ipl-logo

Summary Of Amusing The Million By John Kasson

650 Words3 Pages

The Book “Amusing The Million”, written by John F. Kasson describes how the amusement parks in Coney Island changed the attitude towards new cultures in the United States. Kasson talks about the era of famous amusement parks which began in 1895 before the first world war. These amusement parks were an effort to bring together the different cultures seen in the urban cities. Coney Island was a cultural accommodation for all the people who desired adventure and excitement. These places of recreation were built not only to amuse people but also inspire people to respect different cultures, (pg.11). To prove his point Kasson compares two major projects which were built by two different people, who had different views on philosophy and form but …show more content…

In the 19th century we have seen the rise of the industrial revolution, this led to the construction of urban cities and urban life. Many immigrants were seen migrating to the United States in search of jobs opportunities and a better life. Most of the immigrants were Europeans. All the people working together in industries were of different cultures and were supposed to live in the same urban communities. Kasson writes that, they would not talk to each other and a sense of racial tension could be seen in the urban cities. Frederick Law Olmsted, an environmental designer noticed this “Every day of their lives they have seen thousands of their fellowmen, have met them face to face, have brushed against them, and yet have no experience of anything in common with them.”, (pg.12), this character of urban society troubled other genteel reformers and thought of construction of parks as recreation in urban life. Olmsted built the first park in United States in New York known as “Central Park” in 1858 with Calvert Vaux. The other major park during this period was Chicago’s Columbian Exposition built by Daniel H. Burnham in 1893. These parks, are compared by the author to prove, that the remedies offered by the parks were different, but the purpose of building them was the same. Central Park was to escape the urban setting whereas Columbian Exposition was to enhance the urban

Show More
Related
1153 Words | 5 Pages

Ryan McCaffery Mrs. Yale-Wasdyke / Mr. Herman AP U.S. History II 5 September 2016 The city of Chicago’s transition from the Black City to the White City was able to not only revitalize the city, but the country as a whole.  Americans, especially Chicagoans, were in dire need of something to reinstill pride in their nation, and the White City was able to do just that.

Read More
1076 Words | 5 Pages

Amusing the Million by John F. Kasson uses Coney Island as a turning point in American history before World War I. Coney Island at the rise of a new mass culture during the twentieth century allowed society to be free from the ever so conformity that the government has bestowed upon them. Being free from the urban industrialized genteel control; the creation of Coney Island served a purpose to detach from the formal culture in which they were living in. This era has sparked cultural freedom with that gave society a thrilling new find in amusement parks which went against societal genteel norms. Coney Island was used as an escape from the industrialized life that wanted to establish civil order. Kasson explains the turn of the century that encompassed educators, critics, and genteel reformers who took charge in controlling the public.

Read More
2878 Words | 12 Pages

The special Carriage Drives are as long as nine miles and two-fifth miles. Frederick Law Olmsted has done more than design parks; he has greatly impacted people’s lives. Olmsted’s greatest contribution to designing parks is his idea of creating a dream that is located in the middle of a city. He worked to create places that would be a haven from the hectic lifestyle of a big city.

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

The 19th century was the era of the Gilded Age, where the economy was booming, bringing great changes that affected the lives of workers and entrepreneurs. During this period, there was a large influx of immigrants that were coming to America to look for job opportunities. The migration of immigrants proved useful as a source for cheap labor, allowing an even higher rise in the U.S. economy. While American industrialization may have benefited the upper class of the American society, the effects were opposite to the workers of the lower classes. This problem was especially worse for immigrant workers as their belief in the so-called American dream has been worn down due to the misery they had to endure.

Read More
1387 Words | 6 Pages

The immigrants took factory and other industrialized jobs, which created a competition with the working class that was already living in these cities, because the immigrants worked for less pay. Asian immigrants started to come to the United States as well, and settled in the western states. Asian immigrants started to compete with the laborers who were already there for the jobs. Laborers knew the need to work together, so unions were created. Laborers made the union Knights of Labor.

Read More
291 Words | 2 Pages

Frederick Law Olmsted was among the first to look at landscape architecture as a business and development recreational parks across the country in fact, with Calvert Vaux he practically made that an occupation. There is no definitive study of Olmsted's work. To Olmsted, a park was both a work of art and a requirement for urban life. Olmsted traveled regularly and often published his diaries and discussions. He wrote Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England, A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States, A Journey through Texas, and A Journey in the Back Country.

Read More
308 Words | 2 Pages

The mid-19th century saw an unprecedented wave of immigrants coming into the country. At its peak, Ellis Island, the main processing station for immigrants, handled an astounding 5,000 people every day. Because of the language and culture barriers faced by each group of people, they often settled amongst themselves. Very quickly, country-specific neighborhoods began popping up throughout New York and the surrounding area. This helped to alleviate the stresses with moving to a new country; however, most immigrants came to the United States penniless and lived in low-income housing as their jobs rarely supported themselves let alone their families.

Read More
1707 Words | 7 Pages

In the early 19th century, millions of immigrants from Europe had traveled to the United States to escape difficulties faced in their native lands such as poverty and religious persecution. Italian, German, Irish, and many other eastern European immigrants sought the prosperous and wealthy lifestyle advertised in the land of opportunity, the United States. However, after settling down they often faced the difficulties they had fled from as well as sentiments of prejudice and mistrust from the American people. Most immigrants were discriminated against due to their religious beliefs as well as their language barriers which fostered the beliefs that they were intellectually inferior to Americans.

Read More
1381 Words | 6 Pages

The immigrants changed urban American life collectively, if not individually. A view of a large diversity, including "old" and "new" immigration, is being attempted. As a summary of urban America's immigrant experience, Bodnar asserts that immigration, emigration, and immigrant conduct in the new country are all accounted for by

Read More
787 Words | 4 Pages

America’s Diverse Population In the nineteenth century, rates of immigration across the world increased. Within thirty years, over eleven million immigrants came to the United States. There were new types of people migrating than what the United States were used to seeing as well. Which made people from different backgrounds and of different race work and live in tight spaces together; causing them to be unified.

Read More
861 Words | 4 Pages

The Gilded Age lasted from 1870 to World War 1, “1900s.” The Gilded Age was a period of fast economic development, but also much social struggle. Mark Twain in the late nineteenth century founded the “Gilded” Age, which means covered with gold on the outside, but not really golden on the inside, for example, tin. This period of time was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In other words, the outside looked beautiful, but the inside looked old and trashy.

Read More
461 Words | 2 Pages

See America First is a chronicle from the genesis of tourism in America from the late 1800s through the beginning of the 20th century. The Author Marguerite Shaffer links National tourism to the emerging culture of leisure in the middle-class Americans life due to the growth of the transportation industry. See America First was a catch phrase or advertising slogan used by various media outlets to spur travel and boost patriotism in the middle class. Shaffer links tourism to a national consumerism in the identity of America. Shaffer insists on Seeing America first instead of Europe as a form of loyalty to America.

Read More
1427 Words | 6 Pages

Marketed to those cramped in developing cities, Downing’s work spread pastoral ideals of small town living. His works included sketches of modest cottages surrounded by greenery and space. This work would have surely resonated with the urban middle and upper class, who had the means to commute and live this idealistic lifestyle, and it would have tugged at the heartstrings of the working class, who were stuck in the cities. These facets of inspiration directed how Olmsted thought individual ought to interact with parks and open spaces. On top of Downing’s work, Olmsted’s trip to England in 1850 heavily influenced his landscape design tendencies.

Read More
991 Words | 4 Pages

QUESTION 3 3.1 Disneyland is a “strong culture” organisation. The organisation – and the employees themselves – produce and reproduce the culture. Discuss five examples of how culture forms at Disneyworld and how the organisation maintains it. (10) According to the Disney Institute (2015) the processes of “employee selection, training, care, and communication are crucial to creating and nurturing a culture of excellence”.

Read More
711 Words | 3 Pages

From walking your dog, to playing with your kids, the park is the perfect place for endless outdoor activities and events. The park is a door to escape the harshness of the world and return to reality with a new mind set on the world. Most public parks offer amazing sceneries of nature from plants and trees to wildlife. The presence of nature warms my heart bringing relaxation and peace upon my body and

Read More

More about Summary Of Amusing The Million By John Kasson

Related Topics

Open Document