ABSTRACT
The economic, political, and social structure of America underwent massive transformations during the nineteenth century, social changes that converged to shape big-city policing. The agrarian communities and small towns of the colonial era were socially homogeneous and close relations existed among citizens. Groups perceived as threats to the status quo have borne the brunt of police coercive control, including violence, throughout American history. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and technological innovations were a major part of the changes that reshaped American life during the late nineteenth century. Industrialization and urbanization are generally interrelated phenomena. The rapid growth of large-scale manufacturing in America went hand-in-hand with a major shift in the distribution of the population from rural to urban. The acceleration of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration in the early part of the century fundamentally changed the nature of life in the American cities.
