A History of New York to 1939 - The Revolution and Beyond (Part 3 of 3)

After the first shots were fired at Lexington, the British fought a fruitless campaign in Boston, and withdrew North towards New York city. After landing at Staten island on July 3rd 1776, the British took the city after a tactical blunder by General George Washington in dividing his troops into two forces which were easily mopped up one at a time by the more experienced General Howe.

The British had several opportunities to press on during that year, and had they done so it is likely that the demonology would have ended there and then, but Howe decided to return to Manhattan and take Fort Washington and Fort Lee, giving Washington the chance to retreat and rest the main body of his troops. In fact the British remained in control of New York city and Long Island until after the war had ended, in 1783.

The colonials had by that time named Philadelphia Missouri auto accident attorneys their capital, and by the winter of 1776, Howe Montana injury attorneys in control of New Jersey and ready to March on Philadelphia in the spring. At this time spirits were very low and Congress left Philadelphia, expecting it to be taken.

However, they reckoned without the courage of George Washington, who quietly crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night and won the Battle of Trenton on Boxing Day. He then took Princeton on January 3rd, 1777 and most of New Jersey was back in American hands before winter set in. The rest is history. On April 20th, 1777, the first constitution of New York was adopted, although the city was not out of British hands until six years later when the last British troops left on November 25th, 1783.

On the 30th April, 1789 New York was declared the capital of the United States of America and George Washington was inaugurated at the Federal Hall in Wall Street on the 30th April, 1789. One revolution was over as a new one was just beginning in France. There then started an era of industrial and commercial growth in New York that was to result in New York State being given the nickname Empire State. New York's position as capital lasted only until the next year, when it was replaced by Philadelphia.

The importance of New York was magnified by the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, linking Lake Erie and the Hudson River. When the St. Lawrence Seaway was developed later, the whole waterway system of that part of North America resulted in massive building of new towns to house those involved in the industry that good overland transportation systems bring. Railroads and turnpikes were built that exist to this day.

New York rapidly turned into a city of stockbrokers, bankers and shopkeepers and its wealth rapidly increased. Then, in the 1840s, thousands of unskilled Irish poured into the city as they escaped form the depression in their own country, and the civic structure was unable to cope. It was a social change of tremendous significance, and the extant volunteer emergency services and organizations collapsed.

Crime rose and vigilante and partisan groups fought to protect the Americans from the Catholic Irish, and the Irish formed their own gangs in return. Crime soared and the city was changed forever.

The French had joined the Americans in their fight for liberty before embarking on their own Revolution, and on Independence Day, 1884, Frenchman Ferdinand Lesseps handed over the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of the friendship between their two countries and their respective struggles for freedom. It was finally dedicated on its completion in 28th October, 1886. The statue was to become a sign of freedom as America welcomed Europeans escaping from oppression in their own countries.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," is truly an appropriate inscription for this edifice.

The Tammany Society had been founded in the late 18th century and by the 1840s had become a strong political force. Tammany Hall, on West 14th Street, was the political machine of the Democrat party, and became stronger as they offered the Irish and other immigrants jobs, housing and money in exchange for votes. Corruption and violence became commonplace in voting, and Tammany was quickly taken over by the Irish. It was very powerful in New York politics until its demise in the 1960s, largely due to corruption and vote rigging.

In fact it was Tammany Hall's disinterest that led to the decline of Central Park not long after its completion. Central Park, the first city park in the USA, was officially completed in 1873, but quickly fell into declined since Tammany Hall had no interest in its maintenance or the repairs needed through vandalism. Littering was rife, and the park fell into disuse until 1934, when Robert Moses was given the job of resurrecting it. Central Park is now the most visited city park in the USA.

During the 1900s the city became a world center of commerce and industry, and transportation was improved by the subway system, started in 1904, and Grand Central Station. The rapidly increasing crime and poverty rates in New York ended with the First World War, and the restrictions on immigration. After the war there was a new period of hope, although prohibition led to an increase in criminal activity. New York officially became the most populated city in the world in 1925, knocking London off the top spot.

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 set off the great depression of the 1930s that reduced the market for labor and led to great deprivation and unemployment that would finally be consigned to history with the great economic boom after 1945. New York was about to enter its finest period in history.

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