
Does it matter? Why?
lyn, America’s first suburb, organization with your votes number of his works
to Manhattan. And, in the 3. What is the Clown that, though shady or even focused on the experi-
most extraordinary “struc- (Tweed) suggesting when dishonest in public dealings, ences of New York
he says, “Let’s blind them made sure to support you, if newsboys. While his
ture” of all, by a vote of all
with this, and then take you had an economic crisis works were fiction,
New Yorkers in December,
Alger’s descriptions
1897, Brooklyn joined Man- some more?” or had trouble with the law?
of the neighborhoods
hattan, Staten Island, Queens, 4. What was the cartoonist, 3. Explore Tammany Hall on of New York helped a
and the Bronx to become part Thomas Nast, suggesting the NEW YORK Web site and generation of young
of New York City. about the real financial check out the activity “Smart men who were moving
winners in the public Art”: http://www.thirteen.org/ from farm to city find
their way.
treasury raid? newyork/laic/episode3/
topic6/e3_topic6.htmlNEW YORK: A Documentary Film
Student’s Pages Sunshine
Sunshine
and
and
Shadow
Shadow
(1865–1898)
(1865–1898) 3
Complete one of the following activities.
FRESHMAN CLASS: plishments as adults up to about all the potential candi-
1898 and including 1898. dates, you will have to write a
Lucky you! It’s 1898 and the paper in which you rank your
Your teacher will assign you
president of a brand new top eight students. It is very
your role. Depending on the
and totally fictional college, important to write an opening
size of your class, either one
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
the University of New York, paragraph in which you out-
or two of you is responsible
has asked you to serve on line your goals for the Univer-
for presenting the candidacy
its admissions committee. sity of New York, with specific
of one of the applicants. You
You and the other committee reference to as many of these
and your partner, if you have
members, your classmates, topics as possible: gover-
one, may decide that your
will be selecting the first nance, public health and
applicant is wildly inappro-
eight students in the fresh- other reforms, culture and
priate for UNY. That’s fine.
man class at UNY. Eighteen public policy, immigration
historical figures have Using the content of NEW and race, the role of women,
applied. (Some are dead, but YORK and any additional and economic life. The stu-
that’s OK; remember, this is a research you wish, write up dents you select should square
simulation!) The applicants your presentation and share with your goals, because they
are: Joshua Beal, Russell H. it with your teacher at least a will influence life in New York
Conwell, Thomas Alva Edison, week before the admissions in the 20th century. THE SQUARE AND
Jim Fisk, Henry George, Jay board meeting. Your teacher THE MALL
Finally, the admissions board
Gould, J.P. Morgan, Thomas will return it to you in a few
will meet and debate the mer-
Nast, Frederick Law Olmsted, days with suggestions for Central Park was the “great
its of each applicant. After
Jacob Riis, John Augustus improvement, if any are public square” of mid-century
eight are selected, each of
Roebling, Emily Roebling, needed. New York. Is the mall today’s
you, using your notes, will
Washington Roebling, Al great public square? Write a
When the presentations begin, make roommate assignments.
Smith, Emma Stebbins, brief paper contrasting your
listen closely and take notes.
William M. Tweed, Cornelius observations of your nearest
(Your teacher may give you a HOW THE OTHER
Vanderbilt, and Walt Whit- mall with the descriptions of
sheet to guide your notetak- HALF LIVES
man. In making your selec- Central Park in this and the
ing.) Doing so will help you, The camera for Jacob Riis
tions, you should consider all previous episode.
because, just after the admis- became an instrument of
of the applicant’s accom- sions committee has heard social change. Now, more
than a hundred years later, L O O K I N G
can you do the same? With F O R W A R D
your teacher’s and your par-
ents’ approval, document Episode Four,
some situation or condition The Power and
in your hometown, and, like the People
Riis, provide the text to (1898–1914)
accompany it. This episode looks at
REPRODUCED FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
As an alternative, you may the period in which
more than ten million
write an imaginary letter from
immigrants arrived in
Jacob Riis to your local news-
New York harbor. “The
paper commenting on the Power and the People”
homeless in American cities also shows how the
today. Then write a letter sharp divisions between
responding to Riis that accus- rich and poor were
es him of bias and of staging addressed during the
the vignette in the photo- Progressive Era,
graph from How the Other and how the expansion
Half Lives. of New York outward to
Brooklyn was matched
From Jacob Riis’s How the by the vertical expan-
Other Half Lives, “In the sion of Manhattan’s
Homes of an Italian Rag- skyscrapers.
Picker, Jersey Street”NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
4 The Power and the People (1898–1914) Broadcast Date: Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Overview P R I M A R Y S O U R C E
A s the twentieth century
dawned, New York
underwent extraordinary
Below, an English historian,
H.G. Wells, describes a day at
made the process especially
appealing to the young?
factors led them to become
Americanized? Does that ten-
Ellis Island in 1906 as thou- sion between “old country”
transformations that made 2. What was Wells’s reaction
sands of immigrants “from and “new” exist in American
the city the social, cultural, to the volume of immigration
Ireland and Poland and Italy society today?
and economic center of the as he observed it in 1906?
and Syria and Finland and
United States. Skyscrapers, What groups then in America
such as the Flatiron Building,
Albania” and elsewhere wait
might have taken a different
Activities
in long lines for permission 1. Research the immigration
changed both Manhattan’s point of view? What reasons
to enter America. history of an ethnic group or
skyline and the lives of its would they give for their
people; the subways opened a position? How would Wells nationality living in New York
Questions respond to them? from 1898 to 1914. (You
1. Like many other com- might choose one from your
mentators on immigration, 3. Many immigrants to Amer- own heritage.) Answer these
H. G. Wells was struck by ica were torn between their questions: How many had
the relative youthfulness of desire to maintain their cul- entered America by 1914?
the newcomers to America. tural identity and their wish What was the peak year of
What was there about emi- to be assimilated as Ameri- immigration? What condi-
gration (leaving the old cans. In 1898-1914, what tions in their homeland led
country) and immigration major factors helped immi- them to America? Did they
(entering the new) that grant New Yorkers hold on face special problems on
to “old country” ways? What arrival here? Report your
findings to your class.
2. Imagine yourself as an
s of metal
. . . All day long, through an intricate serie immigrant at Ellis Island in
© CORBIS IMAGES
by step , bear ing bun-
pens, the long procession files, step that,
1900. Write a letter to a
this exam iner and
dles and trunks and boxes, past and the
friend in the old country
ers, the tally men
past the quick, alert medical offic out and
about your experiences from
ts are bein g pick ed
clerks. At every point immigran , for
the time you left home until
inati on, for ques tions
new world beneath the city. set aside for further medical exam fies con-
this moment when you wait
proc essio n satis
In one generation, Greater the busy little courts, but the main to be cleared for entry into
ditions, passes on. . . . the United States.
New York’s population more pen, towards
On they go, from this pen to that, pen by 3. Before 1880, immigrants
than doubled — from 1.91 the gate of Am erica. . . .
million in 1880 to 4.77 million a desk at a little metal wicket — igrant, were denied entry to America
e seco nds an imm
in 1910 — as an endless wave [A]ll day long, every two or thre on only for disease, a murder
the little desk and goes
of immigrants made its way with valise or a bundle, passes the conviction, or a disability
hang ing plac e, past
past the well–managed money–c that prevented employment.
across the Atlantic, the new- to this railway
comers displacing earlier carefully organized separating ways that go Between 1881 and 1924,
g offic ials — into a new
arrivals in the teeming slums or that, past the guiding, protectin Congress voted more than
youn g men and young
of lower Manhattan and in world. The great majority are one hundred other restric-
thirt y, good , yout hful,
women, between seventeen and tions, including political
the needle and construction d in a long strin g, wait-
trades. One hundred forty- hopeful, peasant stock. They stan tin behavior, race, and ethnicity.
with bund les, with little
two of them (mostly teenaged ing to go through that wicket, , in With other classmates, form
s, with odd pack ages
boxes, with cheap portmanteau two teams and debate the
girls) died in the Triangle Fire g of human
in 1911, a preventable tragedy pairs, in families, alone. . . All day that strin proposition: “It is in the
wait s agai n, all day and
beads waits there, jerks forward, national interest that immi-
that renewed the efforts of ed, cons tant ly drop ping the
progressive reformers and every day, constantly replenish gration to the United States
end beads through the wicket. . . .
political figures like Al Smith ts came be open and unrestricted.”
to improve urban housing, In one record day this month 21,000 immigran
e; in one week over
into the port of New York alon 4. Take the virtual tour of
public health, and working 0 souls, pour-
50,000. This year the total will be 1,200,00 Ellis Island on the Web site
conditions. In seeking govern- ucin g no fall in wages.
mental solutions to urban ills, ing in, finding work at once, prod think of
at http://www.thirteen.org/
and mak ing. Just
New York again set the agenda They start digging and building newyork/laic/episode4/
the dimensions of it! topic1/e4_topic1.html
for change nationwide.
(1906), by H.G. Wells
— From: The Future in AmericaNEW YORK: A Documentary Film
Student’s Pages The Power and the People (1898–1914) 4
P R I M A R Y S O U R C E Complete one of the following activities.
The Flatiron Building under Questions RIVER VIEWS AND EVIDENCE FOR THE
construction in 1901 at the CATTLE CARS FUTURE
1. What does this photo
intersection of Broadway and Report to your class on the Take a photograph or make a
reveal about New York City
Fifth Avenue. For a brief time, benefits and drawbacks to sketch of an important inter-
in 1901?
its 21 stories made it the city living of high-rise build- section in your community.
tallest building in Manhattan 2. What technological and
ings and public transporta- (Date your work and indicate
north of the financial district. commercial changes in the
tion (like subways and elevat- the time of day.) How do you
late 19th century,
ed railways). think future historians might
as described in this
interpret what you show?
episode of NEW
INVESTIGATING THE
YORK, made possi-
TRIANGLE FIRE
ble the construc-
tion of buildings Turn your class into a legisla-
like the Flatiron? tive committee investigating
the Triangle Fire. Take testi-
© PHOTODISC
3. What changes mony from “experts” on such
would you expect questions as these: “Who is
to find in such responsible for safety in the
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
things as trans- workplace?” “If government
portation, street has a role, what is it?” “What ALTERNATIVE REALITY:
traffic, buildings, laws or regulations should be NEW YORK CITY
and architectural written to protect workers Write an essay about what
style if this site from tragedies like the Trian- might have happened to
were photographed gle Fire?” New York if buildings had
today? not risen above six stories,
As an alternative, research
the subway had not been
and report on how fire and
built, and the population
safety regulations were
had not been increased by
changed because of the
mass immigration.
Triangle Fire.
P R O F I L E L O O K I N G
F O R W A R D
Lillian Wald
Lillian Wald (1867-1940) poor. Appalled by the over- renowned for its free, Episode Five,
came to New York from crowded, disease-ridden comprehensive programs Cosmopolis
Cincinnati to study and slums where many immi- in health-care, hygiene, (1914–1931)
remained for a lifetime of grants lived, she was con- and cultural education In a short but dazzling
public service among the vinced that poverty could for immigrant families. period, New York
be eradicated through In 1902, Wald and Lina became the focal point
neighborhood improve- Roberts set up the nation’s of an extraordinary
ments in housing, school- first public-school nursing array of human and cul-
ing, and public health. A service in New York. Ten tural energies, reaching
trained nurse, she made years later, Wald was its highest levels of
public-health services her instrumental in getting urban excitement and
principal means of trans- Congress to create the glamour. “Cosmopolis”
forming urban life. Aided U.S. Children’s Bureau. features artistic cre-
by philanthropists like Throughout her long ations like George
Jacob Schiff, Wald estab- career, she was guided Gershwin’s “Rhapsody
lished the Henry Street by her belief that everyone in Blue,” the Harlem
Settlement (1895) to pro- was entitled to dignity Renaissance, the rise of
vide visiting nurses to the and compassion, and that the new media indus-
© CORBIS IMAGES
homes of the poor. Within each person had a respon- tries of advertising and
a decade, Henry Street sibility for the well-being radio, and the construc-
was internationally of others. tion of the Empire State
Building.NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
5 Cosmopolis (1914–1931) Broadcast Date: Thursday, November 18, 1999
Overview P R I M A R Y S O U R C E
S oon after the First World
War, New York City blos-
from “My Lost City” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I
somed into an extraordinarily n the dark autumn of two
creative and progressive years later we saw New York
© COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
place, which F. Scott Fitzger- again. We passed through
ald called “the land of ambi- curiously polite customs agents,
tion and success.” New York’s and then with bowed head and hat
affluence, sophistication, and in hand I walked reverently
© CORBIS IMAGES
decadence during “the Jazz through the echoing tomb. Among
Age” were epitomized by the ruins a few childish wraiths
Fitzgerald’s novel The Great still played to keep up the pre-
Gatsby. During this time, New tense that they were alive, betray-
York’s skyline took shape, as
ing by their feverish voices and F. Scott Fitzgerald
skyscrapers such as the
hectic cheeks the thinness of the masquerade. Cocktail par-
Chrysler Building were built.
ties, a last hollow survival from the days of carnival, echoed
Fueled by the migration of
to the plaints of the wounded: “Shoot me, for the love of God,
hundreds of African-Ameri-
can writers, artists, and musi- nation’s jazz-music fans.
someone shoot me!”, and the groans and wails of the dying:
cians, Harlem became the During this era, New York “Did you see that United States Steel is down three more
undisputed capital of black also became a media center, points?” My barber was back at work in his shop; again the
culture in America. During due to new radio networks, head waiters bowed people to their tables, if there were people
the Harlem Renaissance, recording companies, and to be bowed. From the ruins, lonely and inexplicable as the
Manhattan provided a nurtur- the booming advertising and sphinx, rose the Empire State Building and, just as it had been
from The Jazz Age (New York: New Directions, 1996), 28–29
ing environment for writers publishing industries. On a tradition of mine to climb to the Plaza Roof to take leave of
such as Langston Hughes. October 29, 1929, when New the beautiful city, extending as far as eyes could reach, so now
African-American musicians York’s stock market crashed, I went to the roof of the last and most magnificent of towers.
such as Duke Ellington and “roaring ’20s” New Yorkers Then I understood — everything was explained: I had discov-
Louis Armstrong dazzled the had to face reality again. ered the crowning error of the city, its Pandora’s box. Full of
vaunting pride the New Yorker had climbed here and seen with
dismay what he had never suspected, that the city was not the
P R O F I L E
endless succession of canyons that he had supposed but that
Zora Neale Hurston it had limits — from the tallest structure he saw for the first
During the literary and
time that it faded out into the country on all sides, into an
cultural moment known as expanse of green and blue that alone was limitless. And with
the Harlem Renaissance, the awful realization that New York was a city after all and not
Zora Neale Hurston (1891- a universe, the whole shining edifice that he had reared in his
1960) wrote her famous imagination came crashing to the ground. That was the rash
novel Their Eyes Were gift of Alfred E. Smith to the citizens of New York.
Watching God. Based on
oral histories, life experi-
ence, and her studies of Questions
African-American folklore, 1. During what period in 4. Using clues from this
this story tells the tale of American history do you excerpt, infer some reasons
© CORBIS IMAGES
a black woman’s search think this paragraph was why people such as customs
for spiritual growth in
written? What clues from the agents, barbers, and waiters
an oppressive society.
text support your guess? acted differently than usual
Hurston, who viewed
her racial heritage as during “The Jazz Age.”
2. What did F. Scott Fitzger-
a source of deep pride, about it.” Although
Hurston died penniless ald think was “the crowning 5. If Fitzgerald were alive
once wrote: “I do not error” of New York City? today, what observations do
belong to the sobbing and mostly forgotten in
1960, interest in her work Why? you think he would make
school of Negrohood
was revived during the about his “lost city”? Would
who hold that nature 3. Research Alfred E. Smith.
somehow has given them 1980s, particularly due to Fitzgerald still regard New
Using clues from this
a lowdown dirty deal and the efforts of author Alice York as a lost city?
Walker. excerpt, what was the “rash
whose feelings are all hurt gift” he gave to the citizens
of New York?NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
Student’s Pages Cosmopolis (1914–1931) 5
Complete one of the following activities.
WOMEN OF between the Chrysler Build- AND IF YOU ORDER
THE HARLEM ing and the Bank of Manhat- TODAY...
RENAISSANCE tan Building. Find the The advent of national radio
During the 1920s, patron answers to these questions: programs supported by mass
A’lelia Walker organized lavish What factors helped the rapid advertising helped develop a
events to bring together construction of the Empire “consumer society” in Ameri-
African-American authors State Building? What role did ca. This shift in consumer
with publishers and other Alfred E. Smith play in creat- purchasing had to do both
patrons. Her personality and ing this famous skyscraper? with mass production and
lifestyle inspired Langston For how many years did the attitudes about aspiration,
Hughes to dub her the “joy Empire State Building remain “keeping up with the Jone-
goddess of Harlem’s 1920s.” the tallest skyscraper in the ses.” Use your local library
Another prominent woman world? Write a research paper to research some print adver-
during this time was Zora or create an annotated mural tisements that appeared in
Neale Hurston, author of nov- (with photographs if possible) newspapers, magazines, or
els such as Their Eyes Were that shares with other stu- catalogues during the 1920s
Watching God. Research the dents what you’ve discovered. and 30s. Create a written
life of Walker or Hurston and As an alternative, research the report in which you contrast
find out more about their role construction of a famous his- these ads with ones you find
during the Harlem Renais- torical building in your town in modern publications. Do
© CORBIS IMAGES
sance. Then, create a presen- or city. Find out what build- you think people in the ‘20s
tation about them to share ings, if any, needed to be and ‘30s were more gullible
with your class. It can be in demolished beforehand. What than they are today? Discuss
the form of a biographical was the original purpose of the ways in which you believe
paper, a play, an oral report, this building? Has this pur- you are susceptible to adver-
pose changed over the years? did your local government
a multimedia presentation, tisements and ways in which
use to try to combat illegal
or a mural. you are aware when compa-
SO LONG, SALOONS! drinking? Conclude your
nies are trying to persuade
paper or presentation by
In 1917, Congress approved you to buy products you don’t
examining contemporary atti-
the 18th Amendment to the really need.
tudes toward alcohol and
Constitution. This amend-
other drugs in America.
ment — known as Prohibition
— stated that, as of 1920, it L O O K I N G
GOING UP, GOING
would be illegal for Ameri- F O R W A R D
DOWN
cans to manufacture, sell, or
transport liquor. Many Ameri- In this activity, imagine you
Episode Six,
cans rebelled against this law. have $10,000 to invest in the
The City and
People called “bootleggers” stock market. Use the busi-
the World
made their own liquor, gang- ness section of the newspa-
(1931–2000)
sters smuggled in alcohol per, or an Internet site such
as YAHOO finance research NEW YORK concludes
from other countries, and ille- in Spring, 2000, with
(http://finance.yahoo.com),
© CORBIS IMAGES
gal bars called “speakeasies” “The City and the
thrived. In 1933, Congress to track five stocks over the
World,” an examination
acknowledged the failure of period of a month. Write of the Depression and
this experiment by passing down your reason for select- the New Deal, the eco-
the 21st Amendment, which ing each of the stocks. By nomic and population
HIGH AS THE SKY ended national Prohibition. keeping daily logs (or an booms of the 1950s,
Write a research paper or oral online chart) of the ups and the enormous influence
Research the dramatic story of Robert Moses on
presentation in which you downs, as well as noting
of the construction of New the city and its sur-
discuss the pros and cons of events that might have con-
York City’s famous icon, the roundings, and the
national Prohibition (e.g., tributed to these changes,
Empire State Building. To set grass-roots reaction
effects on people’s health, you will gain a greater under-
the stage, discuss the “sky- to “urban renewal” —
organized crime). Find out standing of both the stock
scraper wars” from the ’20s, the historic-preserva-
how this law affected your market’s volatility and its
including the competition tion movement.
town or city. What methods profitability.NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
6 The City and the World (1931–2000) Airing in Spring, 2000
Overview P R I M A R Y S O U R C E
D uring Depression-era
New York, poverty and
social unrest drove many New
Yorkers to the brink of desper-
ation. In response, New Deal
programs — direct descen-
dents of New York’s social
programs of the previous
20 years, administered by
Franklin D. Roosevelt and
a team of New York-trained
© 1978 GM CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED GM MEDIA ARCHIVES
policy makers — began a flow
of money from Washington
to the city. Mayor La Guardia
aggressively took advantage of
the new largesse, and with his
master builder Robert Moses,
used the untold billions to
rebuild New York — not only
bringing the city out of its
doldrums but also giving it a
remarkable infrastructure for
future growth.
These federal programs pre-
cipitated a dramatic change
in New York’s hegemony as The motto of New York In 1939, GM’s Futurama Activities
City’s1939 World’s Fair was depicted 1960 as a car-
the center of American power. 1. See if you can find old
“Building the World of centered world, including
Yet, following the 1939 World’s maps of your town or city at
seven-lane highways and
Fair and World War II, New Tomorrow.” The City of the
enormous skyscrapers. the local historical society,
York emerged as the de-facto Future diorama was the
city hall, or public library.
capital of world culture, rati- central focus of the General
Research the inventions and Discuss what changes have
fied by its selection as home Motors Futurama exhibit
ideas that were introduced to occurred over the years, and
to the United Nations. New there. Visitors moved in
the world for the first time at make guesses as to what fac-
York’s post-war growth chairs equipped with indi-
this exhibit. tors caused these changes.
seemed boundless as Moses vidual loudspeakers around
marshaled enormous power the 36,000-square-foot 2. Working in teams, choose
to reshape the geography of model. Although there were Questions a variety of intersections in
the metropolis, focusing 600 moving chairs, this 1. Did everything introduced your neighborhood and
resources on suburban design gave each rider the at the exhibit become part of build a diorama showing
expansion and the middle- feeling of experiencing a pri- American daily life in 1960, how you want your area to
class, rather than addressing vate show. The last words as promised? look in the year 2020. Place
the needs of the expanding visitors heard the narrator your school at the center,
2. What was the vision that
urban underclass and the say were, “All eyes to the and branch out from there.
inspired the creators and
now-rotting inner-city infra- future.” Make a list of what should
builders of the 1939 World’s
structure. be improved. Decide what
People coming off the ride Fair?
action steps can be taken to
The destruction of Penn found themselves standing
3. What impact did the auto- create these improvements.
Station served as a wake-up in front of an impressive,
mobile and the highway have What resources will be need-
call to the city’s landmarks- life-size intersection, imag-
on the quality of life in New ed? Develop a timeline that
preservation movement, and ining how the streets they
York City? In the nation? shows how this dream can
urbanists like Jane Jacobs had just seen in the diorama
happen. You may also create
reaffirmed the need to pre- would look in 1960. They 4. Brainstorm the actions that
a school club whose mem-
serve city neighborhood life. saw that the cars were on could be initiated to ease and
bers will work on this contin-
the street level while pedes- eventually eliminate automo-
uing project long after you
trian sidewalks were raised bile traffic and congestion
graduate.
one level above. where you live.NEW YORK: A Documentary Film
Student’s Pages The City and the World (1931–2000) 6
Complete one of the following activities
SOCIAL UNREST AND CHALLENGING THE history? Were the means
CREATIVITY SYSTEM Moses used to achieve his
“When the mode of the Two women challenged the public works compatible
music changes, the walls of power of Robert Moses. While with the principles of a true
© CORBIS IMAGES
the city shake.” — Plato Lillian Edelstein lost the bat- democracy?
tle to save South Bronx neigh- • Imagine New York City
Come senators, congressmen borhoods from bulldozer without Robert Moses. How
Please heed the call destruction in the Fifties, Jane would the city be different?
Don’t stand in the doorway Jacobs stopped Moses’ inva-
research the civil and social What would the South
Don’t block up the hall sion of Greenwich Village dur-
unrest of the 1960s in New Bronx look like today? How
For he that gets hurt ing the Sixties. Working in
York City and across the would it feel? What would
Will be he who has stalled teams, research, write, and
nation. Divide up into three the noise levels be? Find
There’s a battle outside produce two one-act plays or
groups and find examples of and compare a map of the
And it is ragin’. hold two mock debates that
five songs, five films, and five city before the Moses build-
It’ll soon shake your windows vividly illustrate the dramatic
books that reflected the social ing projects with a map of
And rattle your walls clashes these courageous
tension of this time. Work the city at the end of his
For the times they are women had with New York
together to create a presenta- career.
a-changin’. City’s power broker of urban
tion for your class that illus- Perform the plays or the
— from “The Times They Are renewal.
trates how this social debates for your class as a
A-Changin’” by Bob Dylan upheaval was expressed Here are some suggested dress rehearsal and then for
Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 through the talent of these ways to approach your your school. Afterwards, have
Special Rider Music specific musicians, filmmak- research: an open discussion on the
ers, and writers. Who are their personal strength it takes to
Pioneering civil-rights legisla- • Find out how Robert Moses
counterparts who are creating stand up and fight for what
tion outlawing racial discrimi- was written about at the
in the 2000s? you believe is right for your
nation in government-assist- time of his death. Why was
ed and private housing, in he such a controversial neighborhood, your city, your
NEIGHBORHOOD country, and your world.
employment, and in educa- figure in New York City
URBAN PLANNING
tion was first written and
enforced in New York City. Brainstorm the following
However, there is still plenty urban-planning scenarios in P R O F I L E
of work to do to correct the small groups:
Robert Moses public-works projects
failures and fulfill the nation’s • How would street life over a period of 44 years.
great promise of a diverse, change if local residents Moses’ influence was
democratic, and just society. banned automobiles in felt nationally when he
mentored the engineers
Along with being a place of your neighborhood?
who designed the inter-
hope and promise, New York • How would planting and state highway system.
can often be a place of cruelty caring for trees, shrubbery, Ironically, even though his
© CORBIS IMAGES
and contradiction. Use the and flowers change the life urban planning vision cen-
library and the Internet to and spirit of a city street tered on automobiles and
highways, Moses never
and its residents?
drove a car.
• What is gained when his- New York City’s great When asked by a Fordham
toric buildings are treated public-works builder, University student after
as treasures? Robert Moses (1888- a lecture in the 1970s,
1981), was never voted “What obligation does
With your teacher’s help,
into public office, but he an urban planner owe
write a survey and distribute wielded enormous power to the future?”, Robert
it to people in your neighbor- over five mayors and six Moses replied, “None.”
hood, asking what makes a governors. A man with a In the end, he became
city street vital and safe. Tabu- dynamic personality, great the type of arrogant
late the responses and discuss intellect, and indomitable power broker he once
© PHOTODISC
the results in class, or circu- will, he built highways, despised as a young,
late them in a printed parks, and controversial idealistic public reformer.
newsletter or on the Internet.You can also read
