people onthe move
TRANSCRIPT
People on the Move
Immigration, Industrialization, Urbanization
Immigration
Why? A chance to improve
“Rags to Riches” Golden opportunity
NYC=“Golden Door” Free land
Homestead Act School, no forced time
in military, could take part in democracy, increased freedom
Who? EXAMPLES: Potato famine in Ireland (1845-
1852) Ireland loses 25% of its
population Germans from Russia Pogroms, violent massacres of
Jews, in Russia (1880s) 2 million emigrated
Italy, fleeing rural poverty & high taxes More than 4 million came to U.S.
between 1880 & 1924
Immigration
Old Immigration (Thru 1880)
Northern or western Europe Irish & German
Literate & skilled Mostly families Quick to assimilate Experience w/
democracy
New Immigration (1880-1920)
Southern or eastern Europe
Fewer Protestants; more Catholics & Jews
Many were illiterate & unskilled
“Birds of passage” Young, single men, planning
to return Less willing to assimilate;
more “clannish” Often poor
1882—Chinese Exclusion Act 1886—Statue of Liberty put in place in NY Harbor 1890—Roughly 10 million immigrants have arrived since the end of the Civil War 1892—Ellis Island opens
70% of immigrants came thru NYC 1892—Gov’t requires all immigrants to pass
physical exam 1910—Mexican Revolution leads to increased # of immigrants from Mexico
Immigration
The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things
Uncle Sam’s Boarding House
Reality….
Jacob Riis, photographer, NYC
OMAHA1860 1,8831880 30,518
1900 102,555
The “Great American
Desert” “Rain follows the plow” New states
Kansas (1861), Nebraska (1867), Colorado (1876), North Dakota & South Dakota (1889), Montana (1889), Oklahoma (1907)
Land taken from Indians through war & declared “public domain” Buffalo Soldiers Little Bighorn, AKA “Custer’s Last Stand (1876) Indian Wars are over after Wounded Knee Massacre (1890) Turner Thesis declares that frontier is closed (1893)
The Shores Family in Custer County, Nebraska
Cherry County Homesteaders
Near Broken Bow
Hilton Family; Custer County
Results
BY 1900: U.S. population triples between 1850 & 1900
23 million to 76 million Frontier closed; Indians forced to assimilate
Increased diversity in the Plains & West Looking for a new frontier
Increased urbanization leads to problems…. Overcrowding, tenements, sanitation issues, crime, corruption, poverty
Nativism/anti-immigration Push for assimilation
Salad bowl or melting pot? U.S. becomes industrial giant, but…
Low wages, long hours, increase in strikes/protests Need for reform
Lack of government involvement/regulation; “laissez-faire”