Goal 5.01: Immigration & Urbanization1870 - 1914

Introduction Immigration Immigrant Push Factor Pull Factor Old Immigrants New Immigrants Jews Traveling to America Ellis Island, NY Angel Island, CA Settlement of Immigrants Religious Pluralism Culture Shock Americanizing the Immigrants Schools Urbanization Reasons to Move to the City Problems with Urban Society

Slums Tenements

Division of American Society Women Jacob Riis

Reform Movements Social Gospel Movement Settlement Houses

Jane Addams Rise of Nativism Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 Yellow Peril Gentleman’s Agreement, 1907 Political Machine Boss Tweed Tammany Hall Thomas Nast The Gilded Age Patronage Merit System James Garfield Stalwarts Charles Guiteau Chester A. Arthur, 1881 – 1885 Pendleton Act, 1883 Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889 & 1893-1897 Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893 Conclusion

5.01: NC Competency Goals5.01: NC Competency Goals 5.01 Evaluate the influence of immigration and rapid industrialization on urban

life..

Student Objectives

By the end of this chapter, students will be able to: Compare & contrast the different groups of people who immigrated to the

United States - why they immigrated & the problems they experienced Evaluate the impact of urbanization; Analyze the effect of immigration & rapid industrialization on urban life; Explain how immigrants contributed to American life; Evaluate the role of local governments & determine the effects of political

machines; Analyze the effectiveness of legislation passed to decrease the amount of

corruption in government

Introduction Immigration to the US increased during the late 1800s

Immigrants helped make the United States the diverse society it is today

The rapid growth of cities created new problems Poor living conditions, overcrowding, pollution…

Political corruption on all levels of government will lead to reform

Many of these reforms paved the way for how government is run today

Immigration Movement of people from one country

to another, permanently

Immigrant: Person who moves from one country to another, permanently

Between 1820-1920, over 33 million people immigrated to the USA

There are many reasons why someone might leave their homeland for another

Push Factor: Reasons that push someone to leave their homeland

Pull Factor: Reasons that pull someone to another country

Push & Pull Factors of the 1800sPush Factors

Irish: Failed potato crop & famine, cultural persecution by the English (1840s-1850s)

Germans: Economic depression & political unrest (1840s-1850s)

Scandinavians: Poverty, shortage of farmland (1870s-1900s)

Italians: Poverty & shortage of farmland (1880s-1920s)

Jews from E. Europe: Political oppression & religious persecution; poverty (1880s-1920s)

Pull Factors Chance to have a better life

Religious & political freedom

More jobs with good pay

Streets are paved with gold

Everyone’s dreams come true in America

Land

Education

Free from fear of violence

European ImmigrantsEuropean Immigrants How Many: How Many: 20 million20 million

Before 1890: Before 1890: ““Old Immigrants”Old Immigrants” From North & West EuropeFrom North & West Europe

England, France…England, France…

After 1890:After 1890: ““New Immigrants”New Immigrants” From South & East EuropeFrom South & East Europe

Balkans, Italy, AustriaBalkans, Italy, Austria

Where Settled: Where Settled: Most on the Most on the East CoastEast Coast Some to the Some to the MidwestMidwest

Asian ImmigrantsAsian Immigrants

ChineseChinese How Many: How Many: 300,000 by 1890300,000 by 1890

Work:Work: Transcontinental Transcontinental RailroadRailroad Manual & unskilled laborManual & unskilled labor

Chinese Exclusion Act:Chinese Exclusion Act: Prohibited all Chinese laborers Prohibited all Chinese laborers

from entering the country for from entering the country for 10 years b/c of job competition10 years b/c of job competition

Where Settled:Where Settled: West CoastWest Coast

JapaneseJapanese How Many: How Many: 200,000 by 1920200,000 by 1920

Treated poorly…Treated poorly…

Gentlemen’s Agreement:Gentlemen’s Agreement: Japan voluntarily limited Japan voluntarily limited

immigration to the USAimmigration to the USA

Where Settled:Where Settled: West Coast (California)West Coast (California)

Mexican ImmigrantsMexican Immigrants How Many: How Many: 200,000 by 1910200,000 by 1910

National Reclamation Act:National Reclamation Act: Encouraged immigration to the Encouraged immigration to the

West to open new farm landWest to open new farm land Gets more people farming in the WestGets more people farming in the West

Where Settled:Where Settled: SouthwestSouthwest

Arizona, Texas, New Mexico & S. Arizona, Texas, New Mexico & S. CaliforniaCalifornia

Russian Jews

The Jews were leaving Russia in large numbers due to religious & political persecution

Coming to America Most immigrants traveled by

steamship From Europe: 1 week From Asia: 3 weeks

Traveling conditions were very bad Overcrowded, unsanitary, no air, lice,

no toilets or running water, often kept in cargo holds

Welcomed by the Statue of Liberty, many immigrants felt relief & excitement, eager to

begin their new lives

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest- tost, to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door”

Ellis Island, NY Immigration inspection station on the

East Coast Processed most European

immigrants

Processing could take hours, maybe a day or two

Physical Exam; Contagious = home Documentation Check Literacy Exam Ability to Work $25 & “Good Luck”

Processed 200,000 million immigrants

1905: 11,000 processed per day

Angel Island, CA Immigration station on the West

Coast Processed most Asian immigrants

Processing could take days or weeks

Immigrants kept in awful conditions Filthy & worn down Detainees rioted in 1919, protested

the bad conditions & treatment they received

Harsh questioning & long detentions

Religious PluralismRefers to the many different religions immigrants

bring to the US

Irish – Catholic

Asian – Buddhist

Russian – Jewish, Orthodox

! Culture Shock !

Confusion resulting from living in a culture different from

your own

Many immigrants suffered from this as many American

customs were different than their own

Immigrant customs were found to be strange, weird, scary or dangerous by American

standards

Ethnic Communities Immigrants with a common

background living in the same neighborhood

Chinatown, Little Italy, the Irish…

Ethnic neighborhoods were the center of social life for immigrants

Acted as a support system, a place to talk in native language, discuss experiences, home, etc.

It was a cultural bond that helped immigrants survive

Some immigrants began hyphenating their nationalities…

Italian-American, Irish-American…

Americanizing the Immigrants Once in the US, immigrants were

expected to give up their own culture & Americanize

Theories on how to Americanize the Immigrants

Assimilation: Immigrants should quickly learn English & adopt American culture

Melting Pot Theory: Immigrants would gradually blend in with American culture & combine the best qualities of other cultures

Blend American & other cultures to create a new type of culture

Cultural Pluralism: Each culture should practice its own customs & respect each other

However, the fastest way to American immigrants was through their children…

Schools Were the fastest way to

Americanize immigrants

Children adjust to new things faster than adults

Lesson were taught in English, in turn, the children would go home & teach their parents

In order to make the children “more American”, teachers would change foreign sounding names to American sounding names

Urbanization Definition: The rapid growth of cities People moving to the cities at a very

fast pace

In 1840, there were 131 cities in the US – by 1900, there were 1700 American cities

Causes: 2nd Industrial Revolution Immigration

Reasons People Moved to the City Employment for skilled & unskilled laborers

Farmers moved to the cities because their jobs had been replaced with machines

Excitement Restaurants, theatres, libraries – very

different from small town life

Problems in Urban Society

Due to the rapid growth of the city, naturally, problems arise

Overcrowding Increase in crime & rise in gang activity

Movie: Gangs of New York Poor water quality & sanitation

Raw sewage dumped into river, streams & lakes that provided drinking water (YUCK!!)

Living ConditionsLiving Conditions Many immigrants found

themselves living in slums

Slums: Poor neighborhoods made up of tenement houses

Tenement Houses: Low income housing for immigrants

Poorly constructed, no sanitation, not kept up, very bad conditions, often 4-5 families in 1 tenement

Sometimes called railroad flats

Row Houses: Rows of tenement houses built close together

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 Burned for 29 hrs. 300 dead 3 sq. miles destroyed 17,500 bldgs. destroyed 100,000 left homeless

1874: Sprinkler system invented

Division of American Society Americans began to divide into classes

based on wealth & social standing Could tell what class you were by where

you lived

Upper Class: People who made great fortunes, such as monopolists

Lived in large mansions with servants, collected art, held lavish parties, etc.

Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt… Lived in the city

Middle Class: Modest income & comfortable living situations

Teachers, managers, shop-keepers etc. Conservative, politely mannered &

patriotic Lived on the outskirts of the city (suburb)

Working Class: Paid poor wages & lived in the slums

Immigrants, unskilled laborers Often, the entire family had to work to

pay expenses Lived outside city, near rail yards & other

“undesirable” places

Working Class

Middle Class

Wealthy Class

Women The role of women differed between

the classes

Upper class women often planned parties & fell into traditional roles

Middle class women took part in civic activities, like their wealthy counterpart, but some worked as teachers

Working class women had to work to help the family survive

Worked in mills & factories; helped on farm & still did “women’s work” when they came home at night!

Jacob Riis Wrote How the Other Half

Lives

Focused on life in a working class neighborhood & family

Exposed problems in lower class areas, such as housing & pay

Reform Movements People wanted to help those less

fortunate Many people felt they had a social

obligation to help the poor Many organizations will be

created to help immigrants & working class families

Social Gospel Movement: Promised religious salvation by serving the poor

If you help the poor, you will go to heaven

Built churches in ethnic neighborhoods

Settlement Houses Privately run neighborhood centers

that provided services to the poor Education, English classes, day/child

care, health care etc. Promoted culture, education etc…

Established in the slums & ethnic communities

Jane Addams established Chicago’s Hull House in 1889 to assist the large immigrant population

Very successful Offered a variety of courses from

English & Civics, sewing & other skills to basic city survival tips

IMMIGRANT.--Can I come in?UNCLE SAM.--I 'spose you can; there's no law to keep you out.

Rise of Nativism Not everyone is happy to help immigrants &

the poor

Nativists favored native-born white Americans

Feared large number of immigrants would ruin the United States

Wanted immigrants to pass literacy exams to gain the right to vote

President Cleveland said “voting is based on opportunity, not ability”

However, no change for African Americans & women…

Supported & lobbied for legislation that would restrict immigration from the “wrong countries”

Wrong Countries were stagnant – Latin America, Asia, Slavic …

Right Counties were successful – Germany, Scandinavian…

Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 Asian immigrants were the most

noticeable different So duh, they are discriminated against

the most

Banned all Chinese laborers for 10 years

Supported by labor unions Renewed every 10 years until WWII

The Yellow Peril In 1905, the Japanese defeated

the Russians in the Russo-Japanese war

This scared the US to death – the fact that a little tiny county could defeat a very large country

Excessive fear of Japanese brought on by the Russo-Japanese War

Japanese were not allowed to own land, attend the same schools as other children etc.

This treatment angered those in Japan

The Gentleman’s Agreement: Japan voluntarily limited immigration to the US