Animals During Urbanization

     Some may think that when the United States started to urbanize, people would have left their animals on the farms, but this was not the case. As people started to move from the rural countryside to the more densely populated urban cities, they brought their animals with them. Animals performed jobs, they were kept as companion pets, the way animals were kept and treated made people start thinking about cleanliness in a way they never had before, and having animals even started changing what was considered to be a part of the "private sphere" of people's home lives. Urbanization had a huge affect on the lives of animals.

Pigs in the city streets near a residential area.

     At the start of urbanization, people used animals mainly for work and food. In late 1850's and early 1860's New York City, cows and pigs - which were an important food source for the lower-class city residents - were kept in the outskirts of the city near the residential areas and were fed wastes rather than actual food. This made for poor-quality food, add that to the unsanitary conditions - which caused putrid smells for the people close by - led to newspaper articles that coerced the New York City government to take action. The livestock was taken over by the government, who were now able to control the quality of urban food (Source 8). This was the beginning of people caring about what they were eating, and the start of the Department of Health in urban cities. 

Horse-drawn carriage (1900)

     Another instance that helped early cities in the US realize that they needed to improve the conditions of the city to be more sanitary was the Great Epizootic. During the early 1870's, horses and mules were used as work animals, usually pulling carriages or hauling heavy work materials. In 1872 and epidemic that originated in Toronto spread to all the horses in the majority of the major cities of the US. For two weeks, horses in big cities such as Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco were all unable to work because they caught distemper. Many people were very annoyed at the lack of a work force, and construction and transportation was halted for a brief period of time. Dr. Andrew Smith, a veterinarian at Ontario Vet College even voiced that he thought of it as a "considerable loss and annoyance to owners of horses and to the community generally"(Source 8) People in the city realized that their multi-species communities made for unique ecological conditions and an easy was for disease to spread that was unlike that in the rural countryside. 

Boston Terriers ("America's dog") 

Black and white photo of a Saint Bernard

     The role of animals in the home also adapted during this time period. Before urbanization, the only pets that were really kept - usually just in the homes of the wealthy - were big dogs kept as hunting partners or child companions. Not until the end of the urbanization period does one see small dogs and other animals kept inside the home. According to Source 5, at the beginning of urbanization in the 1880's, the most popular dog breeds were gun dog (spaniels, setters, and pointers), then in the 1890's it was the Saint Bernard, then the Collie in the 1900's, and finally in the 1910's the most popular dog breed is the Boston Terrier. The Boston Terrier (or "America's dog") is the first really small "companion dog" that wasn't kept for any other purpose than to keep the owner company. This marks the start of pets used as symbols of class or status in the home, or simply for entertainment. Around this time, birds became very popular because they could be kept in a small space and provided "music" to the owners. Instead of going to an opera or a theater, the owner of a bird simply had to sit in his or her home and listen to their small, convenient pet as they sang.

ASPCA giving water to a carriage horse.

    Animals in the city also had an affect on what was considered to be part of the "domestic sphere" of everyday life. With some animals performing work in the cities, and others being kept as pets inside the homes, they were considered part of the "public sphere" and the "private sphere". The people's ability to see how the work animals were treated in public led to the creation of the ASPCA, or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and new morals for the treatment of all animals, whether they were used for work or kept as pets (Source 2). A saying arose during urbanization that went, "A man who beats his beast is a man who beats his children." This saying is a great example of how people viewed animals in the home the same way that they viewed their children. They would show them off to guests, making sure that they were well-behaved and taken care of properly. Animals became symbols of the moral stability in a home. 
     Urbanization changed the way animals were kept and what role they played in the lives of their human counterparts. The keeping of animals during urbanization even changed the way that humans viewed things like hygiene in the city communities. Animals also had an affect on urbanization. Without work horses or mules to haul heavy materials, construction would not have happened as fast as it did in the beginning of urbanization. Urbanization changed many things for animals as a whole, but animals also helped the process of urbanization happen. 




Citations:

1. NY Times - Pet Sounds: a review of a book that gives a general background on domestic animals in America
2. Backstory- Pet Friendly: A History of Domestic Animals - a podcast on the history of domestic animals
3. Express - A secret history of pets: Why humans have kept animals as pets since ancient times: used to get dates of important animal events
4. Library of Congress - Books that Shaped America: used to get a description of The American Woman's Home
5. The CSM - Most Popular Dog Breed: which breed of dog was most popular for each decade from 1880's to present
6. NY Times - Coney Elephant Killed: newpaper article about the execution of a circus elephant, used to get the perspective of people on animals during that time period
7. History Matters - The American Woman’s Home: a more detailed description of the book in order to get an idea of what role pets played in the home
8. ASEH 2013: International Perspectives on Urban Animals in the Nineteenth Century - several accounts of events having to do with animals in cities during urbanization