North American cities underwent a dramatic expansion in the years between 1754 and 1815. At the beginning of the period there were perhaps half a dozen locations with 5,000 or more people; by 1820, there were 35; two cities, New York and Philadelphia, grew from a population of around 20,000 to more than 100,000. Although most people in the Unites States still lived in rural settings, cities had become vital in politics, the economy, and society.

Much of the resistance movement (1764-75) took place in cities. Boston was the most prominent hub of activity, leading the way in the agitation against the Stamp Act (1765), customs regulation, and the Tea Act (1773). One reason cities were so important in the opposition to imperial regulation was the trade that was funneled through their warehouses, though the fact that large numbers of people congregated in cities was also a major factor. Along the wharves of every port there were seamen and dockworkers with plenty of grievances against Great Britain and eager to join a crowd. Large numbers of artisans also populated the cities, and they became increasingly articulate and schooled in the ideology of republicanism. Many merchants and lawyers also resided in cities, providing further leadership for the resistance movement. In short, it was in the cities that each level of society met in enough of a concentration to provide an explosive mix that resulted in the American Revolution.

Most North American cities suffered during the Revolutionary War (1775-83); Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston were each occupied by the British army at some time, creating tremendous upheaval. When the British arrived, some people fled, buildings were commandeered, churches were turned into stables, and Loyalists moved to the cities for asylum. When the British later evacuated, the Loyalists either left with their protectors or remained behind to be harassed by the Revolutionaries. More people moved in to replace the exiles, and the cities began to rebuild. Of the five major colonial cities, only Newport failed to recover rapidly, though its decline was due more to the competition from upstart Providence than to the effects of the war.

Cities became the locus of a contentious political scene in the early national era. The same artisans who had been so important to the resistance movement and revolution now viewed themselves as the bulwarks of society and rightful heirs to republican citizenship. Initially the Federalist Party used ties of patronage and the promise of commercial prosperity to attract the city voter. By the mid-1790s, however, mechanics, as artisans called themselves, asserted an equality that seemed more in concert with the ideals of the Democratic-Republican Party. This shift in allegiance contributed to the victory of Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1800. Artisans believed that as producers and craftsmen--men who lived by the work they did--they had a special role within the republic. No longer was the ideal to be a gentleman who did not labor with his hands; now the muscular arm holding a tool and proclaiming "With Hammer and Hand, All Arts Flourish and Stand" became a symbol of the republic.

Concentrated in cities, mechanics and merchants helped to keep commerce moving. If cities had been central to the colonial economy, they became even more crucial to the economy of the new republic. While rural areas produced an agricultural surplus that could be exported overseas, it was the dock facilities, artisanal production, and banking services that kept goods moving. When France and Great Britain went to war in 1793, creating greater economic opportunity for the United States, cities became even more important.

City life, however, was not easy. Because it was difficult and expensive to develop the land on the edge of urban areas, builders relied on multifamily dwellings. Crowding became typical of these urban spaces, with high-cost housing and great disparities between rich and poor. Streets were unpaved and often filthy. The most efficient garbage collection system were the hogs that roamed the streets. There were no sewers; people used privies in their backyards. Drinking water was not easy to come by since everyone depended on a handful of wells or water carted from the countryside. Disease and epidemics spread rapidly: Before and during the Revolutionary War, smallpox was the biggest fear, while in the 1790s and early 1800s there were repeated outbreaks of yellow fever that struck several cities. The affluent headed for the safety of the country during such epidemics. Those who remained behind, usually the poor, died by the hundreds and even thousands. Although by 1800 many cities required building with brick, there were still many wooden structures that burned all too easily in a fire. With the city depending only on volunteer fire companies, it was not unusual for entire blocks to burn down in one conflagration. Police departments did not exist, either. The main deterrent to crime was the night watch and a constable or two who were more concerned with gaining a reward than crime prevention. Prostitutes plied their trade all too openly, and public drunkenness and raucous behavior violated the sensibilities of many. Disorderly mobs could form at any moment in a tavern brawl or over some supposed affront. In case of popular disorder or riots, the mayor or some other municipal officer would try to step into the breach and use his personal connection with some in the crowd--the cities were still small enough that the official might know someone--to avert too much violence.

If there was a nasty quality to urban life in this period, there were also many positive features as well. The same streets that could be so repulsive could also be the source of entertainment; urban dwellers seemed to relish the city's hustle and bustle. On special occasions crowds numbering into the thousands gathered in celebration or to watch a parade march by. Booths and small shops sold food and other items, and taverns and theaters added to the city's enjoyments, offering a level of entertainment impossible to match in the countryside. Printing presses rolled out newspapers, books, and pamphlets, providing an exciting intellectual life. Communal activity was also easier in the city, where there were greater varieties of groups. Although it might be difficult to sustain a larger sense of community, it was easier to develop more personal networks along job, ethnic, or religious lines. Free African Americans, for example, flocked to cities to interact with others of their own race. Like the African Americans, other groups created their own institutions, including schools and churches. Neighborhoods began to emerge that developed a particular character all their own.

Finally, although there was a great deal of poverty in cities, there was also economic opportunity. African Americans sought to gain personal independence by moving to urban areas. Not every job was open to them, but many became storekeepers, ran oyster bars, or cut hair. Large numbers of African-American men found work on the waterfront or signed on as sailors. European Americans, too, came to the city in the hope of new careers. A building boom meant jobs for many laborers and skilled artisans, and the expansion of overseas commerce provided further skilled employment as shipbuilders, sailmakers, blockmakers, and coopers. For those further up the economic scale, starting as a clerk could be the first step to becoming a merchant and owning one of the fancy multistory brick houses that dominated the most prominent streets. While women had less opportunity, the city offered a more independent existence than the countryside since it was possible for a woman to find employment as a seamstress or in the service industry.

Cities in the Revolutionary and early national period were vibrant and expanding. Despite war and upheaval, or perhaps because of war and upheaval, they remained the epicenter of much of American life.

Bibliography:

1) Carl Bridenbaugh, Cities in Revolt: Urban Life in America, 1743-1776 (New York: Knopf, 1955).

2) Paul A. Gilje, The Road to Mobocracy: Popular Disorder in New York City, 1763-1834 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987).

3) Gary B. Nash, The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness, and the Origins of the American Revolution (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1979).

4) Alfred F. Young, Liberty Tree: Ordinary People and the American Revolution (New York: New York University Press, 2006).

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