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The enduring nature of 'American values' in small towns, tracing their historical development and examining specific examples from towns near Flint, Michigan. The author argues that small towns, with their close-knit communities and emphasis on individualism, independence, and family, offer a contrast to the urban and suburban environments and continue to attract people seeking a simpler way of life.
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by Julia A. StoneAMC Thesis May 1, 1998
at the University of Michigan-Flint, fulfilling requirementsPresented to the American Culture Program Faculty for the Master of Liberal Studies in American Culture
First Reader
Second Reader
The American Value System is Alive and Well in Small Towns Introduction I. The American Value System a.b. origins, what is it?history, where did it come from?
II. Industrialization's Effects on American Valuesa. growth of urbanization b. urbanization's effect on values III. Transportation and Suburbanizations Effects a. Horse/Carriage Era b.c. railroad/ public streetcarsrecreational automobiles d.e. waves o f movement, years and area involvedhighways IV. What is Small Town, America? a. stability b.c. maintaining valuesDescription o f a small town changes in small towns near northern industrial cities 1890, 1920's, 1930's, 1950's, 1960-70's, 2000 V. Specific examples a.b. Wilmington, OhioFlushing, Michigan history of, what makes this town special, basic valuespeople of Flushing how industrialization is absorbing it c. Montrose, Michigancan they save their small town atmosphere and innocence history of, what makes this town special, basic valuespeople of Montrose another wave outside of Flushing, is the distance far enough? VI. Comparison of ideals and values in small towns west of Flint Conclusion
American values were created in small towns and never left. Large urban areas evolved from some small towns and urban values evolved with the gradual change. As Americans tried to escape the new dirty cities created by industrialization, an area o f land between city and country grew. The suburbs grew slowly for awhile and then began to pick up speed as industry and capitalism followed suburbanites into their new land. The closest small towns have been engulfed by suburbanization while smaller towns in the next outward wave have remained stable. Small towns are classified as having a population o f 5,000 to 20,000 residents. Outside o f Flint, Michigan, an industrialized city, small towns o f approximately 10,000 are becoming this city's suburbs. Further out there are smaller communities, even less populated than 5,000, and they seem to be holding on to the value system we think of when we discuss pure and basic American values. To best understand these values I found it necessary to historically research our original American values, small towns in general, and specific small towns. The social history of small towns is necessary to grasp the heart and soul of people who create and then keep alive a primitive community. Values do not come from roads, fields, or buildings, but from those who create these necessities. If you want to know about values of a town, all you have to do is learn about the people who live there. Small communities form bonds not found in heavily populated areas because small towns are more like family units whose members are always willing to lend a hand. They share, watch out for each other, and help without being asked. Mrs. Clinton is known for saying, "It takes a village to raise a child.” If you ask a child in a small town if that is true, they will probably tell
you that it feels like every adult is their parent. Taking pride and ownership of a town includes feeling connected to all who live there. In this day raising healthy, happy, well-adjusted children is extremely difficult. Having a little help along the way is welcomed by most. Each small town has a unique personality and reason for being, but all share many concrete beliefs. Families will often stay in their home town with succeeding generations giving back to the community all that has made them feel safe and secure. Some families own businesses that cater to the town's needs while others are consistently volunteering for any service needing to be done. Each town has celebrations that are planned by a volunteer group giving hours of their free time. These celebrations are put together with love and commitment for the community. Durand has Railroad Days, Swartz Creek has Hometown Days, and Montrose has its Blueberry Festival. Year after year these people choose to celebrate their hometowns. It is interesting to hear rural residents discuss recreation and summer activities because over the years, little changed. Outdoor activities are still as popular as they always have been. Simple entertainment, friends, and family seem to be the theme of pleasure in small towns. Unity is a guiding factor, joined by hard work and discipline. Play time is so much more rewarding if you have earned it, and small town people truly do. Even though small towns near large industrial cities are financially connected to the city, towns are generally trying to keep the atmosphere at home as innocent as possible in this technological age. Often they refuse to give permits to chain restaurants or
When the term "small town values" arises in conversation, people nod their heads and agree that there are positive aspects to living by these ideals. If debating the best way to raise children, someone will mention that children are best raised in the realm o f the safety o f small town values. When asked to define that term, however, a pause in conversation and a surprised look comes over the faces of those present. How could someone question the definition o f this broadly and loosely used phrase? If we look closely at the definition, we must consider the history of this country to truly understand the evolution o f this theory. To thoroughly understand today's idea o f small town values, we must understand how they actually arrived from our belief in the original "American Value System." Before being "discovered" by Christopher Columbus, this country was a vast open land sparsely populated by American Indians. The land was clean, unpolluted, and a natural habitat to many wild animals. Most Europeans who came here were from relatively small, dirty, polluted, and over-populated countries. They came to escape political powers pushing religious beliefs on all who lived there. Those choosing to make
the horrendous trip knew that their dreams of freedom could only become a reality by risking everything they owned and even possibly life itself It was a grueling, life-threatening, filthy trip in the hull o f a ship lasting many long, agonizing days. People willing to subject themselves to this kind of torture were strong-willed and determined to survive, no matter what the consequences. This determination and hard work were all they had as they walked onto the shores o f Eastern America. In order to survive, they had to be independent, hard-working, and willing to help others. They either lived by that code or they died. There was no other choice* This was the American way to survive. Besides the physical need for land, in order to build a home and grow and raise food, these new inhabitants were socially in need o f belonging to a group. Humans require interaction with others, so most who came here connected with others who had similar beliefs. Many formed religious communities based on their freedom to worship and live according to a particular religion. Some, looking for the opportunity to farm large parcels o f land, found their friendship with those who settled in the southern portion o f this country. Even if they spent six days in the fields seeing no one else, they gathered for church services on Sunday. This independent, hard-working, life style was the foundation for what we call the” American Value System". America was and still is looked upon as the land of opportunity. America is thought to be a place where anyone can become what they want to become, if they are willing to work very hard and suffer to get it. Immigrants coming to this country for the past three hundred years have believed that they must leave the only life they have ever known if they wanted to achieve their goals. They did not come to America expecting to
Values, being based on past experience, came into question as a result of the migration to a new land. Settlers chose to keep part of their European value system while modifying, changing and creating new values for the New World. When moving to the new world most people brought nothing, or very little, with them. The American style, in the beginning, was purely functional, cheap, and a matter of simple survival. They based life on necessities and availability. Many who migrated also made more than one move once they reached America. It was imperative that they knew how to survive on almost nothing. It was a constant struggle to build. They built their homes, tools, relationships, and lives in these new lands. "Migration has continued to be a powerful influence throughout American history. In the decade 1920 to 1930, for example, an old stable East Coast city such as Norristown, Pennsylvania, received 501 new male migrants and lost
Unlike the small depleted land in England, America's wood was so plentiful that most trees were regarded as hindrances rather than assets. These opportunities of the American geographical environment support with the lower-to middle-class Western European cultural heritage werethe thesis that such forces working on the continuous flow o f immigrants dominant in shaping the traditional American values and social practices. The total approach, therefore, could be called "geocultural". The physical environment was exploited by people with the cultural values andknowledge needed for material success, and, in doing so, they generated a common culture and values that for many decades became stronger aswell as more distinct from those of Europe. (Cochran p9)
There were three basic forms o f settlement in England, the rural rustic village, the bustling dirty city, like London, and the commercial town. When considering which of these three would be the best to have in the new land, many favored the commercial town. The rural village was specifically related to farming and vast areas of land while the city was known to be a disgusting, polluted mass confusion of social ills, such as fire, plague, poverty, and pollution. The commercial town was somewhere in between and could possibly resemble what we now call suburbia. After London's great fire o f 1666, new ideas emerged in city planning. William Penn, when making plans for Philadelphia was adamant in spacing houses and businesses, with streets and squares serving as firebreaks and parks with gardens and trees. Penn had decided that he would create a "green country town, which will never be burnt, and will always be wholesome". (Lingerman pi 7).
throughout the history of mankind.The small community has been the very predominant form o f human living The city is a few thousand years old, and while isolated homesteads appeared in early times, it was probablynot until the settlement of the New World that they made their 'first appearance on a large scale.'was the "only association so perfectly natural that wherever a number To Tocqueville, the village or township today (1942) three-quarters of the human race still live in villages; andof men are collected it seems to constitute itself.' One estimate is that
Michigan would be the Catholic community in New Lothrop and the German Lutheran community o f Frankenmuth. Another reason for inner migration was the population explosion among those coming to America by the 1700's. Increasing prosperity brought people, a higher fertility rate caused larger families, and the average person was living ten years longer. The land o f a small town would be depleted so families would pack and move to a less civilized area. At that time, fathers were obliged to provide a livelihood for their sons so they might marry, meaning there must be land or a trade. Sometimes the fathers would go to auction and buy land in a new developing town and save it for their sons. If the sons wanted their land, they had to abide by the fathers' wishes while they were growing up. The monetary value of the land helped build the value system within the relationship between the father and son. By the third and fourth generation, the anatomy o f towns was more speculative. People were learning more trades and moving where there was need and opportunity, even if it was just down the road. Instead of settling within a religious community, with survival the main purpose, these future generations began to look at their individualism and possible prosperity. Because most townspeople were still fairly new themselves, new arrivals were warmly welcomed and helped by everyone in town. There was a feeling of comradeship and kinship. While pursuing their own dreams, they knew they could help others along the way. This was a strength in the American way of life and value system being created in this developing land.
The strong resolution o f the first generations began to dim with each succeeding generation. The determination to leave behind the old dirty barren land drove first generation immigrants to these shores, but their American bom children only knew the old country from stories. They had not experienced it themselves, so the stories o f past life grew less dramatic with each new generation. By the end o f the Civil War, America was going through a dramatic time and people were extremely unsettled in their financial security. London's problems were an ocean away and were no longer connected to Americans. The thought of open lands and freedom were only discussed in relation to Southern plantations and the freedom o f slaves. The American value system was not only being questioned, but also was being used as a pawn in a financial game of chess between the North and South. Factories built using assembly lines were predominantly in the northern industrial cities; therefore the needs of the people who were coming to find work had to be addressed. Cities were beginning to look like old country cities, with homeless people
slink off to sleep, forcing the dislodged rats to move away in quest of better lodging.1' (Cochran p. 45) Urban life was under inevitable physical destruction just as the buildings around them. As more and more immigrants came into the cities, the original value system, based on white male, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant dominance was challenged by newcomers. Blacks coming north had been brought up in the South and conditioned to a special type of agrarian society. Northerners gave little support to those who knew nothing o f self regulation. Urban problems became a special American challenge to traditional values. As cities grew and the United States became more metropolitan, the farm population was shrinking quickly. By 1900 the slums o f New York City were worse than anywhere else in the world. Chicago was not far behind, and states began looking for a cure for public health menaces like excess sewage and dilapidated buildings. In the nineteenth century, immigrants from other countries and blacks from the south came primarily from rural areas. Consequently, although there are basic American values, there was still an acculturation from rural to urban values that was continuously going on, but needed adjustments such as reliance on government, more education, and more collective social agencies was slow and weak. In the country, an individual relied on the earth to sustain life, while in the city reliance was on money or other people. Survival means changed drastically with urbanization, and many had no idea how to adjust their way of life without turning to crime. Habitual criminals also found an ample supply of victims in the cities, just as any predator seeking a prey.
Feeling their values threatened by the impersonal big city, people sought substitutes. Important among these was the desire to belong to a meaningful group or family. In the small rural homes from whence they came such belonging was taken for granted, but in the city new groups were formed, not always with a positive outcome. Gathering in bars or on streets could prove to be injurious or even deadly. More sensible immigrants looked for clubs or organizations that held similar beliefs. Churches were often as much social establishments as religious ones. The first settlers o f this country has congregated in small groups so they could be with people of similar beliefs, while these new city dwellers had to look beyond the crowded streets filled with strangers to find small social and religious groups so they too could satisfy the need to belong. World culture was predominantly a rural culture and the values, customs,In a very broad view, it may be said that, up to modem times , Western and habits appropriate to cities have everywhere challenged older traditions centralized control and planning, inevitably accepted by most Europeans because ofand values.^ Yet because of the lack o f much experience with the values o f wars and absolute monarchies, the needs of urbanism have been harder to meet in the United States. These needs have challenged the deeply held American values of freedom and extreme individualism. (Cochran p. 48) The differences between the original American value system and the revamped version for urban living was becoming even more clear to those living in cities. Farming communities were still removed from crime, crowding, and filth o f urban areas. Their problems were centered around agriculture and its survival. Unlike city dwellers, little had changed in their social value system. They could read about urban problems in the paper and hear about the city from travelers and businessmen but rarely had to see it themselves. Children were sheltered from any knowledge of city life. The wealthy, who had homes in the country as well as the city, painted an ugly picture of city dwelling. It was becoming a
Modem suburbanization developed early in the second half of the nineteenth century as urban residents were increasingly able to live on the fringe o f the American city. Suburbia is defined as the politically separate but economically dependent communities located within commuting range o f the central city. (Masotti 3) The key phrase is "commuting range". Because industrialization was key in creating the new transportation technology, which has been a significant force in shaping the geographical structure o f suburbia, it is necessary to trace the growth of modem suburbs, leading to small towns, within the framework o f four urban transport eras:
During the "Walking Horse Era" cities were small, tightly packed urban settlements. Cities had a random arrangement of homes, shops, and other work places all within walking distance from one another. The wealthy lived within the city limits, but they had larger sections o f land, walled off from the rest of the community. They also were able to afford horse drawn carriages which gave them more mobility than most citizens. By 1850 horse-drawn streetcars were a success and opened a sizable new area for home construction at the edge o f the city. Approximately a three mile expansion around the city became accessible to the people who could afford the use of this new invention This newly accessible outer ring that surrounded the pedestrian city became the horse-car suburbs, and its land was used nearly exclusively to build larger and better quality housing. (Muller 29) Middle class families were at first dispersed throughout the city according to where a man was employed (as most women of this class did not work in public). By the mid 1800s there were several magazines being written for domestic women taking care o f their home, children, and husband. Godev's Lady’s Book was one o f the most important purveyors of the ideology of domesticity. A fore runner o f modem magazines for women such as: Goodhousekeeping and the Lady's Home Journal. Godev's published much o f its domestic advice in the form of fiction. (Marsh 22) Stories were written to show how a woman could ruin her family's life if she did not adhere to domestic principles. The most important reason for existence was to maintain the perfect mother-child bond, and it was to take precedence over everything and everyone, including her husband and her own desires. She must be very careful to choose the right husband
