New York City History

The 19^th century history of New York City was marked by turmoil, whether we talk about the infamously famous five boroughs or popularly called five points, the more than 12 million immigrants that used Ellis Island as the gateway to the United States of America or the now extinct muckraking journalists.

The 19^th Century has also been termed as the Gilded Age which was penned by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. The massive developments, reforms and legislations that the United States of America witnessed in the 20^th century had its seeds in the 1800s. This was the era when the country grew manifold in respect to population, infrastructure and even corruption. There was a gigantic inflow of Irish immigrants while Italians and Africans were not far behind. It was in this era that the port of Ellis Island was almost formalized as an official immigration center. There was a huge influx of people with criminal records, Irishmen who tried to obtain a life away from the Great Famine and also who came over in hope of a better life.

The New York City today has very little in common with its 19^th century history when gang wars, street fights and corruption was rampant. These lead to the growth of muckraking journalism that delved more into the murkier side of events than the healthier current affairs. Some of the most famous muckraking journalists of the era were David G Philips, Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell. New York City in the 19^th century did not comprise of Manhattan and Brooklyn which were still independent counties and much of the architecture of that era in these areas as well as in New York have made way for modern buildings and public transport networks.

The five points are a history today and Mulberry Street is the only one that can be found in present times. If there was an era that shaped New York post Civil War then it was the 19^th century.