This week\u2019s readings from Sean Wilentz\u2019s book Chants Democratic<\/i> has me thinking along the same lines as Ben regarding the many mean streets of New York City, where life took place for the common person.\u00a0 More specifically Ben and Wilentz pay close attention to Bowery Street which served as one of the working class areas of New York City.\u00a0 It is in this account that we become familiar with the theater which served as the hub for activity on the street.\u00a0 Whether it be the throwing of peanut shells and fruit at the actors on stage when the audience was unhappy with the events taking place, or the prostitutes seated throughout the theater; something was always taking place at the theater that represented the makeup of the common person.\u00a0 It is here in the theater that American city life in Antebellum America can be fully understood.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0However the shift that takes place in America during this time, seen through Bowery Street\u2019s change over time, speaks volumes to the growing state of the working class man\u2019s status.<\/p>\n
Wilentz\u2019s account of Bowrey Street at first reminded me of the accounts my grandfather used to tell me when I was growing up.\u00a0 My grandfather served as a New York City police officer on Pitt Street which is known for the Gompers Houses, a housing project located in one of the \u201croughest areas of the city.\u201d\u00a0 Here my grandfather experienced much of the same experiences seen in Antebellum NYC that Wilentz first talks about, only in the 1960s and 1970s.\u00a0 Streets riddled at night with drunkards and prostitutes created a sense of lawlessness and in many ways excitement due to the unexpected nature of the area.\u00a0 Education amongst the masses at Gompers was next to nonexistent and in many ways if you didn\u2019t look like you \u201cbelonged\u201d in the area life would become very difficult for one.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Luckily, my grandfather was a Gomper\u2019s kid and knew the language of the streets.\u00a0 It is this idea of looking of sense of belonging that reminds me of Wilentz\u2019s work so much.\u00a0 Wilentz talks about this sense of \u201cnative\u201d pride at the theater on Bowrey Street and that is a concept that exists today.\u00a0 \u00a0People supported \u201cguys from the neighborhood\u201d and more often than not cared less about those living outside of their world.\u00a0 When British actors looked down upon the audience at their show, the crowd didn\u2019t get emotionally worked up because they knew that the guy next to them in crowd would stand by their side in the attempt to stand up for themselves.\u00a0 It is this same concept that my grandfather was molded in, watching out for guys like him.\u00a0 Personally I feel like much of this sense of watching out for \u201cguys like him\u201d was to protect himself from being taken advantage of by the upper\/smarter members of society.<\/p>\n
However, Bowrey Street (as well as Gompers today) changed due to the actions of the upper class (those with power\/wealth). Bowrey Street experienced the setbacks of the Panic of 1837 and the temperance movement caught on with some due to the thought that temperance would lead to more money in one\u2019s pocket.\u00a0 Gompers changed in the 1970s when the government starting pumping resources into the area after widespread riots took place along \u201crough\u201d city blocks.\u00a0 In both the Bowrey example and the Gompers example ideas to better life of the \u201ccommon man\u201d are brought to a community that simply can\u2019t afford to suffer more hardship.\u00a0 These ideas impact the makeup of the area quickly but the question that emerges from this is \u201cwas the situation taken care of or simply swept under the rug?\u201d\u00a0 Understanding the history of the temperance movement and more government spending in high risk areas it becomes obvious that the issues that the uppers class thought they fixed only made matters worse as they created new problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week\u2019s readings from Sean Wilentz\u2019s book Chants Democratic has me thinking along the same lines as Ben regarding the many mean streets of New York City, where life took place for the common person.\u00a0 More specifically Ben and Wilentz pay close attention to Bowery Street which served as one of the working class areas … <\/p>\n