Challenges of Immigration & Urbanization

1. Challenges of Immigration & Urbanization What issues did many new immigrants & city dwellers face at the turn of the century?

2. Immigration to the US • As US industrialized, millions immigrate through the “golden door” Europeans • 20 million immigrate from 1870-1920 • Most now coming from Ireland, Eastern & Southern Europe, looking for land & work Chinese & Japanese • About 500,000 immigrate from 1870-1920 (Page Act put quotas on Asian Immigration) • Chinese: escaping political turmoil • Japanese: higher wages in US Mexicans • About 700,000 immigrate from 1870-1920 • US Gov recruits many for field work in SW • List the top four immigrant groups (with %) on page 255.

3. On the East coast immigrants went through… Ellis Island, NY

4. Ellis Island • Once immigrants arrived from Europe they went through the following: 1) Medical Examination: check for contagious or debilitating diseases 2) Examination of legal documents: make sure they have no criminal record, have some money, and want to work • Whole process took about 5-6 hours, 17,000 pass through per day. • About 20% detained for a day & 2% rejected

5. On the west coast immigrants went through… Angel Island, CA Immigration Station barracks

6. Angel Island Immigrants were given medical exams & quarantined for weeks if anything was suspicious • 1882: Congress passed Chinese Exclusion Act banning the entry of all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants & tourists • Once immigrants arrived from Asia they went through the following process: (used to stop illegal Chinese immigration) 2. Immigrants questioned harshly about docs, held for days, months, even years

7. Backlash to immigration • Backlash against immigrants on east coast, esp. against Jews, Poles, Italians, and Irish, forcing them into poor enclaves • West coast backlash against all Asians, also forced into enclaves • Nativist organizations want to restrict immigration , get rid of the “wrong” type of immigrant as only Anglo-Saxon Protestants are “true Americans” Rebirth of the KKK • Ku Klux Klan, which started as anti-black gains momentum due to immigration backlash

8. Assimilation • Goal: assimilate immigrants into the dominant “American” culture • Problem: Many immigrants forced into enclaves in cities, so most groups keep own languages & customs • As immigration increases, a nationwide movement called Americanization gains popularity

9. Immigrants flock to cities for new industrial jobs Challenges of Urbanization • Tenements lacked clean water, sanitation and electricity (more disease & fires) • Due to lack of space, tenement housing is built • Rampant crime in cities, many areas controlled by gangs, police need new methods to deal with crime

10. Preached salvation by helping the poor Reformers establish settlement housing (places to help poor) Most well known: Hull House in Chicago founded by Jane Addams Social Gospel Movement

11. Life for an Immigrant in 1800s America • Overall, do you feel life for an immigrant has improved or gotten worse since the late 1800s?