Immigrants and cities

IMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRANTS AND URBANIZATIONURBANIZATION

AMERICA IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY

EUROPEANSEUROPEANS1870-1920: About

20 million Europeans arrived in the U.S.

Before 1890- W. and N. European

After 1890- S. and E. Eur

Reasons: Escape religious persecution, rising population, few jobs

CHINESECHINESE 1851-1882, about

300,000 Chinese arrived on the West Coast

attracted by the Gold Rush, work on the railroads, to start own business

Many Chinese men worked for the railroads

JAPANESEJAPANESEJapanese workers

were recruited by Hawaiian planters & higher wages

The U.S. annexation of Hawaii in 1898 increased Japanese immigration to the west coast

By 1920, more than 200,000 Japanese lived on the west coast

Left Side ActivityLeft Side Activity

Push Factors

What are they?

Pull Factors

What are they?

LIFE IN THE NEW LANDLIFE IN THE NEW LANDMost immigrants

arrived via boatsThe trip from

Europe took about a month, while it took about 3 weeks from Asia

Many died along the way – crowded, disease spread, unsanitary

ELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORKELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORKarrival point for European

immigrantshad to pass inspection at

the immigration stationsProcessing took hours,

and the sick were sent home

had to show that they were not criminals, had some money ($25), and able to work

1892-1924, 17 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty Clip

ELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR

ANGEL ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCOANGEL ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCOAsians, primarily

Chinese, arriving on the West Coast gained admission at Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay

Processing much harsher than Ellis Island: tough questioning, long detentions in filthy conditions

FRICTION DEVELOPSFRICTION DEVELOPS

Assimilation v. Maintaining Culture

Nativism

Chinatowns found in many major cities

In 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act

Gentlemen’s Agreement – Japan would limit immigration of unskilled workers – U.S. agreed not to segregate schools in San Francisco

THE CHALLENGES OF THE CHALLENGES OF URBANIZATIONURBANIZATION

Urbanization - Growth in cities

Rapid urbanization-late 19th

Most immigrants settled in cities - available jobs & affordable housing

By 1910, immigrants more than half the population of 18 major American cities

MIGRATION FROM MIGRATION FROM COUNTRY TO CITYCOUNTRY TO CITY

improvements in farm technology (tractors, reapers, steel plows) made farming more efficient in the late 19th century

less labor was needed to do the job

rural population moved to cities for work- including almost ¼ million African Americans

URBAN PROBLEMSURBAN PROBLEMS

Housing: overcrowded tenements were unsanitary

Sanitation: garbage not collected, polluted air

Jacob Riis

HousingHousing

Tenements – multiple families sharing a one family house – often crowded and unsanitary

Row houses – single family dwellings that shared two walls with others, packed many families onto a single block

URBAN PROBLEMS CONTINUEDURBAN PROBLEMS CONTINUED

Transportation: Cities struggled to provide adequate transit systems

Water: Without safe drinking water cholera and typhoid fever was common

Crime: As populations increased thieves flourished

Fire: Limited water supply and wooden structures combined with the use of candles led to many major urban

Harper’s Weekly image of Chicagoans fleeing the fire over the Randolph

Street bridge in 1871

Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis

REFORMERS MOBILIZEREFORMERS MOBILIZEThe Social Gospel

Movement preached salvation through service to the poor

established Settlement Homes

place to stay, classes, health care and other social services

Jane Addams, most famous reformers (founded Hull House in Chicago)

Jane Addams and Hull House