Chapter 5

Section 3Life at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Life at the Turn of the 20th Century

• The growth of big business was fueled by cheap labor

• Between 1880-1910, Immigrants came to the U.S. by the millions looking for work

Complete Worksheet: New Immigrants

Reaction to Immigrants

Nativists- Saw immigrants as a threat• Blamed immigrants for increases in crime and

poverty in American cities• Said immigrants took American jobs

Reaction to Immigrants

• On West Coast, prejudice directed toward Asians

• In California, Chinese restricted from holding certain jobs, living certain places

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)• Banned immigration from China for 10 years• Barred Chinese from becoming citizens

Reaction to Immigrants

• Many Americans wanted immigrants to blend into American society

Americanization• Schools & volunteer organizations taught

English, US history and government• Immigrants often lost cultural heritage in

process

Theories on Immigration

• Melting Pot Theory – metaphor to describe immigration that describes the blending of cultures until they are no longer distinct

• Salad Bowl Theory – a metaphor to describe immigration, each immigrant groups is like an ingredient in a salad, even when mixed together they remain distinct

• Which theory of immigration do you believe most accurately describes the immigrant experience in the U.S.?

• What should the U.S. strive to be, a melting pot or a salad bowl?

Warm Up:

Review for Quiz (5 minutes)

Collect HW

Urban Life in America

• As American industrialized, & immigrants poured into the nation, cities began to grow rapidly

• Space became limited, so architects began to build up

Skyscrapers • 1885- 10 story building in

ChicagoRequired: • steel beams for support• Electric elevators

Urban Life in America

• As cities grew, people feared that urban areas would have no green space

• Urban planners began to incorporate park space into cities

• Central Park in NYC opened in 1857

- 883 acres- 2.5 miles long

Urban Life in America

• Most people in the cities lived in poverty• Tenements- crowded apartments with little

sanitation or ventilation, no indoor plumbing.

Tenements

Tenements

Settlement House Movement

Settlement Houses• located in poor urban areas• volunteer middle-class "settlement workers" would

live in immigrant communities,• Offered immigrants English language services, job

training courses• Hull House in Chicago- Jane Addams• Henry Street Settlement in NYC- Lillian Wald

Political Scandal and Reform

Problems in American cities in the late 1800’s• Crime, bad housing, poor sanitation• Political Corruption• Many cities were controlled by a political

machine, an organization of professional politicians

• Machine bosses won support by giving people jobs

• Expected votes in return

Political Scandal and Reform

• The most notorious political machine was Tammany Hall in NYC

• Boss Tweed

Political Cartoons:

Thomas Nast on Tammany Hall

Political Scandal and Reform

• Boss Tweed used his position to make himself and his friends rich

• Convicted of corruption and fraud in 1871

Warm Up:

Do you think that it is ok for government workers to use their

positions for personal financial gains?

Read “Honest Graft”

Answer Questions

Scandal in the Government

Administration of U.S. Grant• Credit Mobilier scandal• Scheme to fund railroad money to

stockholders, including members of Congress and VP

Scandal in the Government

Attempts at Reform• Pendleton Civil Service Act 1883• Created Civil Service System• Promotion and hiring for government jobs

based on merit, not political connections• Civil Service Exam

Farmers’ Reform Movement

• Farmers organized to help themselves, group known as the National Grange

• Goal was to persuade state legislatures to regulate railroad rates

• Supreme Court ruled only Congress could regulate railroad traffic across state lines

• Interstate Commerce Act 1887 - first law by Congress to regulate an industry

Silver vs. Gold

• Farmers Alliance wanted government to print more money

• Believed farmers could charge more for farm goods if their was more money in circulation

• 1873 Congress put U.S. dollar on gold standard• Paper money could be exchanged for an equal value

of gold. • Lowered the amount of money in circulation, hurt

farmers

Silver vs. Gold

• Farmers also wanted money to be backed by Silver

• Would create more money in circulation• Formed a national political party, Populist

Party• Alliance of farmers, labor leaders and

reformers

Populist Party

Part Platform• bank regulation• government ownership of railroads• end gold standard• higher taxes for rich• 8 hour work day• direct election of Senators• -lower tariffs

Opposition to Populism

• Businesses and Cities opposed high tariffs- Taxes on imports made them more expensive,

protected American Manufactures• Business leaders feared ending gold standard- Feared inflation

Election of 1896

• William Jennings Bryan (D) supported by Populist

- Wanted to end gold standard- Wanted lower tariffs• William McKinley (R)- Business leaders feared lowering tariffs ending

gold standard, supported McKinley• McKinley, backed by contributions of wealthy

businessmen, won the campaign