CHAPTER SEVEN – IMMIGRANTS AND URBANIZATION

Section 1 – The New Immigrants

Through the “Golden Door”

Immigrants come to America with the promise of a better life

Sought to escape difficult conditions = famine, land shortages, or religious/political persecution

Europeans

1870 – 1920 approximately 20 million Europeans arrived in the United States

First wave of immigration (pre-1890) immigrants came from Western Europe

Post 1890 = Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia

Arrived to the East Coast through Ellis Island

Europeans

Why leave home?1. To escape religious persecution 2. To escape rising populations 3. Too few jobs 4. Too little lands for farming

From 1800 – 1900 the population of Europe grew from about 200 – 400 million

Chinese and Japanese

Wave lasted from 1851-1883, entered U.S.A through Angel Island

300,000 Chinese – came seeking fortune, after gold was found in California

Chinese helped to build the railroads including the first transcontinental railroad

Chinese and Japanese

1920 more than 200,000 Japanese lived on the West Coast

Japanese emigration boom came after U.S.A. annexed Hawaii in 1898

Came to U.S.A searching high wages than were being paid in Japan

The West Indies and Mexico

1880 – 1920 about 260,000 immigrants arrived in the eastern and southeastern U.S. from the West Indies.

West Indies =1. Jamaica2. Cuba3. Puerto Rico

Came in search for work in America during its’ “Industrial Boom”

The West Indies and Mexico

Mexicans came in search for work too

700,000 Mexicans emigrated to America based on favorable farming opportunities

Life in the New Land, a Difficult Journey

By the 1870’s nearly all immigrants traveled by steamship – One week trip from Europe / Three weeks from Asia

Ellis Island

Read Ellis Island section on pages 256-257

Angel Island

Read Angel Island section on page 257

Cooperation for Survival

Many immigrants sought out people who1. Shared their cultural values2. Practiced their religion3. Spoke their native language

Once they formed a community they1. Built churches or synagogues2. Formed social clubs and aid societies3. Founded orphanages and old people’s homes 4. Established cemeteries 5. Created newspapers in their home languages

The Rise of Nativism

Native-born people saw new immigrants as a threat to the American way of life

Gave rise to anti-immigrant groups, felt the new immigrants were less desirable than those who had come before (mostly British, German and Scandinavian)

Anti-Asian Sentiment

Native born workers feared losing jobs to Chinese

1882 Chinese Exclusion Act – put an end to open immigration to all Chinese

Allowed to enter1. Students2. Teachers3. Merchants tourists4. Government officials

The Gentlemen’s Agreement Caused by nativism, and fear of losing

jobs

1906 Japanese children were segregated in San Francisco schools

1907-1908 – Japan’s gov’t agreed to limit emigration of unskilled workers to the U.S.A in exchange for the repeal of the San Francisco segregation order

CHAPTER SEVEN – IMMIGRANTS AND URBANIZATIONSection 2 – The Challenges of Urbanization

Urban Opportunities

Technological boom contributed to urbanization (the growth of cities)

Urban centers were located in the Northeast and Midwest

Immigrants Settle in Cities

Most Immigrants become city dwellers1. Cheapest; most convenient places to

live2. Offered unskilled laborers steady jobs

Immigrants Settle in Cities

Americanization movement – assimilate wide-ranging cultures into the dominate culture

1. Sponsored by the government and concerned citizens

2. Taught skills needed for citizenship; American history and government

Immigrants Settle in Cities

Many immigrants did not wish to abandon their traditions

Ethnic communities provided the social support of people from their home country

1. Allowed them to speak their own language 2. Practice their own customs and religions

Migration from Country to City Farming technology reduced the need for

laborers on farms

Many Southern farmers who lost jobs were African American

Migration from Country to City 1890-1910 – 200,000 African Americans

moved north and west (Chicago & Detroit) African Americans looked to escape1. Racial violence2. Economic hardship3. Political oppression Segregation and discrimination were the

reality in Northern cities too. Job competition created deeper tensions

between blacks whites and immigrants

Migration from Country to City

Segregation and discrimination were the reality in Northern cities too.

Job competition created deeper tensions between blacks white immigrants

Urban Problems

More people… more problems

How to provide so many residents with essential services and a quality standard of living?

Housing

As the urban population increased; new types of housing were designed

1. Row houses; single family dwelling w/a shared sidewall

2. Tenements; overcrowded and unsanitary

Transportation

Mass transit; moved large numbers of people along fixed roads; enabled workers to go to and from work

1. Street cars (San Francisco1873)2. Electric Subways (Boston 1897)

Linked cities and neighborhoods together and to outlying cities

Water

Providing safe drinking water was a serious issue

1840’s and 1850’s New York and Cleveland built public waterworks

Filtration started in the 1870’s, chlorination began in 1908

Early 20th century many residents still had no access to safe water

Sanitation

By 1900 cities developed sewer lines and created sanitation departments

Crime

Populations increased crime increases1. Pickpockets2. Thieves 3. Murderers New York City introduces professional

police officers

Fire

Major fires occurred in almost every large American city from 1870-1880’s

Wooden dwellings replaced with brick, stone or concrete structures

1853 Cincinnati – first professional fire department, by 1900 most major cities followed Cincinnati’s lead

Reformers Mobilize

Social welfare reformers targeted urban poverty as their key issue

The Settlement House Movement Social Gospel Movement – preached

salvation through service to the poor

Settlement Houses – community centers in slum neighborhoods that provided assistance to people in the area - immigrants

The Settlement House Movement Operated by middle-class college-educated

women

Settlement houses provided 1. Education (English, health, and painting)2. Cultural 3. Social services (nurses; support for deserted

women

Jane Addams page 266