Immigration at the Turn of the Century

1. Immigration at the Turn of the Century

2. Immigration • 1870-1910: 20 million immigrants entered the US • Added to the labor pool • Added to the demand for housing • Added to the demand for goods

3. Immigrants of the Late 19th Century

4. The Changing Face of Immigrants Melting Pot many native-born Americans thought of their country as a mixture of people of different cultures and races who blended together by assimilation Tossed salad = many different cultures thrown together, but little blending – each culture stands out

5. Ethnic neighborhoods • “Cultural pluralism” • Immigrants preferred to stick together, form neighborhoods where it was safe to speak native language, continue ethnic customs, practice their religion • These neighborhoods led to general distrust of immigrants by the native US population

6. The Rise of Nativism Nativism overt favoritism toward native-born Americans • Reasons Opposed Immigration: • Feared influx of Catholics would swamp the mostly Protestant United States • Work for low wages • Accepted job as strike breakers

7. The Know-Nothings • The American Party (1849-1860) • Nativists • Anti-Catholic • Opposed immigration • Played on prejudices and fears that immigrants would take jobs

8. American Protective Association • Founded in 1887 by Henry Bowers • Opposed Catholicism because Catholics obeyed the Pope above all other powers, including the government • Wanted to limit Catholic immigration, ban Catholics from teaching, holding public office • Also wanted to make understanding English a requisite for citizenship • Had faded out by 1900

9. Immigration Act of 1882 • $.50 tax on each immigrant entering US to help pay costs of regulating immigration • Denied entry to “convicts, lunatics, idiots, and persons likely to become public charges”

10. Asian Immigrants • Chinese: looking to escape famine, unemployment, and violent rebellions • Often excluded from regular American society, so developed their own in “Chinatowns” • Some limited Japanese immigration

11. Workingman’s Party of California • 1870s - 1900 • Founded by Irish immigrant Denis Kearney • Opposed Chinese immigration and use of Chinese labor to build railroads • “The Chinese Must Go!”

12. Chinese Exclusion Acts • Passed in 1882 • Banned Chinese entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists and government officials immigration for 10 years • Chinese already here could not become citizens • Renewed in 1892 • Made permanent in 1902 • Finally repealed in 1942 • Led to a decline in Chinese population in US

13. Use the timeline to generate hypotheses in response to this question: What happened between the 1860s, when Chinese were welcomed, and 1882, when they were excluded?

14. The Rise of Nativism • The Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907-08) Japan’s government agreed to limit immigration to the U.S. in exchange for the repeal of a San Francisco segregation order

15. Graft, Bosses and Political Machines Explain the role of the Political Machine Describe how some politicians greed and fraud cost taxpayers millions of dollars -Describe measures taken by Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur to end corruption in government

16. Political Machine steps in City governments Cities Didn’t provide: jobs, financial aid, protection, sanitation etc. Provided services and business help in exchange for votes and money

19. Political Machines

20. WILLIAM BOSS TWEED • Head of Tammany Hall, New York City powerful Democratic political machine. • Between 1869-1871 Tweed Ring milked the city with false leases, padded bills, false vouchers, unnecessary repairs and over-priced goods. He also received large fees for interests (*kickbacks) from the Erie Railroad

21. Tammany’s Corruption: • One example: the courthouse scam • Charged taxpayers $13,000,000 for project that cost $3,000,000 • Estimated Tweed stole from $30 million to $300 million • Eventually indicted on (charged with) 120 counts of fraud and extortion. Sentence to 12 years but released after one. He was rearrested but escaped to Spain.

22. What do you see here? What is the significance of the torn paper that reads “LAW”? What effect do you think Nast wanted to have on the audience?

23. What do you see here? Who is in the ring? What is the cartoonist “saying”? Does he like Tammany Hall or not?

25. The “Spoils” System (or patronage) in Politics • The winning party in an election got to hand out these jobs to their supporters • Government jobs were the “spoils” • This system is replaced with civil service Jobs for the Homies?! Hmm… this reminds me of… Andrew Jackson!

26. How was it patronage ended • The law passed by Congress that brought an end to patronage (the spoils system) and led to the creation of the Civil Service Commission was the Pendelton Act • Under the Pendleton Act, people now had to Pass a civil service exam to qualify for a government job. • a system by which the most qualified people are hired for gov’t jobs • system based on a candidates’ performances on an examination (& interview?)

27. Urbanization • Influx of immigrants & migrants causes a population boom in cities • City services (housing, h2O, sanitation) are stretched to the limit • Reformers try to fix urban problems through ed., training, charity, and political action Immigration & Migration • Poverty & persecution cause millions of pple to leave Europe, China, Japan, Mexico for the U.S. • Immigrants forced to adapt to new language & culture • Changes in agri. cause pple. to migrate from rural U.S. to urban U.S. • Many immigrants and migrants face discrimination in jobs & housing Politics • Pol. Mach. Develop to take advantage of the needs of immigrants & urban poor • City politicians use graft & fraud to maintain political power • Corruption in politics causes civil service system to be developed

28. Political reforms • Secret ballot: individual’s votes would be kept secret, not published • Referendum: allows citizens to vote directly on important issues rather than leave the issues in the hands of elected officials • Recall: allows voters to remove an elected official from office before their term is up • Initiative: allows voters to force elected officials to vote on a certain issue

29. Urbanization

30. Urbanization • Between 1870 -1900: US urban population soared from 10 million to 30 million • NYC: 800,000 in 1860, 3.5 million in 1900 • Chicago: 109,000 in 1860, 1.6 million in 1900 • Immigrants tended to stay in cities • Many poor farmers moved to cities for better paying jobs • Many freed slaves migrated to northern cities to seek new opportunities

31. Appeal of Cities • More jobs available • Electric lighting • Running water and sewer • Abundance of goods • Variety of leisure activities such as adult entertainment, amusement parks, spectator sports

32. Skyscrapers • As cities became more crowded, space became more valuable • Inventions like high-quality steel and the Otis elevator made going higher the most practical solution • Chicago architect Louis Sullivan generally credited with pioneering the “skyscraper”

33. Home Insurance Building • Chicago • Built in 1885 • First to have a steel frame • 10 stories (138 ft.) • 2 floors added later • Designed by William LeBaron Jenney (who trained Louis Sullivan) • Demolished in 1931 because it was too small and wasted space!

34. Frederick Law Olmstead • 1822 – 1903 • Landscape architect • Designed many major urban green-spaces, including Central Park in NYC and parks in Chicago, Washington DC, and other cities • Also designed the grounds at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

35. Changes in Shopping • Bold new forms of advertising products, using large, illustrated ads in newspapers & magazines • Department stores: John Wannamaker’s Grand Depot in Philadelphia • Chain stores: Woolworth’s (1879) • Mail-order catalogs: Montgomery Ward, Sears Roebuck

36. Upper Class • “High Society” • Wealthiest families, primarily industrialists like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts • Built palatial houses, clustered in downtown districts

37. Middle-Class Gentility • Doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, managers, teachers • Lived in “streetcar suburbs” on edges of cities • Average salary = $1100/year

38. The Working Class • 75% of urban population • Lived in tenement housing within easy walking distance of the industrial district • Average salary = $445/year

39. Urban Problems- Housing

41. Urban Problem- Transportation

42. Urban Problem- Fire & Crime

43. Social Reformers

44. Jacob Riis • 1849 – 1914 • Danish immigrant, social reformer, journalist, photographer • Wrote How the Other Half Lives (1890) • Documented horrors of life in the slums & tenements • Blamed alcohol for many of society’s ills

45. Jane Addams & the Social Gospel • 1860 – 1935 • Founded Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago • First woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize • “Social Gospel”: idea that Christians have a moral responsibility to fix society’s problems & help the less fortunate

46. Settlement Houses • Most famous settlement house = Chicago’s Hull House • Middle class “settlers” moved into working class neighborhoods to help provide education, meals, childcare, medical care, and general advice to immigrants and poor workers