Immigration and Social Change in America

1. Lesson 1 • 1. Immigrant willingness to accept low wages worried unions. Protestant Americans worried about large numbers of Catholics entering the U.S.2. Immigrants from Europe came to the United States to escape poverty, social class restrictions, forced military service, and religious persecution.Chinese immigrants escaped unemployment, poverty, and famine.

2. Lesson 2 • 3. Immigrants and people from rural areas of the United States began moving to the cities because urban areas offered better-paying jobs and a better quality of life.4. Political machines came about partly due to rapid urbanization. Party bosses provided new city dwellers jobs, housing, food, and protection. They often controlled the city’s finances and city services.

3. Lesson 3 • 5. “The Gospel of Wealth” said people should engage in philanthropy and create conditions that would enable people to help themselves.6. No matter how humble their origins, people can be as successful as their talents will take them.

4. Lesson 4 • 7. Deflation was hard on farmers because as the prices for their crops fell, the fixed costs of mortgage payments were harder to make.8. Goals were a return to unlimited silver coinage, federal railroad ownership, a graduated income tax, an eight-hour workday, and immigration restrictions. Most urban workers did not identify with a party focused on rural problems.

5. Lesson 5 • 9. The case established the concept of “separate but equal” facilities for whites and African Americans and provided the legal basis for discrimination in the South for over 50 years.10. They responded in several ways. Ida B. Wells wrote a book denouncing mob violence and lynching, Mary Church Terrell helped create associations and led boycotts, Booker T. Washington encouraged African Americans to focus on achieving economic rather than political goals, and W.E.B. Du Bois urged African Americans to demand equal rights.

6. 21st Century Skills • 11. While both experienced negative moments, Europeans were “hurried” through Ellis Island and Chinese immigrants were kept in crowded wooden barracks on Angel Island for months.12. Generally, the upper classes lived in the fashionable areas of large cities.They had servants and spent large quantities of money. The middle class lived in streetcar suburbs and often had at least one live-in servant. The working classes lived in crowded tenements in the poorest parts of cities.13. Social Darwinists believed that personal choices determined success or failure, while naturalists believed that circumstances beyond a person’s control played a major role.

8. Discussion • Why did so many immigrants settle in New York City? • Most immigrants came from Europe, and, geographically, New York was their port of call. Most immigrant groups had an established presence in the city, making it easier for newly-arrived immigrants to assimilate. • In what ways were the reactions to Asian immigrants different than the reactions to European immigrants? • Asian immigrants faced greater racism and were often the focus of anti-immigrant legislation. • Why did so many people migrate to America? • They were seeking political and religious freedom. They wanted new opportunities. • What was the middle class? How was it different from the working class? • The middle class included people who could afford homes, quality clothing, and some luxuries. The middle class typically worked in management positions and not in hard labor jobs. The working class typically lived in apartments and could afford few luxuries.