Preface xv Introduction 1
PART 1. COLONIAL PERIOD (1624-1783) 13
Account of Henry Hudson’s Voyage in 1609, EMANUEL VAN METEREN (l6ll) 23
New Amsterdam, Frontier Trading Post, from Historisch Verhael, NICOLAESVANWASSENAER(1626)26
Letter of the Eight Men to the States-General of the United Netherlands ProvincesRegardingtheFearinNewAmsterdamoftheIndians During the Wars of 1643-1645 (1643)
The Representation of New Netherland, 1650, ADRIAEN VAN DER DONCK 30
Exclusion of Jews from Military Service in New Amsterdam, THE BURGHER COUNCIL (1655) 31
Remonstrance of the Inhabitants of the Town of Flushing (1657) 33
DescriptionoftheTowneofMannadens,anonymous(1661)36
MercantilistIdeas,fromEngland’sTreasurebyForraignTrade, THOMAS MUN (1664) 38
Prosperity in New York, from A Brief Description of New York, DANIEL DENTON (1670) 40
TrueCopyofArticlesWhereupon...TheNewNetherlandsWere Surrendered (January 1674) 42
The Demand for English Liberties in New York: The Charter of Liberties and Privileges (October 30, 1683) 44
Leisler’s Rebellion: Benjamin Blagge’s Memorial, from The Documentary HistoryoftheStateofNew-York,benjamin blagge (1689) 50
ContractofanIndenturedApprentice(October2,1718) 34
From the New York Weekly Journal (March 11, 1733) 36
Andrew Hamilton’s Defense, from A BriefNarrative of Case and Trial of John Peter Zenger (1736) 59
VIII CONTENTS
The Great Negro Plot of 1741, from The New York Conspiracy, DANIEL HORSMANDEN (1741) 65
The Trial of John Ury, from The New York Conspiracy, DANIEL HORSMANDEN (1741) 69
Description of New York City in 1748, from Travels into America, PETER KALM (1748) 71
OppositiontoaSectarianCollege,fromTheIndependentReflector, WILLIAM LIVINGSTON (1753) 77
State of the Province of New York, Cadwallader Colden (1765) 81
From A Tour Through Part of the North Provinces of America, PATRICK M’ROBERT (1774) 83
FromDiaryofPastorSchaukirk,ewald g. schaukirk (1775) 86 Journal of Lieutenant Isaac Bangs (1776) 89 HessianViewsofNewYorkCity,anonymous(1777,1780)92 The Forgotten Saga of the Prison Ships,
KENNETH T. JACKSON (1990) 94
PART 2. RISE TO NATIONAL DOMINANCE (1783-1860) 99
From An Excursion to the United States ofNorth America in the Summer Of1794,HENRYWANSEY(1794) 107
From Travels,duke of la rochefoucauld-liancourt (1799) 109
From Travels Through Canada, and the United States of North America intheYears1806,1807,1808,johnlambert 111
Remarks of the Commissioners for Laying Out Streets and Roads in the City of New York (1811) 116
FreeSchools,dewittclinton(1809)124
AccountsandRecollectionsoftheWarof1812fromthepopular press (1814, 1846) 132
From A History ofNew York, Diedrich Knickerbocker (WASHINGTONIRVING)(1819)134
FromTravelsThroughNorthAmerica,karl bernhard, DUKE OF SAXE-WEIMAR-EISENACH (1825) 143
From Notions of the Americans and New York, JAMES FENIMORE COOPER (1828,1851) 145
From Travels in North America in the Years 1827 and 1828, BASIL HALL 1^2
FromTheDomesticMannersoftheAmericans, FRANCES TROLLOPE (1832) 156
FromAmericaandtheAmericans,james boardman (1833) 159
Letter,March1,1833,john pintard 162
Workies, from Men and Manners in America, THOMAS HAMILTON (1833) 163
Diary:1835,1847,1849,philip hone 163
From Cinco meses en los Estados-Unidos de la America del Norte desde el 20 de abril al 23 de setiembre de 1835 (Five Months in the United States of North America from April 20 to September 23, 1835),
RAMON DE LA SAGRA 171
The Dans Kamer: A Revery in the Flighlands, ANDREW JACKSON DOWNING (1835) 173
From DemocracyinAmerica,alexis de tocqueville (1835) 178
LettersfromNewYork,lydiamariachild(September23,1841;October 21, 1841; May 1, 1843) 180
From American Notes for General Circulation, CHARLES DICKENS (1842) l86
TwoWorlds,fromJournal,richard henry dana (1843) 195 DoingsinGotham,LettersIIIandV,edgarallanpoe(1844)198 Diary:1857,1859,1863,1869,georgetempletonstrong 202 MurrayHillReservoir,November25,1849,waltwhitman(1849)206 FromTravelsintheUnitedStates...during1849and1830,lady
EMMELIN STUART-WORTLEY 209
ThePointsatMidnight,george g. foster (1850) 212
FromMoby-Dick,Herman melville (1851) 222
FromThingsasTheyAreinAmerica,williamchambers(1853)224
FromAFewMonthsinAmerica:ContainingRemarksonSomeofIts IndustrialandCommercialInterests,james robertson (1854) 228
From TheEnglishwomaninAmerica,Isabella bird (1854) 233
From Land und Feute in Amerika: Skizzen aus dem Amerikanischen Leben (Land and People in America: Sketches ofAmerican Life),
KARL THEODOR GRIESINGER (1857) 24O
FromLifeandLibertyinAmerica,Charles mackay (1859) 244
CrossingBrooklynFerryandMannahatta, WALT WHITMAN (1856, i860) 247
PART 3. INDUSTRIAL METROPOLIS (1860-1898) 255
SelectedWritingsofAfricanAmericansinBrooklyn(1849-1928) 261
TheRepublicofNew-York,fromDebow'sReview, GEORGE FITZHUGH (l86l) 268
UpBroadwaytoMadisonSquare,fromRaggedDick, HORATIO ALGER (l868) 2/3
SelectedWritingsonCentralPark,
FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED (1858, 1870) 2/8
The Life of the Street Rats, from The Dangerous Classes ofNew York and Twenty Years' Work Among Them,
CHARLES LORING BRACE (1872) 2^2
FromTheAgeofInnocence,edithwharton(1920)294 Sandhog,fromMyLifeandLoves,frankHarris(1922)301 SelectedWritingsbyhenry george (1879,1883) 305 Vice-Buster,fromFraudsExposed,anthonycomstock(1880)311 TheNewColossus,emma lazarus (1883) 314
Bathing at Coney Island, from Coney Island Frolics, RICHARD K. FOX (1883) 316
The Senate Committee on the Relations Between Labor and Capital, Testimony of Thomas B. McGuire (1883) 318
Experience of a Chinese Journalist, from Puck, WONG CHIN FOO (1885) 329
The Two Revelations, from Evolution and Religion, HENRYWARDBEECHER(1885)332
From How theOtherHalfLives,jacob riis (1890) 338
A Glimpse of High Society, from Society as I Have Found It, WARD MCALLISTER (1890) 35<5
FromNewYorkHistory1860-1890,Theodore roosevelt (1891) 362 FromDarknessandDaylight,HelenCampbell(1892)370 MinettaLane,Stephen crane (1896) 383 SelectedWritingsbycolonelgeorgewaring(1897,1899)390
PART 4. WORLD CITY (1898-1948) 397
Brooklyn Could Have Been a Contender, from The New York Times, john tierney (December28,1997) 407
The Tenement-House Exhibition of 1899, LAWRENCE VEILLER (1901) 422
The Padrone System, from Reports of the Industrial Commission on Immigration and Education (1901) 430
ThePlanofaCity,jean schopfer (1902) 436
ImmigrantAttitudes,aHumorousView,fromObservationsbyMr.Dooley, FINLEY PETER DUNNE (1902) 44O
New York: Good Government in Danger, from McClure’s, LINCOLN STEFFENS (1903) 443
FromTheGospelofWealth,Andrewcarnegie(1903)452
No Constantine in Sight, from The Education of Henry Adams, HENRY ADAMS (1904) 456
Built Like a Bonfire: The General Slocum Disaster, June 15, 1904, EDWARD T. O’DONNELL (200l) 458
The Desirability of Comprehensive Municipal Planning in Advance ofDevelopment,Calvin Tomkins (1905) 464
TheDay’sWorkofa“NewLaw”TenementInspector,fromCharities andtheCommons17,lewise.palmer(1906-1907)474
From TheAmericanScene,henry james (1907) 477
FromPlunkittofTammanyHall,williamriordon(1905)488
Selected Writings of O. Henry
(william Sydney porter) (1862-1910) 496
The Spirit of the Girl Strikers, from The Outlook, MIRIAM FINN SCOTT (1910) 506
ScenesattheMorgue,fromTheNewYorkTimes(March26,1911) 311
AbramI.Elkus,OpeningStatement,fromNewYorkStateFactory Investigating Commission (October 10, 1911) 516
FromTheAutobiographyofanEx-ColoredMan, JAMES WELDON JOHNSON (1912) 519
Judges in the Gate, from They Who Knock at Our Gates in American Magazine,mary antin (1914) 526
Compact Between the States of New York and New Jersey, “The Port Authority” (1921) 530
AMeditationinBroadway,fromWhatISawinAmerica, G. K. CHESTERTON (1921) 533
From TheColorofaGreatCity(1923),Theodore dreiser 336
From Manhattan Transfer,john dos passos (1925) 541
ArrangementinBlackandWhite,dorothy parker (1927) 548
An American Catholic Answers Back, from the Atlantic Monthly, ALFRED E. SMITH (1927) 553
General Retrospect and Summary, from The Graphic Regional Plan of1929 555
SelectedWritingsofthomaswolfe(1925-1935,1935)364 HarlemRunsWild,claude mckay (1935) 575 NewYork,Marianne moore (1935) 380 TheMan-Moth,Elizabethbishop(1935)582
From GoingtotheTerritory,ralph ellison (1986) 383 TheFourteenthWard,fromBlackSpring,henrymiller(1936)392 MyLostCity,from TheCrack-Up,f. scott Fitzgerald (1936) 602 The Fairy Catastrophe, from When the Cathedrals Were White,
LE CORBUSIER (1936) 6ll
Apology for Breathing, from Back Where I Came From, A. J. LIEBLING (1938) 619
From The Mohawks in High Steel, from Up in the Old Hotel, JOSEPH MITCHELL (1938) 624
InDreamsBeginResponsibilities,delmoreschwartz(1938)639 TenMisconceptionsofNewYork,fiorello la guardia (1939) 647 TheEightyYardRun,irwinshaw(1942)653 TheMakingofaNewYorker,john steinbeck (1943) 666
Voice, WOODY GUTHRIE (1945) 673 Beyond,fromAWalkerintheCity,Alfred kazin (1946) 676
PART 5. WORLD CAPITAL (1948-2OO2) 683
A Place (Any Place) to Transcend All Places, WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS (1948) 691
HereIsNewYork,e. b.white (1949) 695 SelectedWritingsoflangston hughes 712 TheKingofHarlem,federico garcia lorca (1955) 720 AngelLevine,Bernardmalamud(1955)725
Remarks on the Groundbreaking at Lincoln Square, ROBERT MOSES (1959) 736
TheDayLadyDied,frank o’hara (1959) 739
FifthAvenue,Uptown,jamesBaldwin(i960)741
NewYorkScenes,fromLonesomeTraveler,jack kerouac (i960) 750
The Blackout, November 9, 1965, from POPism: The Warhol ’60’s, ANDYWARHOL(1980)760
TheBalloon,donaldbarthelme(1968)762
Introduction and Summary, from The Second Regional Plan (1968) 767
GoodbyetoAllThat,joan didion (1968) 779
TheYankees,bruce catton (1968) 788
Bedford-Stuyvesant:GivingaDamnAboutHell,fromRobertKennedy: AMemoir,jacknewfield(1969)798
13-PointProgram andPlatform,young lords party (1969) 808
GettheMafiaandtheCopsOutofGayBars,anonymous(1969)S13
FromRadicalChicandMau-MauingtheFlakCatchers, tom wolfe (1970) 813
The Fallen Idol: The Harlem Tragedy of Earl Manigault, from The City Game,pete axthelm (1970) 824
OdetoNewYork,reedwhittemore(1974)834
NewYork,edwardfield(1977)838
The Brooklyn Bridge, from Sketches from Life, LEWIS MUMFORD (1981) 84O
It’sSixa.m. DoYouKnowWhereYouAre?, JAY MCINERNEY (1982) 845
Boodling, Bigotry, and Cosmopolitanism: The Transformation of a Civic Culture,fromDissent,jim sleeper (fall1987) 851
AuggieWren’sChristmasStory,paulauster(1990)863 AutumninNewYork,Murray kempton (1990) 870
Manhattan,1976,fromAboutThisLife,barry lopez (1993) 873 Shot:ANewYorkStory,Elizabethhardwick(1993)878 TalkThatTalk,from InthePlacetoBe,guy trebay (1994) 891
ARegionatRisk:ASummaryoftheThirdRegionalPlanfortheNew York-NewJersey-ConnecticutMetropolitanAreaRegionalPlan Association (1996) 893
One Large Garlic and Anchovy: The Search for the Perfect Slice, MICHAEL NADLER (1997) 905
The Second Inaugural Address: The Agenda for Permanent Change, RUDOLPH GIULIANI (1998) 908
SomeplaceinQueens,ian frazier (1998) 918
The Midnight Tour: Working the Edgar Allan Poe Beat in the Bronx, MARCUS LAFFEY (May 15, 2000) 927
Down and Out and Up Again: Walking Freestyle Through the Upper East Side and Sleeping Rough in Central Park, from Time Out Book ofNew
YorkWalks,lee stringer (2000) 937
The Synthetic Sublime, from Quarrel and Quandary, CYNTHIA OZICK (2000) 946
NewYork:ScienceFiction,junotdiaz(2000)962 TheResilientCity,johnp.avlon(2001)965
Sources and Acknowledgments 977 Index 983
