UrbanizationCities and Immigrants

Standards

• SS.912.A.3.2: Examine the social, political, and economic causes, course, and consequences of the second Industrial Revolution that began in the late 19th century. End of Course Exam Benchmark. • SS.912.A.3.7: Compare the experience of European immigrants in the

east to that of Asian immigrants in the west (the Chinese Exclusion Act, Gentlemen's Agreement with Japan)• SS.912.A.3.11: Analyze the impact of political machines in United

States cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Immigration

• Old Immigrants- came before 1880- from Western Europe (England, Ireland, Germany, France)• Came to escape religious and political persecution or to find new

economic opportunities.• Spoke English• Protestant

Immigration

• New Immigrants- 1880-1924-from Eastern Europe and Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia)• Did not speak English • Catholic/Jewish• Escape religious persecution

Establishing a New Life

• Traveled across the Atlantic in steerage (cheapest class on ship)• Most landed in Ellis Island, NYC• Could be sent back if they had poor health• Found unskilled jobs• Settled in ghettos (urban neighborhood with immigrants of one

nationality-Little Italy, Chinatown) where people spoke language, had same religion, same newspapers

Americanization

• Americanized-assimilate into mainstream American society by learning its values and behaviors• Children began to assimilate (made similar to other Americans)

Asia

• Pushed by warfare and economic hard times in China• Pulled by the lure of gold, later railroad work• Chinese Immigrants were needed to build transcontinental railroad

but once it was completed, they became discriminated

• In 1850s, a white man murdered a Chinese man and was sent to jail after other Chinese testified against him. California Supreme Court ruled to free him, starting a trend of legal discrimination and abuse• US Naturalization Act of 1870- only whites and African descent can

become US citizens• 1882- Chinese Exclusion Act-made a ban on immigration for 10 years • Any Chinese immigration was processed at Angel Island in San

Francisco

• Japanese pushed by changes in Japan and pulled by lure of greater economic opportunity• Racial prejudice of segregated schools in San Francisco forced a

negotiation called “Gentlemen's Agreement” in 1907. • The Japanese government agreed to prevent the further immigration

of workers

Nativism

• Nativism-the belief that native-born Americans were superior to others, and that immigrants and their diverse cultural influences were undesirable. • True American=native-born, white, English-speaking, Protestant• Anti-immigration societies began to spring up across America, KKK

reemerges, effect immigration laws

Cities

• Urbanization-the movement of people from country to city• In 1865 most Americans lived in countryside (farming movement)• By 1920 half lived in cities. NY, Chicago, Philadelphia had over a

million residents

Reasons for Urbanization

• Push/Pull factors• Railroads and improved roads made it easier for people to move to

cities. Cities like Chicago and Atlanta grew because of this.• Many people attracted by the city life and opportunity• Rise of factories and the needs of growing urban populations created

more jobs. • Uncertainty of farm life, new farm machinery pushed people away

from the farms

Cities Face New Problems

• Cities grew too fast and cities lacked services (hospitals, schools, fire, police, garbage)• Overcrowding and slums1. Tenements-low cost rental housing barely meeting minimal living

requirements• Lack of sanitation and pollution=people died from diseases• Traffic congestion• Political corruption

Political Machines

• Political machine- an organization controlled by a “boss” that gets citizens to vote for its candidate on election day. People worked for the “machine” in exchange for political favors and other rewards• Bosses provided jobs and services to immigrants and other poor

residents in return for their votes.• Machine makes profit by overcharging on city contracts• Tammany Hall in NYC-most famous political machine• Graft-using political influence for personal gain

Political Machines

• William “Boss” Tweed was the most famous boss• Thomas Nast-made anti machine political cartoons