Gilded Age• Coined by Mark Twain• Gilded = Covered in Gold

• New Inventions• Skyscrapers• Electricity• Great wealth

• Covered• Poverty• Crime• Corruption• Gap between rich and poor

Urban American Social Issues

• Immigration• Urbanization• Patronage• Segregation• Suffrage

Immigration

E. & S. EuropeanE. & S. EuropeanE. & S. EuropeanE. & S. European

Asians

La

tin A

meric

a

European

Old Immigrants N & W Europe

New Immigrants

S & E Europe

Emigrate- Exiting a CountryImmigrate- Entering a Country

Immigration

• Poverty• Worker

Uncertainty• Political tyranny• Religious

Oppression

• Land and Work• Better standard of

living• Stable government• Opportunity for

Social advancement

PUSH FACTORS PULL FACTORS

Steamships

• Huge cargo ship• Travel was

cheap, crowded, miserable

Ellis Island- European Immigrants& Angel Island- Asian Immigrants

• Processing center for immigrants• Frantic pace, Lost Identities, Health

Inspections

The Melting Pot?

Cultural Mosaic- A mix of cultures, languages, and ethnic groups that coexist in a society.

Ethnic Cities• Immigrants move to neighborhoods where other like immigrants already live.

+ Promotes stability+ Gives sense of

security

- Assimilation into American culture and

language is a slow process.

- Promotes hostilities between other

ethnicities & natives

Nativism• Movement of Extreme dislike

for foreigners• Focused on

• Jews• Catholics• E. Europeans• Asians

• pro immigration limits

• Labor Unions are anti-immigration

• Chinese Exclusion Act-1882• Banned for 10 years, but renewed

over and over until 1940s• Chinese in US could not become

citizens

Urbanization- Major growth in US Cities.

Migration to the City

UrbanizationWhat did Immigrants Lack?

• Money-Cant buy land or farms

• Education-Forced to stay in cities to work jobs that have: Long Hours, Little Pay, Poor Working conditions

Urbanization• What are the benefits of the living in the Cities?

•Plumbing•Running water

•Electricity•Cultural Centers

•Museums•Libraries•Theaters

Class Division- High, Middle, Low

• Wealthiest Families• Lived in the heart of the city.

• Extravagant homes

High Society( Wealthy)

Class Division• Doctors• Lawyers• Teachers• Architects

• “streetcar suburbs” They took a train to their houses right outside of the city.

MIDDLE CLASS

Class Division

• They lived in Tenements-poor run down apartment

in the slums.• Unsanitary • Crowded• Dangerous

Low Class- Working Class( Poor)

Why were immigrants forced to stay in cities? What were the consequences for living in the city.

The jobs available to them were in the city, and the immigrants lacked money to afford their own farmlands, or the education to seek higher paying jobs. The consequences were working long hours for little pay with poor working conditions.

The New Urban EnvironmentThe New Urban Environment

What were some differences between What were some differences between the social classes?the social classes?

The social classes differed in their level of income and the area in which they lived.

The wealthy lived in the heart of the city in elaborate homes.

The middle class lived away from the central city and used commuter lines to get to work.

The working class lived in cities in tenements.

Separation by ClassSeparation by Class

Urban Problems• 4 Major Problems:

• Overcrowding• Crime/Violence

• Blamed on Immigrants• Blamed on Alcohol

• Sanitation• Political Corruption

Urban ProblemsUrban Problems

Were native-born Americans correct in blaming immigrants for the increase in crime and violence? Why or why not?

The crime rate for immigrants was not significantly higher than that of native-born Americans.

Urban Politics• Cities grow faster than government• What is a Political Machine?What is a Political Machine?

1. Informal political group–Gain & keep power

2. Got things for the working class like…

• Jobs, homes, food, clothes, heat, protection, etc…–Positive note

• Provided necessary services & helped assimilate the new

city dwellers.

• Party BossParty Boss received votes for Providing

“things”–Once elected used political

power for greed.• GraftsGrafts=getting money

through dishonest or questionable means.

• Bribes

Negative Note

“I just get housing for them, buy clothes for them if they were burned up and fix them up till they get things runnin’ again. It’s philanthropy, but it’s politics too---mighty good politics. Who can tell how many votes one of these fires bring me? The poor are the most grateful people in the world, and, let me tell you, they have more friends in their neighborhood than the rich have in theirs.”

-George Plunkitt (party boss): after a tenement building fire.

Tammany Hall

William “Boss” Tweed• Tweed Headquarters

• Grossly overpaid contractors for work• 13 million.• 180,000(2.5mil) for 3 tables & 40

chairs.• Imprisoned for corruption. Died.

Famous Example

What were some of the problems caused by political machines?

The bosses that ran the political machines grew rich by accepting bribes, selling permits to friends, and dealing in other corrupt ways to benefit themselves.

Urban PoliticsUrban Politics

"I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts! I did it

and I want to be arrested! Arthur is President now!”

Charles GuiteauAssassinated President Garfield in July 1881

Political Reform• Patronage- Gov. jobs are

given to the supporters of the winning party. ***(***(spoils system) spoils system)

• 1880 Garfield assassinated.

• 1883 Pendleton Act- You get jobs based on merit,

and you have to pass a test to get a government job

Checking for UnderstandingChecking for Understanding

__ 1.__ 1. the acquisition of money in dishonest ways, as in bribing a politician

__ 2. an organization linked to a political party that often controlled local government

__ 3. the person in control of a political machine

__ 4. System where jobs are given to supporters of candidates based on who you know in power

__ 5. multi-family apartments, usually dark, crowded, and barely meeting minimal living standards

A.A. patronage

B. tenement

C. political machine

D. party boss

E. graft

Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.

CC

DD

EE

AA

BB

Muckrakers

1906

They expose problems to inform the average

citizen by writing about them

Meat Inspection Act-1906Pure Food and Drug Act(1906)-require accurate

labeling of food and drugs.

Jacob Riis

1890- How the Other Half Lives

Jane Addams

Tenements- 2-3 families crammed into one slum Apartment.

Settlement Houses-community centers in slum areas run by middle class women. They provided classes, medical care, day-care, kindergarten

Hull House- Chicago

• What did Political Machines do and what did they expect in return?

• When party bosses were elected into office what did they do?

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