The Hogs That Created America’s First Urban Working Class

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On his first visit to America in 1842thoroughfare大道，大街。,Charles Dickens found plenty to ridicule1—America’s money obsession,their manners, their tobacco chewing habits. But the biggest target of Dickens’ humor was New Yorkers. Specifically, their pigs.

[2] Stepping onto Broadway, New York’s biggest commercial thoroughfare2thoroughfare大道，大街。, Dickens encountered “two portly3portly肥胖的，过胖的。sows” and “a select party of half-adozen gentlemen hogs4hog（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪。” among the brightly dressed ladies and a bustle of coaches. Even more than this strange sight of pigs roaming the city’s streets,Dickens was captivated5captivate迷住。by the free and easy swine lifestyle—a “roving, gentlemanly, vagabond kind of life.” Scavenging6scavenge（在废物中）寻觅。curbside trash in droves7indroves成群结队。, New York’s wandering pigs were on “equal,if not superior footing8footing地位。” with humans—a model of self-sufficiency.

1842年第一次访美，狄更斯看到很多可笑的地方——美国人财迷心窍，举止粗鲁，喜欢嚼烟叶。但是狄更斯打趣的最大目标是纽约人，尤其是纽约人的猪。

[2]一踏上纽约最大的商业街百老汇，狄更斯就在打扮得漂漂亮亮的淑女以及来去匆匆的马车中看到“两头肥嘟嘟的猪太太”和“五六头上流绅士做派的猪先生”。这么多猪在马路上游荡已经是一幅奇特画面了，比这画面更吸引狄更斯的，是那种猪一样自由懒散的生活方式——“端着一副绅士派头四处晃荡，居无定所”。纽约的猪成群结队在路边垃圾堆里翻来找去，享有自给自足的生活模式，和人类“享有同等地位，即使地位不比人类地位更高”。

1 ridicule嘲笑，取笑。

[3] “They are never attended upon, or fed, or driven, or caught, but are thrown upon their own resources in early life,and become preternaturally9preternaturally超自然地，异乎寻常地。knowing in consequence,” remarked Dickens inAmerican Notes10《美国纪行》,1842年出版，记录了狄更斯第一次访美见闻。虽然向往已久，虽然受到热烈欢迎，狄更斯依然对美国感到失望。. “Every pig knows where he lives, much better than anybody could tell him. At this hour, just as evening is closing in, you will see them roaming towards bed by scores, eating their way to the last.”

[4] Though it’s hard to know exact numbers because no one was counting, during pig-ownership’s peak years,in the early 1820s, some 20,000 hogs roamed the streets of Manhattan, says Catherine McNeur, professor at Portland State University and author ofTaming Manhattan: Environmental Battles in the Antebellum City. That works out to one hog per every five humans—slightly higher than the ratio of cars owned by Manhattan residents today.

[5] This problem that so amused Dickens rankled11rankle使人耿耿于怀（或怨恨不已、痛苦不已）。New York’s leaders,real estate developers, and wealthier residents, who feared that parading pigs deterred12deter吓住，阻止。tourists and investors.Pigs weren’t just dirty; they were also dangerous, disrupting traffic and occasionally threatening children, and were thought to spread disease. Well-heeled13well-heeled富有的，穿着考究的。Manhattanites were fleeing across the bay to Brooklyn14布鲁克林在1898年被划入纽约市，此前纽约市只包括曼哈顿岛。—grim tidings15tiding消息。for a city that funded itself primarily through property taxes, says McNeur.

[3]“这些猪没人照顾，没人喂养，没人驱赶，也没人捕捉。它们就给扔在那里，从很小的时候开始自生自灭，所以极其聪明世故，什么都懂。”狄更斯在《美国纪行》中如此写道。“每头猪都知道自己住在哪里，谁都不如它自己清楚。在现在这个时刻，夜晚即将降临，你可以看到一群群猪慢慢走向栖息地，边走边吃，走一路吃一路。”

[4]很难说清那时纽约到底有多少头猪，因为没有人数过，在19世纪20年代早期养猪最为兴盛的那几年，大概有2万头猪在曼哈顿街区游荡，这是凯瑟琳·麦克诺尔提供的数据，麦克诺尔是波特兰州立大学教授，《驯化曼哈顿：南北战争前的环境斗争》的作者。这也就是说，猪和人的比例是1∶5，略高于今天曼哈顿居民的车辆保有率。

[5]让狄更斯乐不可支的这件事让很多人头疼不已，包括纽约市政府官员、房地产开发商，还有纽约的富人，他们担心在城区来回巡游的猪会吓跑游客和投资商。猪不仅仅脏，还很危险，会扰乱交通，有时又惊吓儿童，而且人们认为猪传播疾病。麦克诺尔说，有钱的曼哈顿人纷纷逃到对岸的布鲁克林去了——由于纽约的收入主要来源于财产税，这对该市来说是一个令人沮丧的消息。

[6] So why did pigs rule Manhattan for the first half of the 19th century—and what finally led the city to shed its swine?

[7] The answers have to do with the alignment16alignment结盟，联合。of interests of the city’s government and wealthier New Yorkers in strengthening bureaucracy17bureaucracy政府机构。and driving up property values, at the expense of poorer residents who owned the pigs.In this seemingly obscure18obscure晦涩的，不清楚的。history of New York’s pig woes lies the beginnings of conflicts America still grapples with19grapple with尽力解决。today, such as gentrification20gentri-fication贵族化。gentrify（地区、人等）进行改造以适应较高阶层的人。,the extent of the government’s responsibility to its citizens, and the tenuous21tenuous脆弱的，不稳固的。economic security of poor and working class Americans.

[6]那么，为什么猪会在19世纪的上半叶统治曼哈顿呢，又到底是什么促使纽约最终摆脱了猪？

[7]答案是：纽约市政府和纽约的富人利益一致，他们联手加强城市治理，抬高地产价格，其间遭受损失的是养猪的穷人。关于猪给纽约带来的种种烦扰，其历史似乎并不广为人知，但美国的社会矛盾恰是在这一时期初露端倪，美国人直到今天都在尽力应对这些问题，例如城市中产阶级化，再如政府对居民所负责任的范围，还有美国穷人和工人阶级极不稳定的经济保障。

A social safety net made of bacon

[8] More than America’s other major trade hubs, New York was a city in seismic22seismic由地震引起的，震撼世界的。transition, thanks in large part to the opening of the Erie Canal23伊利运河是世界上第二大运河，仅次于中国的大运河。它横亘纽约州，连接伊利湖和哈德逊河，最初设计目的是为了打通纽约市到五大湖区的水路，1825年开通后，极大推动了纽约州、纽约市乃至美国的经济发展。in 1825. People from all over America and Europe swarmed into Manhattan, turning farmland and field into shophouses,tenements, and factories. Despite this urbanization, non-wealthy New Yorkers continued to raise hogs. In fact hogs were a crucial commodity in this teeming24teeming充满（移动着的人、动物等）的；拥挤的。metropolis, reflecting the turbulent25turbulent混乱的；激烈的。economic and social upheaval26upheaval动荡；剧变。that accompanied this change.

[9] As land to raise hogs disappeared,New York’s working folk came upon a simple solution: let the pigs loose on the city’s streets.

[10] The city’s new and growing wealth was spread unevenly, and even in good times, laborers and artisans—many of them African-Americans and European immigrants—struggled to find regular work and decent wages,leaving them forever teetering27teeter摇晃；上下移动。on the brink28brink边缘。of poverty.

[11] For these families, pigs were a crucial social safety net—an insurance policy that paid out in bacon. A family short on food could always slaughter29slaughter屠宰。one of its hogs; preserved by curing30cure（用腌、熏等方法）保藏（鱼肉等）。or smoking, the meat could feed a household for a long time. Plus, pigs were a source of instant liquidity31liquidity流动资金。for a cashpoor populace. Since pork was a staple of the American diet, butchers were always eager to buy hogs.

猪肉组成的社会安全网

[8]和美国的其他大贸易中心相比，纽约经历的转变更加剧烈，这在很大程度上得益于1825年伊利运河的开通。美国各地乃至欧洲各地的人纷纷涌入曼哈顿，把农田变成商店、住宅和工厂。在这城市化的进程中，纽约的穷人继续养猪。事实上在这个拥挤的大都市里，猪是至关重要的商品，反映了伴随上述转变所发生的经济和社会剧变，整个社会因而动荡不安。

[9]养猪的土地消失了，纽约的劳动大众想出了一个简单的解决方案：把猪放养在城市街道上。

[10]纽约新近获得并不断增长的财富分配很不均衡，即使是在景气的时候，工人和工匠们（其中大多数是非洲裔和欧洲移民）也很难获得正规的工作和体面的薪水，永远在贫困线上徘徊。

[11]对这样的家庭来说，猪就是至关重要的社会安全保障体系——一份以猪肉为支付手段的保险单。哪家没有食物了，总是可以杀掉自己名下的一头猪，猪肉腌一腌或者熏一熏，可以保证这一家很长时间都有东西吃。而且，对于缺乏现金的普通民众来说，猪还可以立即带来流动资金。因为猪肉是美国人的主食，肉店总是愿意购买活猪。

The case against pigs

[12] For their owners, pigs offered economic security, but there were plenty of reasons to oppose the free-running pig custom. Wandering hogs spooked32spook惊吓。horses, caused carriage accidents,tripped33trip绊倒。pedestrians, and blocked traffic. Constant rooting34rooting（猪等）用鼻子拱（地）。destroyed street pavement. Pigs made the streets seem dirty, of course, but also diseased, catching the blame for the city’s frequent and lethal spates of cholera (mostly unfairly,it turned out). More banal35banal平庸的。maladies like headaches were pinned on36pin on sb将责任推到某人身上。pigs too.

[13] For decades, pigs stained New York’s image. Many visitors besides Dickens ridiculed New York’s porkers.Tour guide books of the time offered tips to would-be visitors of where to avoid the pigs. Even other Americans looked down on New York.

反对养猪

[12]对猪主人来说，猪提供了经济保障，但总是有很多理由来反对让猪自由自在跑来跑去的习俗。乱跑的猪会惊吓拉车的马，造成马车事故，绊倒行人，堵塞交通。猪一直不停地拱地，破坏了铺好的路面。由于猪的存在，马路看上去当然很脏，也造成病害。纽约经常爆发致命的霍乱，而猪被当成罪魁祸首（大多这样的指责最终被证明并不公平）。像头疼这样更常见的疾病，也被说成是猪导致的。

[13]有那么几十年，猪玷污了纽约的形象。除了狄更斯，还有许多游客嘲弄过纽约的猪。当时的旅游指南印有小提示，告诉可能会来纽约的游客在哪里可以避开猪群。甚至其他地方的美国人都看不起纽约。

[14] Wealthier Manhattanites were increasingly outraged about sharing their streets with pigs that sullied37sully弄脏；玷污。their city’s good name. But notions of the purpose of public space were changing too. While pig-owners likely saw the urban commons38commons公共用地。as fair game for private gain—if they thought much about it at all—wealthier folks and city leaders were developing a different vision.

Pork vs. parks

[15] In the 1820s, the city of New York bought a potter’s field39potter’s field，又称paupers’ grave或 common grave，是穷人或姓名生平不可考的人葬骨之所。potter这个说法源自《圣经》，陶土不能用于耕作，但可以用作墓地。on the western edge of Manhattan, turning it into a military parade ground (that these days is known as Washington Square Park), a public space where volunteer militia40volunteer militia志愿民兵。美国历史上先有民兵后来才有了常备军，在19世纪20年代，民兵为自愿征募。could train. Suddenly, property values around the square shot up. Developers, speculators, and wealthy resi-dents began spiffing up41spiff up把……收拾得整齐漂亮；装扮。neighborhoods by chiseling42chisel凿，雕，刻。tiny parks into the street grid—Union Square, Madison Square,Gramercy Park, for instance. Home prices climbed there too.

[16] The park craze, McNeur emphasizes, was motivated by health as well as wealth. The medical experts of the day believed disease to come from miasmas43miasmas（腐败有机物发散的）毒气。, as dank44dank潮湿的。, stinky air was known. Clearing parks and gentrifying neighborhoods helped cleanse45cleanse净化。the air of pig-stench. The city increasingly split between pro-pork and pro-park.

凯瑟琳·麦克诺尔

[14]曼哈顿的富人越来越不能忍受和败坏纽约好名声的猪共享街道。而当时人们对如何利用公共空间的认识也在改变。猪主人（如果他们仔细想过的话）很有可能认为使用城市的公共空间赢取私利是正当的，而富人和纽约市政府官员却在逐渐产生截然不同的想法。

养猪还是建园

[15] 19世纪20年代，纽约市在曼哈顿西侧买下一片公共墓地，用作军事训练场（今天这片地叫作华盛顿广场公园）。志愿民兵可以在这片公共区域训练。一夜之间，这片场地周边的地产价格飞涨。房地产开发商、投机商、有钱的纽约人开始在城市的道路网中打造出一片片小公园，把一个个社区装扮得漂漂亮亮的——联合广场、麦迪逊广场、格拉梅西公园等，都是这个时期建好的。这些公园周边的房价同样也有上涨。

[17] The pig-fan masses had less political clout than their richer Manhattanite opponents. As a result, over the first half of the 1800s, the city banned pigs repeatedly.

[18] The drive to make a “modern”metropolis was gathering steam. Turning on notions of a market economy and strong government bureaucracy, this vision left no room for porcine46porcine猪的。—or poor Manhattanite—self-sufficiency.

The pigless metropolis

[19] In 1845, the city established a professional police force which rounded up thousands of hogs and drove them north of the city. The construction of Central Park—a beacon47beacon指向标。of healthful-ness hailed as “the lungs of the city”—in 1857 forced a lot of pigs even further north. By 1860, pigs were banished to the shantytowns48shantytown棚户区；贫民窟。and sleepy49sleepy安静的；冷清的。hamlets50hamlet村子。north of 86th Street. With piggeries driven out and the stink lifted, real estate around Central Park’s perimeter51perimeter边界。soared in value, boosting property tax revenues for the city.

[16]麦克诺尔强调，推动兴建公园热潮的，既有健康因素又有金钱因素。当时的医学专家相信疾病源自瘴气，就是阴湿肮脏的空气。开辟公园，改造街区，能够净化空气，除去空气里的猪臭气。纽约人日益分化为养猪派和建园派。

[17]比起曼哈顿那些更为富有的对手，赞成养猪的民众拥有的政治影响要弱得多。因此，在19世纪上半叶，纽约屡次颁令禁止养猪。

[18]越来越多的人要求把纽约建成“现代化”大都市。“大都市”所倚赖的观念是市场经济和强有力的政府管理，没有给猪以及曼哈顿的穷人留下自给自足的生存空间。

没有猪的大都市

[19] 1845年，纽约建起一支职业警察队伍，把数千头猪围赶到城市北边。被誉为“城市之肺”的中央公园是健康的象征，1857年建造过程中大批猪被赶往更北的地方。到了1860年，猪被驱逐到第86大街北侧的棚户区和冷清的村庄里。养猪场清走了，空气里的臭味散去了，中央公园周边的房地产价格飙升，为纽约带来大量的不动产税收。

[20] Hog ownership was the last vestige52vestige遗迹，留存。of economic self-sufficiency—a way of living that protected families from the market economy’s violent swings. It gave them a modicum53modicum少量，一点点。of control over the value of their work by providing an alternative or supplement to wage labor. As Manhattan’s pigs vanished, a vast stratum54stra-tum社会阶层。of people emerged whose daily meals were dependent on what government and private companies chose to pay them. New York’s leaders might have thought they were kicking cholera, boosting tax revenues, and dodging55dodge躲开；（尤指不诚实地）逃避。more bad PR. But by getting rid of the city’s pigs, they also happened to make New York the home of America’s first urban working class. As McNeur puts it, “They suddenly had to make ends meet or move to New Jersey.” ■

[20]养猪是经济自给自足最后的遗迹，这种生活方式保护家庭免遭市场经济剧烈动荡带来的影响，提供了工资的替代品和补充，使人们能略微掌控自己的劳动价值。随着曼哈顿猪群的消失，一个人数众多的阶层兴起，他们的一日三餐完全取决于政府和私有公司发放的薪酬和福利。纽约市政府官员可能觉得他们在消灭霍乱、提升税收收入、避免不良公共关系，但在赶走猪的过程中，他们恰好在纽约催生了美国的第一批城市工人阶级。麦克诺尔的说法是“一夜之间，这些人不得不量入为出，要么就得搬到新泽西州去”。 □