New Immigrants

1. New Immigrants

2. A Melting Pot • Many native-born Americans thought of their country as a melting pot – a mixture of people of different cultures and races who blended together to create one country. • Video: The Great American Melting Pot • However, many immigrants did not want to give up their own culture. • As immigration increased, strong anti-immigrant feelings emerged

3. Coming to America • From 1880-1910 approximately 18 million immigrants came to the United States • Most came from southern and eastern Europe including Greece, Italy, Poland, and Russia • These new immigrants brought more religious diversity to the United States: Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and Jewish • By 1910 1 in every 7 Americans was foreign born

4. Coming to America • In 1892 the U.S. opened an immigration station on Ellis Island in New York City • Over the next 62 years 12 million Europeans passed through Ellis Island • Immigrants from Asia passed through a similar point at Angel Island in San Francisco • Many immigrants lived in crowded tenements and took low paying, unskilled jobs. • Many immigrants settled in areas with people from their same country of origin – Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.

9. Reactions to Immigrants • Nativists – Americans who blamed immigrants for increases in crime and poverty and believed immigrants were taking American jobs • Some nativists called for immigrants to pass a literacy test in order to vote • Americanization – a process in which native-born Americans attempted to help new immigrants assimilate into American society. • Schools and organizations taught literacy skills and other subjects needed for citizenship

11. Urban Life in America • Many immigrants, and other Americans, moved to large cities in the early 1900’s • They came to the cities looking for jobs in growing factories and businesses • This resulted in a growth of urbanization • Urbanization – the growth of cities and urban areas • Due to an increase in technology many farm workers lost their jobs and moved to the cities to find work. • Many of those workers were African-American. • Between 1890 and 1910 about 200,000 African-Americans moved from the South to cities in the North.

12. Urban Challenges • 1) A Shortage in housing • Many people lived in tenements – urban houses that housed many families and were overcrowded and unsanitary

15. Urban Challenges • 2) Transportation Challenges • During this time many cities developed mass transit systems – transportation designed to move a large number of people along fixed routes (subways, railcars, etc.)

16. Urban Challenges • 3) Providing safe drinking water • Some cities built public waterworks but many city residents still had no easy way to get clean water • 4) Sanitation • People threw garbage out their windows • Sewage flowed in the streets • By 1900 many cities had built sewers and created sanitation departments to fix these problems.

18. Urban Challenges • 5) Crime • Big cities were full of robberies, murder, and other crimes. • 6) Fire • Overcrowded and poorly built tenements and lack of water made the risk of fire great.

19. Reformers Help • Many people worked to improve life in the cities. • One early program was the Social Gospel Movement – movement that urged people to help the poor • Reformers also established settlement houses – community centers that addressed problems in slum neighborhoods

20. Reformers Help • One of the most well known social reformers of this time was Jane Addams • She helped establish the Hull House – a settlement house that helped the poor of Chicago.