Chapter 15: Urban America American History

1. Chapter 15: Urban AmericaAmericanHistory

2. Immigration • Many Europeans decided to immigrate to the United States for several reasons • heard U.S. had plenty of jobs available and few restrictions • to avoid forced military service • chance to break from European class system and move to a democratic nation • Immigrating to the United States was easy • European countries repealed their old laws requiring peasants to stay on the homeland, and allowed citizens to take their savings and go to America

3. Ellis Island • Many immigrants booked passages on steerage, the cheapest accommodations on a steamship • The journey took 14 days, and many went to Ellis Island in New York Harbor, to be processed • Process included: • Initial physical exam • If failed, person might be separated from the families and returned to Europe • Paperwork • Change of name

4. Adjusting to American Life • After being processed into the country, immigrants settled in major U.S. cities • Immigrants would settle in sections of the city where other inhabitants spoke their language and practiced their customs • “Little Italy”, “Chinatown”, etc. • How quickly the immigrants adapted was based on if they learned English quickly and if they had a particular set of skills • One of three immigrants returned to Europe shortly after arriving

5. Asian Immigrants • Chinese immigrants started to come into the U.S. during the mid 1800’s • Gold Rush, Taiping Rebellion, and the Central Pacific Railroad were some reasons why they came • because of certain restrictions, many Chinese people began their own businesses, centering on the skills they had acquired • Japanese immigrants began coming into the U.S. in 1900, during the time Japan started forming into an industrial empire • caused hardships in many peoples • Asian immigrants coming into the U.S. were housed and processed at Angel Island

6. Opposition to Immigration • Nativism spread quickly throughout the U.S. in fear of the newly arriving immigrants • led to the creation of the American Protective Association and the Workingman’s Party of California to combat both European and Asian immigrants • A law in 1882 was passed, banning convicts, paupers, and the mentally disabled from entering the U.S., and required immigrants to pay 50 cents to come in (a lot of money back then) • In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed • barred Chinese immigration to the U.S. for 10 years, and did not allow Chinese immigrants in the U.S. to become citizens • Chinese immigration went down until the act was repealed in 1943

7. New Urban Development • Due to the influx of immigrants into large cities, engineers designed ways to house the growing city population • Due to demand raising prices on land, building owners chose to build upward instead of outward • Built skyscrapers due to limited land • Cable cars, electric cars, above ground railways, and subways, helped improve mass transit

8. Separation of Classes • The wealthy established districts in the heart of the city, constructing lavish mansions or foreign estates • The economy and industry helped create a middle class • made of doctors, lawyers, engineer, managers, social workers, architects, and teachers • Moved away from the center of the city • The working class was the majority of the population in the city • Lived in tenements, or dark and crowded multi-family apartments • Sent young children to work in factories or rent tenement space to bring in additional income

9. Urban Problems • City living posed threats such as crime, violence, fire, disease, and pollution • Immigrants were often blamed for the violence and deplorable conditions of the city • Alcohol was blamed for violence and corruption • Due to improper sewage disposal, diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera was rampant in the cities

10. Urban Politics • A new political system, the political machine, came into being • Designed to gain and keep power • Grew from cities growing faster than expected • In exchange for votes, the political machines and party bosses, or runners of political machines, provided jobs, housing, food, hear, and police protection to new city dwellers • The party bosses had control of the city’s finances, and grew rich from graft, or getting money through dishonesty and questionable means • Also accepted bribes from contractors, sold permits to friends to operate utilities • Ex. Tammany Hall and Boss William Tweed

11. The Gilded Age • Inventions, innovations, and achievements laid the foundation for this time period • Named the “Gilded Age” as a warning from Mark Twain and Charles Warner • Something “gilded” is covered with gold, but made of cheaper materials on the inside; simile to corruption that lay ahead • One of the strongest beliefs of the era was individualism • Individuals could rise in society and go as far as they could with their talents and commitments

12. Social Darwinism • Herbert Spencer’s take on Darwin’s theory of evolution in a social manner • believed human society was created from competition and natural selection • believed that society progressed because only the fittest survived • Andrew Carnegie made a variation of this philosophy known as the Gospel of Wealth • The wealthy bore the responsibility of engaging in philanthropy, or using their fortune to further social progress

13. Realism • Movement in literature and art depicting people realistically instead of ideally • Examples: • Thomas Eakins • William Dean Howells (The Rise of Silas Lapham) • Mark Twain (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) • Henry James (Portrait of a Lady) • Edith Wharton (The Age of Innocence)

14. Pop Culture • Industrialization improved the standards of living, with enabled people to spend money on amusements and entertainment • Saloons were available for working men as political centers and bars • Amusements Parks were available for couples and families • Ex. Coney Island • Watching sports, like baseball and boxing, became popular • Vaudeville, or variety acts, was popular to go see • Ragtime, or a type of music from this period, was popular to listen and dance to

15. Challenges to Social Darwinism • Authors and philosophers began to challenge social Darwinism • Henry George: proposed a single tax on unearned land to make society equal • Lester Frank Ward: government could regulate the economy, cure poverty, and promote education better than competition could (Reform Darwinism) • Naturalism promoted that some individuals could not control what went on around them, thus not excel in life

16. Reforms to help the poor • The Social Gospel movements worked to promote better city conditions according to biblical ideals of charity and justice • Advocates of movement: Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch • Inspired many churches to expand their mission • The Christian Mission, later the Salvation Army, offered practical aid and religious counseling to the poor • The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) helped urban poor by organizing Bible studies, prayer meetings, citizenship training, and group activities • Dwight L. Moody: led revivalism and expressed goals of helping the poor reform their characters • The Settlement House Movement established settlement houses, or establishments were middle class individuals would live with and help the poor

17. Public Education • Public schools increased after the Civil War • Americanization helped immigrant children become knowledgeable about American culture • Helped immigrants assimilate to American way of life • Many immigrants and African Americans began their own schools, due to the inaccessibility of many public schools • Grammar school system in cities helped students learn timely attendance, neatness, and efficiency for the workplace, while high schools taught skills to students • Establishment of colleges, including private colleges for women and attendance expanded after the Civil War • Public libraries were built in the cities to promote learning