IMMIGRANTS AND
URBANIZATION
AMERICA BECOMES A
MELTING POT IN THE LATE
19TH & EARLY 20TH CENTURY
Gumball Immigration Discussion
Questions
1. How many immigrants does the U.S. let
in each year?
2. Do you agree with our policy? Why or
why not?
3. What would you change about our
immigration policy?
THE NEW IMMIGRANTS
Millions of immigrants entered
the U.S. in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries
Some came to escape difficult
conditions, others known as
“birds of passage”
Temporary like today…Negative?
Why are so many immigrants
leaving?
A – Religious persecution, famine,
a better life, land shortages
What has
Immigration looked
like over time in US
History?
Fill out the subgroups marked in yellow on your notes and
write down an observation about each group as you watch
this video on the history of American immigration
Immigration in 1900…
What do you notice?
EUROPEANS Between 1870 and 1920,
about 20 million Europeans
arrived in the United States
Before 1890, most were
from western and northern
Europe
After 1890, most came
from southern and eastern
Europe
CHINESE Between 1851 and
1882, about 300,000 Chinese arrived on the West Coast
PULL Factors: Gold Rush, Railroads or domestic servants = OPPORTUNITY
An anti-Chinese immigration act by Congress curtailed immigration after 1882
The Chinese Exclusion Act
Many Chinese men
worked for the railroads
JAPANESE In 1884, the Japanese
government allowed
Hawaiian planters to
recruit Japanese workers
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
CARRIBBEAN AND MEXICO
Between 1880 and 1920, about 260,000 immigrants arrived in the E & S.E US form the West Indies (Caribbean)
(Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico) – Opportunity - Jobs
Mexicans, too, immigrated to the U.S. to find Jobs (700,000)
LIFE IN THE NEW LAND
In the late 19th century most
immigrants arrived via boats
The trip from Europe took
exactly a week, while it took
about 3 weeks from Asia
The trip was arduous and
about 10% died.
Why?
Europeans – Ellis Island
Asians – Angel Island
ELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORK
Ellis Island was the arrival point for European immigrants
1st Class
2nd Class
Steerage
Questions Steerage passengers were asked:
From 1892-1924, 17 million immigrants passed through
ANGEL ISLAND, SAN
FRANCISCO (1910-1940) Asians, primarily
Chinese, gained admission to the US through Angel Island
Much more harsh than Ellis Island
1. Chinese said they were sons/daughters of American citizens/often fake paperwork
2. So, tough questioning
3. Long detentions
4. Filthy conditions
5. 77% entered the country
Poems on the Walls at Angel Island
“America has power, but not justice. In prison, we
were victimized as if we were guilty. Given no
opportunity to explain, it was really brutal. I bow my
head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.”
“I thoroughly hate the barbarians because they do
not respect justice. They continually promulgate
harsh laws to show off their prowess. They oppress
the overseas Chinese and also violate treaties.
They examine for hookworms and practice
hundreds of despotic acts.”
Assimilation v. Melting Pot
Assimilation: a minority group’s adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture.
Melting Pot: Committed to culture, but also trying hard to become Americans
many came to think of themselves as Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, Chinese-Americans, etc.
What types of friction can develop between Homegrown Americans and foreign-born immigrants?
Chinatowns are found in many
major cities
IMMIGRANT RESTRICTIONS
As immigration increased, so did anti-immigrant feelings among natives
Nativism (favoritism toward native-born Americans) led to anti-immigrant organizations Nativists are mainly Anglo-Saxon
and Protestant – don’t like Jews and Catholics who might undermine democratic fabric
In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which limited Chinese immigration until 1943
Anti-Asian feelings included
restaurant boycotts
Discussion Questions (Sec.1)
1. Why did the Chinese immigrant workers
become a scapegoat?
2. What were two provisions of the Chinese
Exclusion Act?
3. When was the act repealed by
Congress?
Chinese Exclusion Act
SEC. 2: THE CHALLENGES OF
URBANIZATION
Rapid urbanization
occurred in the late 19th
century in the Northeast
& Midwest
Most immigrants settled
in cities because of the
available jobs &
affordable housing
By 1910, immigrants
made up more than half
the population of 18
major American cities
New York Skyline at night
MIGRATION FROM
COUNTRY TO CITY
Rapid improvements in farm
technology (tractors, reapers,
steel plows) made farming
more efficient in the late 19th
century
It also meant less labor was
needed to do the job
Many rural people left for
cities to find work- including
almost ¼ million African
Americans Discrimination and segregation were
often the reality for African
Americans who migrated North
URBAN PROBLEMS
Problems in
American cities in the
late 19th and early
20th century included:
Housing:
overcrowded
tenements were
unsanitary
Sanitation: garbage
was often not
collected, polluted air Lodgers in a crowded Bayard Street tenement,
1889. Photography by Jacob Riis
URBAN 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 fires
Chicago -1871;
San Francisco -1906 Harper’s Weekly image of Chicagoans
fleeing the fire over the Randolph
Street bridge in 1871
PHOTOGRAPHER JACOB RIIS
CAPTURED IMAGES OF THE CITY (1)
Danish-American
muckraking
journalist/
Photographer
Jacob Riis
2
Madonna of the Slums, 1890
3 3
4
5
6
Section 2 Discussion Questions
1. Why was Riis’ technology innovative?
2. What was Riis’ mission? What was his
book and how many copies sold?
3. List two ways Colonel George Wary
cleaned up the city? What was the
impact?
REFORMERS MOBILIZE
Jacob Riis was a reformer who through his pictures hoped for change– he influenced many
The Social Gospel Movement preached salvation through service to the poor
Some reformers established Settlement Homes
These homes provided a place to stay, classes, health care and other social services
Jane Addams was the most famous member of the Settlement Movement (founded Hull House in Chicago)
Jane
Addams
and Hull
House
SEC 3: POLITICS IN THE
GILDED AGE As cities grew in the late
19th century, so did political machines
Political machines controlled the activities of a political party in a city
Ward bosses, precinct captains, and the city boss worked to ensure their candidate was elected
ROLE OF THE POLITICAL BOSS
The “Boss” (typically the
mayor) controlled jobs,
business licenses, and
influenced the court
system
Precinct captains and ward
bosses were often 1st or
2nd generation immigrants
+ POSITIVE
So they helped immigrants
with naturalization, jobs, and
housing in exchange for votes
Boss Tweed ran NYC
GRAFT AND SCANDAL NEGATIVE: Abused power BY….
1. Corruption: Bosses or machines used fake names and voted multiple times to ensure victory (“Vote early and often”) – called Election fraud
2. Graft (bribes) was common among political bosses “Don’t shut down my illegal gambling
casino and whore-houses (prostitution) and I’ll pay you a monthly rate of money.”
3. Company who is awarded a contract to build a park must give a “kick-backs.” “So we chose you to do the work and
get paid handsomely, we expect money in return
4. Boss also would buy the police or pay them off to help enforce their will.
THE TWEED RING SCANDAL
William M. Tweed, known as Boss Tweed, became head of Tammany Hall, NYC’s powerful Democratic political machines
Between 1869-1871, Tweed led the Tweed Ring, a group of corrupt politicians, in defrauding the city
Tweed was indicted on 120 counts of fraud and extortion
Tweed was sentenced to 12 years in jail – released after one, arrested again, and escaped to Spain
Boss Tweed
NY COUNTY COURTHOUSE The most notorious example of urban corruption was the construction of the New
York County Courthouse in 1861. Officially, the city wound up spending nearly $13
million--roughly $178 million in today's dollars--on a building that should have cost
several times less. Its construction cost nearly twice as much as the purchase of
Alaska in 1867.
The corruption was breathtaking . A carpenter was paid $360,751 (roughly $4.9 million
today) for one month's labor in a building with very little woodwork. A furniture
contractor received $179,729 ($2.5 million) for three tables and 40 chairs. Tweed
personally profited from a Massachusetts quarry that provided the courthouse's
marble. When a committee investigated why it took so long to build the courthouse, it
spent $7,718 ($105,000) to print its report. The printing company was owned by
Tweed.
In July 1871, two low-level city officials with a grudge against the Tweed Ring
provided The New York Times with reams of documentation that detailed the
corruption at the courthouse and other city projects. The newspaper published a string
of articles. Those articles, coupled with the political cartoons of Thomas Nast in
Harper's Weekly, created a national outcry, and soon Tweed and many of his cronies
were facing criminal charges and political oblivion. Tweed died in prison in 1878. The
Tweed courthouse was not completed until 1880, two decades after ground was
broken. By then, the courthouse had become a symbol of public corruption.
Modern-Day Bribes/Kickbacks Kwame Kilpatrick –
Detroit Mayor
• Gave his childhood friend,
Bobby Ferguson, contracts
making BF $73 M. Kwame
made a ton of money off
kickbacks as well.
Illinois Governor Rod
Blagodevich
• Impeached from Illinois
State Senate for selling
B.O.’ vacant senate seat
in a “play to pay” scheme.
1. Under the Tammany tiger’s victim is a torn paper that reads “LAW.” What is
its significance?
2. What effect do you think Nast wanted to have on his audience?
“The Tammany
Tiger Loose”
-Thomas Nast
Harper’s
Weekly
CIVIL SERVICE REPLACES
PATRONAGE Nationally, some politicians
pushed for reform in the hiring system. Why? Favors v. Merit !
The system had been based on Patronage; giving jobs and favors to those who helped a candidate get elected
Reformers pushed for an adoption of a merit system of hiring the most qualified for jobs
The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 authorized a bipartisan commission to make appointments for federal jobs based on performance
Applicants for federal jobs
are required to take a Civil
Service Exam
Immigration/Urbanization:
Picture Recognition
Directions: After looking at the picture, complete the chart completing the following three tasks:
1. Provide description using detail (what’s happening in picture)
2. Write down the event taking place
3. Describe the significance of the event
1
&
2
Advertisement
for washing
liquid in
California.
In
1882…
1882
3
This says
LAW
4 “The Tammany Tiger”
“What are you going to do about it?”
5
