Immigration,Industrialization and

Urbanization

By:Adrianna Anderson and Bailey Carney

Overview – (in order of book)

Industrialization began after the Reconstruction the nation went through after the Civil War. The large increase in immigrants and abundant, raw materials were some of the primary factors influencing the development. Other factors included new technology, entrepreneurs, and a government willing to assist the business times and an expanding domestic market.

Some of the famous “robber barons” of the time were Morgan, Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Rockefeller, leading each to successful industrial empires. Morgan got his rise to fame through the building of banks and perfecting the idea of the trust. Vanderbilt used horizontal consolidation to join his many railroad companies together. Carnegie began a steel business, after borrowing money from Morgan. He used vertical consolidation in order to control everything that went into controlling steel mills, including mines, railroads and other enterprises. Rockefeller was famous for starting the oil business called Standard Oil in 1870. He controlled 90 to 98% of the refining capacity due to his use of vertical and horizontal integration.

Immigrants were the main source of changes in American. New immigrants came from southern, eastern and central Europe while old immigrants cam from the north and west portions of Europe. They mainly settled on the eastern coast due to easy jobs and cheap labor. Immigrants also ended up settling in their own communities, often called slums. Yellow dog contracts were documents signed by workers stating that they would not join a labor union; this often happened to many immigrants at the time. They were often the last hired and first fired because they could easily be replaced at any time and offered to work for very low wages.

Labor unions had difficulties throughout the 1870s. The National Labor Union was the first attempt to unite people who had difficulties and sought equality in the workplace. The National Labor Union allowed many different types of workers in, but excluded women. The union ultimately failed in the Panic of 1873. Molly Maguires were male workers from Pennsylvania who used terrorist tactics to intimidate coal workers through violence and terror from 1876 to 1878. The Knights of Labor also rose during the late 1860s and early 1870s. They allowed many types of workers, even women, but excluded lawyers, bankers, liquor dealers and professional gamblers. Their broad social and economic outlook caused the party to be loosely jointed and ultimately dissolved after the Haymarket Square incident. The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers. Skilled workers were the only people who were allowed to join. They supported higher wages and shorter working hours, along with safer environments.

Many of the labor unions also went through a difficult time. The first great strike between labor unions and management was the Railroad Strike of 1877. Wage cuts and large amounts of employees being laid off were the main causes of the 45-day strike. Once President Hayes used his troops to suppress the strikers were they fully able to continue working again. The strike caused major backups in transporting goods from coast to coast. The Haymarket Square incident in 1886 dissolved the Knights of Labor when a bomb was thrown into a crowd. The most likely suspects were anarchists that had nothing to do with the Knights of Labor. The Homestead Strike in 1892 was linked to the AFL in that Pennsylvania iron and steel workers went over strike

because of salary reductions. The Pinkertons were called in to break the strike but failed and the state’s army was called in to finish the job. Eugene V. Debs led the strike on the Pullman Palace Car Co. because of job losses and wage cuts. Railroads throughout Chicago were stopped, as well as many places throughout the US traveling to Chicago. The strike was ended by President Cleveland’s order to break the violence with federal troops.

Cities during the time were unsanitary, but at the same time, drew in crowds of immigrants and travelers. The Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 expanded public parks and cleaned up the city, the “City Beautiful Movement,”.

Many people now had more time for leisure, with paychecks rising slightly as well. “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what we will.” Women were also now the main consumers in America, purchasing from catalogs.

Art and literature during the late 1800s was depressing, yet realistic. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, described the meat packing industry and what went on behind the scenes. There were also many books about the self-made man; one famously written by Horatio Alger called Bound to Rise, believed to be the American dream to go from rags to riches like the entrepreneurs did.

Political machines, such as Tammany Hall, used the new immigrants in order to gather support for specific parties. In exchange for the vote, they were offered jobs that they would otherwise have a hard time obtaining. William Marcy Tweed (AKA Boss Tweed) was the leader of Tammany Hall, one of the most famous at the time.

Politics within the late nineteenth century were often divided within themselves. For example, the Republicans were split between the “Stalwarts”, those who favored the old spoils system, like the politic machine, and the “Half-Breeds”, those who pushed for civil service reform and that were elected to posts within the government. The election of 1880 was won by James A. Garfield, a Republican Half-Breed and his vice-president Chester A. Arthur, a Stalwart. Unfortunately, Garfield was assassinated in 1881. Arthur’s first act passed was the Pendleton Act in 1883; it established a competitive written examination for federal jobs. This was looked down on by many Stalwarts, as well as Arthur’s decision to keep Garfield’s cabinet.

The election of 1884 was between James G. Blaine, a Republican Half-Breed, and Grover Cleveland, a Democrat. The Mugwumps, good traitors of the Republicans, supported Cleveland and caused him to win. Cleveland was one of the few presidents who were against corruption and boss rule during the time. He also strengthened the executive power, by calming that executive appointments were the prerogative of the executive and not the Senate. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 allowed shipping via railroad not to be charged between short and long haul rates.

Benjamin Harrison was elected president in 1888, defeating Cleveland. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 was passed by both Senate and House, passing a basic federal enactment regulating the operations of corporate trusts, used to suppress labor rebellions. The McKinley Tariff of 1890 caused prices to rise on both American and imported goods which in turn, made the people poorer.

Cleveland’s second term began in 1892, defeating Benjamin Harrison. At this election, the Populist Party also began to take roots.

The election of 1896 was between Republican William McKinley (from the McKinley Tariff), and William Jennings Bryan, former Populist, ran for the Democratic vote. It also led to the end of the People’s / Populist Party.

The Populist / People’s Party wanted to reach out to the farmers and help them, bringing them together like a community. They also called for the coinage of silver. William Jennings Bryan was one of the most famous Populist leaders with his “Cross of Gold” speech.

Review Questions

1 – The Haymarket Incident involveda). a riot between striking workers and policeb). scandal involving corruption within the Grand administrationc). allegations of corruption on the part of the Republican presidential candidate James G. Blained). a disastrous fire that pointed out the hazardous working conditions in some factoriese). an early challenge to the authority of states to regulate the railroad industry

2 – All the following statements are true of Henry George EXCEPT:a). He argued that increasing prosperity was causing increasing povertyb). He believed that government should take a laissez-faire philosophyc). He asserted the economic inequality was the result of private ownership of landd). He favored a single tax on “unearned increment” of lande). He desired large scale public works

3 – Immigrants coming to America from eastern and Southern Europe during the late 19th century were most likely toa). settle in large cities in the northeast or Midwestb). settle on farms in the upper Midwestc). seek to file homesteads on the Great Plainsd). migrate to the south and southweste). return to their homelands after only a brief stay in the US

4 – The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890a). required the federal government to purchase silverb). forbade the federal government to purchase silverc). made it illegal for private citizens to purchase silverd). made it illegal for private citizens to purchase federal lands with anything but silvere). allowed the federal government to buy silver at the discretion of the president

5 – Edward Bellamy’s book Looking Backward wasa). a fictional exposé of the meatpacking industryb). a detailed program for social reformc). the catalyst of the social gospel movementd). a denunciation of machine politics in big-city governmente). a futuristic utopian fantasy

6 – Which of the following groups was the first target of Congressional Legislation restricting immigration expressly on the basis of national origina). Northern and western Europeansb). Chinese

c). Italiansd). Africanse). Latin Americans

7 – US presidents between 1876 and 1900 were considered among the weakest in American history. A major reason for this was thata). none of them served more than on term in officeb). they considered themselves caretakers, not dynamic initiators of new legislationc).Congress enacted several new laws restricting presidential power during this periodd). they were the products of machine politics, political followers who were typically incompetent leaderse). they were limited in their actions by the overwhelming Populist sentiment of their time

8 – The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 was aimed primarily at a). increasing interstate trade by forbidding states from levying tariffs on goods transported from other statesb). curing abusive pricing and hauling policies by the nations railroadsc). increasing interstate trade through government assistance in efforts to build new canals, roads, and railroadsd). curbing abusive pricing and hauling policies by the nation’s ocean-going, river-going, and canal-going shipping companiese). increasing interstate commerce by offering financial incentives to companies that operated offices of manufacturing plants in more than one state

9 – The only dominant, broad-based labor union in the United States from 1870 – 1890 was thea). National Labor Unionb). Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)c). American Federation of Labor (AFL)d). Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO)e). Knights of Labor

10 – The political machines such as Tammany Hall which ran American cities at the turn of the century derived their strongest support froma). industrial leaders and business elitesb). organized religionc). wealthy landowners living in rural areas outside the citiesd). the middle classe). poor immigrants and ethnic communities in the inner cities

11 – Which of the following was used as “scientific evidence” by wealthy American industrialists in the latter half of the nineteenth century to prove that they deserved the wealth they had accumulated?a). Broca’s research into the functioning of various centers of the human brainb). Darwin’s theory of natural selectionc). Freud’s theories of human psychologyd). The research of Louis Pasteur on biological processes

e). Karl Marx’s research on the economic development of societies

12 – The term “robber baron” refers toa). wealthy landowners in the antebellum Southb). late-nineteenth-century industrialistsc). early-nineteenth-century Federalistsd). early-twentieth-century Populistse). late-eighteenth-century British mercantilists

13 – Henry George’s most famous book wasa). Looking Backwardb). Progress and Povertyc). The Jungled). The Shame of the Citiese). Sister Carrie

14 – The controversy over the presidential election in 1876 between Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes arose becausea). the Greenback-Labor party’s presidential candidate prevented either Tilden or Hayes from winning a majority of the electoral votesb). no candidate received a majority of the popular vote as required by the Constitutionc). three Southern states, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida, submitted contested electoral votesd). the Democratic Party withdrew its nomination of Tildene). Ulysses S. Grant, the incumbent president, refused to vacate the presidency to either Tilden of Hayes

15 - In the cartoon shown below Thomas Nast presents Boss Tweed as

a). a politician rules by greedb). a benefactor of the publicc). a political reformerd). a politician corruptly influenced by businesse). a politician who rejected business influence

16 – One of the major effects of the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century in the US wasa). an increased emphasis on worker health and safety issuesb). an increased emphasis on speed rather than quality of workc). an increased emphasis on high quality, error free workd). an increase in the number of small industrial facilities, which could operate more efficiently than larger, more costly industrial plantse). a decrease in worker productivity as a result of continuous clashes between unions and management

17 – The phrase “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for what we will” emphasizes a turn of the century trend towarda). more daily devotion to religious activitiesb). a greater emphasis on volunteerism and civic activities among the wealthy industrialists and land ownersc). a greater emphasis on the Protestant work ethic by the middle and upper classd). a greater availability of leisure time for working Americanse). the deterioration of moral standards among the middle class at this time

18 – The growth of most American cities in 1880 was determined primarily bya). urban planning by local officialsb). public needsc). federal regulationsd). British models of ideal urban growth patternse). profit motives

Answer key:1. a2. b3. a4. a5. e6. b7. b8. b9. e10. e11. b12. b13. b14. d15. a

16. b17. d18. e

Essay #1

Analyze the impact of any two of the following on the American industrial worker between 1865 and 1900: Government actions Immigration Labor unions Technological changes

Throughout the late 18th century, times for American workers were changing. New waves of immigrants and new companies proved beneficial for the economy. The greatest impact on the American worker was immigration and labor unions. For the workers though, immigration was not a good thing, it made finding a job more difficult than it already was. The labor unions of the time though were of great help, making sure the workers got what they wanted.

Immigration impacted the industrial worker in that they took jobs many Americans considered menial or just did not want to do. The immigrants came from throughout Europe; South, Central and Eastern Europeans were considered the “new” immigrants as compared to the “old” immigrants who came from Northern and Western Europe. With the flock of immigrants coming into the country, it led to the rise of the political machine. One example would be Tammany Hall, run by Boss Tweed. Political machines were used in order to get immigrants to vote a certain way in order to be placed in a job. Immigrants began taking many jobs from Americans because the immigrants were willing to work for less. This contributed to a large pool of unskilled labor, and at the same time, made the employee easier to replace. Wages and working conditions were terrible at the time; wages were low since there was no minimum wage established. The conditions were unsanitary, causing many health issues and sickness. Along with the cheap wages, they caused a large gap between the poor and rich with the poor often living in slums and tenements.

Labor unions between 1865 and 1900 affected industrial workers because they proved to help those who could not stand up for themselves. “Yellow dog” contracts were signed between employers and employees for fear that the employees would strike against the company and eventually lose their job if they did so. The first attempt at a labor union was the National Labor Union. The large amount of workers led to an uncommon interest and eventually died out. The Knights of Labor soon rose and ended in the Haymarket Riot. The lasting labor union was the American Federation of Labor. The labor unions did not prove beneficial for those who consumed the products if there was a strike, but the workers were standing up for something they believed in.

Throughout the late 1800s, labor unions and immigration both benefited and slightly hurt the American industrial worker. Immigrants fed the large companies with employees they could easily replace while labor unions joined together for a common cause.

Essay #2

Song Snippets (Sorry, no rhyming)

(Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)Immigration had its funLetting new people inThen up sprang factories (and minimum wage)Along with many job lossesThen all of it continuedAnd led to more urbanization

(Row, Row, Row Your Boat)IndustrializationHas changed the way we workBad conditions and horrible bossesWe still work to live!

(Mary Had a Little Lamb)Rockefeller found some oil, found some oil, found some oilVanderbuilt made most railroadsAnd Morgan had money

(Baa, Baa, Black Sheep)Hey sir, hey sir, Have you any money?No sir, no sir, Not for you,One for the ItalianAnd one for the German,And one for the RussianWho lives in the slums.

Glossary / Vocabulary Terms

Politics, Presidents and actions: dudes who did stuff in the country

1. Rutherford B. Hayes – President (1878 – 1881)

2. James A. Garfield – President (1881-1882),assassinated in 1882, Republican Half-Breed3. Chester A. Arthur – Vice President to Garfield, President after Garfield’s assassination (1882-1884), Stalwart Republican4. Pendleton Act – required that federal jobs be filled by a competitive written examination rather than patronage to a party

5. Grover Cleveland – President (1884-1888), Democrat

6. Benjamin Harrison – President (1888-1896), Republican7. McKinley Tariff – 1890, highest tariff rates in US history8. Sherman Anti-Trust Act – limited monopolies / trusts

9. William McKinley – President (1896-1901), Republican10. William Jennings Bryan – “Cross of Gold” speech, ran in 1896 election, pro-silver coinage, Democrat

11. Stalwarts – those who believed in the old spoils system (part of Republican Party)12. Half-Breeds – those who want more reform in the government (part of Republican Party)

Social Creations and Changes:

13. Darwinism – humans evolved through a process of “natural selection”14. Social Darwinism – Survival of the fittest, especially in the marketplace. Those who were poor got what they deserved, while the hard workers made it because of their strife.15. Horatio Alger – Created the myth of the “self-made man.” Claimed that all the rich came from poor backgrounds and worked their way to the top. 16. Henry George – Wrote Progress and Poverty in 1879. He tried to explain why poverty existed among the rich in the world. He blamed the problems on the few monopolies because of land values. He proposed a “single tax” that would give money back to the community; essentially a communistic way of thinking. Hated laissez-faire. 17. Edward Bellamy – Wrote Looking Backward in 1888. About a couple that goes to the year 2000 and sees that everyone has the same wealth and sees that class divisions are gone and everyone works together, like a machine. 18. Jacob Riis – Wrote How the Other Half Lives. Slums, he said, were sunless, poisoned, and dark and dreary. The book was filled with pictures and descriptions of tenement life, which shocked many people.

19. “City Beautiful Movement”– Cities tried to mimic rebuilding cities such as London and Berlin, and cleared away the old and created tree-lined roads, with new monumental buildings. Cities also wanted to do honor for the Columbian exposition in Chicago. The movement also tried to create symmetry within the cities, instead of the disorder.20. Public Space – Revolutionized by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vanx. They created Central Park, which was made to look as little like the city as possible. These parks were escapes from the cities and soon many other large cities had their own “central parks.”21. Tenement – Where many of the poor were grouped together. They were small apartments which were quite gross and crowded. 22. “Great Fires” – Chicago and Boston suffered through one in 1871, and San Francisco and Baltimore experienced one after a terrible earthquake.23. Public Health Service – Started by Alice Hamilton. Tried to fix the environmental degradation. It identified that pollution in the workplace, chemical waste, and ceramic dust were all some causes of poor health. 24. Salvation Army – Concentrated on religious revivalism, and later shifted toward an idea of self-improvement to fight poverty. 25. Chain/Department Stores – Women rose as the new market for stores. Department stores brought all kinds of shopping together under one roof, made an atmosphere of excitement and made shopping a glamorous activity with tea rooms and lounges, and they used mass buying power to make things cheaper for people to buy and better to compete with individual shops. Chain stores (such as the A&P and the Five and Ten Cent Store) sold goods at lower prices than competitors, who hated how they stole customers away.26. Mail Order Catalogs - Montgomery Ward, Sears Roebuck, and others were large parts of this movement, and showed many the new trends in fashion, décor, and technologies for the home. People could order as they chose and, though slow, brought things together from all over.27. National Consumers League – Formed in the 1890s under Florence Kelley. She tried to make women known as the prime consumer and buyer and became participants in public life. She also forced many retailers and manufacturers to improve wages and working conditions.

Immigration topics:

28. Immigration Restriction League – Founded in Boston, it carried the belief that immigrants should be put through literacy tests, screened, and put through other standards to separate the good from the bad. It was a form of nativism as well.29. New Immigrants – Immigration had shifted and now people from southern and eastern Europe (Italians, Poles, Slavs, Greeks, Russians, and others) were coming to America looking for jobs. 30. Chinese Exclusion Act – Restricted Asians from immigrating to the U.S. (mostly in California) because people felt threatened by the amount of jobs they were taking.

31. Political Machine – Also the Boss Rule. Created votes for the political boss by telling immigrants to vote for said boss to get benefits, such as jobs and houses. It was an extreme form of patronage. 32. Tammany Hall – Where the most famous boss, Tweed, did his business. 33. William Marcy Tweed – Most famous boss. Worked at Tammany Hall. His excesses landed him in jail in 1872.

Economics and the Economy:

34. Bessemer Process – A process that makes iron into steel and strengthens it. Led to the uprising of skyscrapers, which expanded cities upward and not outward. Made room for more growth.35. Taylorism – Created by Frederick Windsor Taylor. A type of subdividing of tasks to make less dependable on a single employee and required less skilled employees to work. Also made interchangeable parts. 36. Assembly Line – Perfected by Henry Ford in his car plant. It made things cheaper and easier to produce, thus reducing the price of the product. Ford even raised its wages because it was cheaper.

37. Panic of 1893 – two corporate failures triggered stock market collapse, worst to date38. Coxey’s Army – 1894, Jacob S. Coxey led march down Washington, advocating for jobs to those who were unemployed

Entrepreneurs / Industrialization:

39. Andrew Carnegie – One of the “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry.” Famous for large steel corporation (Carnegie Steel), vertical consolidation, and being a philanthropist. Wrote Gospel of Wealth, talking about how everyone with wealth should contribute to other people’s blight.40. John Rockefeller – Another Robber Baron. Famous for oil and his Standard Oil Company. Used both vertical and horizontal consolidation. Believed that competition was causing them to be the best, and wanted to absorb all threats to their stability.41. J.P. Morgan – Another Robber Baron. Famous for banking corporation.42. Cornelius Vanderbilt – Another Robber Baron. A railroad magnate.

43. The “Trust” – “created” by Standard Oil and perfected by J.P. Morgan. Synonymous with an economic combination, but it was instead a particular kind of organization. Under a trust agreement, stockholders transferred their stocks to a small group of trustees in exchange for shares in the trust itself. 44. Vertical/Horizontal Consolidation – Vertical is when a company or corporation controls the companies of their suppliers and users (i.e. a company that makes steel will control mines and railroads). Horizontal is when a company will control all of the other companies in their same market (i.e. an oil company will control all of the other oil companies).

Labor Unions and Strikes:

45. National Labor Union – Founded in 1866. A polyglot association. Mostly male workers (women drove down wages, they thought).

46. Molly Maguires – A terrorist labor group, located in the coal region of Pennsylvania. Threatened people and even murdered some, even though some of it was actually caused by the people in the workplace to create conflict.47. Knights of Labor – Founded in 1869. Open to “all who toiled,” meaning all but lawyers, bankers, liquor dealers, and professional gamblers. Women were even welcome to join. Loosely organized. 48. American Federation of Labor – Founded in 1885. An association of autonomous craft unions and represented skilled workers. Didn’t allow women to join, but fought for their rights in the workplace.

49. Great Railroad Strike – First truly national labor crisis. Eastern railroads announce a 10% wage cut and workers go on strike. Trains from Baltimore to St. Louis were stopped, and state militias were called in to stop it. President Hayes even called the federal troops to stop the crisis in West Virginia. 50. Haymarket Square Riot – A strike is taking place in Chicago, and police officers try to stop it and harass the strikers. An anarchist threw a bomb into the crowd and killed many. Mass chaos ensues and eight anarchists were rounded up and sentenced accordingly. It was tough for many labor unions.51. Homestead Strike – Affiliated with the AFL. At Homestead iron and steel plant, wage cuts were made over the years, and finally the union called for a strike. The workers leave and the Pinkertons (hired nonunion workers) are called in to break up the strike. Pinkertons arrive by water, but there is oil and fire on the water, stopping them. Pinkertons leave, but the Pennsylvania National Guard is called in. Work commences, with National Guard watching. The union essentially falls apart.52. Pullman Strike – 1894. Pullman Palace Car Company, manufactured sleeper cars. The workers live in a town onsite, but wages are soon cut, even though rent stays the same. Eugene V. Debs supports them and tells them to walk out of their jobs. Transportation from Chicago to the Pacific is halted. Troops go to the Chicago area and the feds say that they can't continue striking. They don’t listen, many are jailed, and the strike ends.