From the beginning of the US, New York City was a center of trade. This meant that goods and people would flow into the city both from abroad and from other regions of the United States. By the mid-19th century, New York was the dominant American port, and by the turn of the 20th century, it was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Because of its centrality to trade, financial interests were also based in the city, including Wall Street, which continues to be a major financial center today.

Industrialization and immigration drove the city’s rapid growth from 60,000 residents in 1800 to over 500,000 just 50 years later. Innovations in infrastructure—such as the Croton Aqueduct in 1842, which improved public health and sanitation—also contributed to the city’s growth. New York mastered the construction of the skyscraper, allowing for greater population density. As manufacturing capabilities increased, so did immigration, with new Americans traveling to the country in hopes of jobs, religious freedom, and the American Dream of prosperity in exchange for hard work. What they found was dramatic inequality; for example, Russian Jews and southern Italians faced bigotry and cultural discrimination, forced into dangerous jobs without safety precautions or worker protections.