Immigration & Urbanization

1. Immigration & Urbanization

2. “Up, sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleep enough.” -Poor Richard’s Almanac

3. 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

4. OLD Immigrants vs. NEW Immigrants

5. Immigration "Old" Immigrants 1820-1860 “New” Immigrants 1880-1924 • Protestants from northern and western Europe • Irish, English and Germans • Adopted the American culture (assimilated) • Families came to stay • Had money, were skilled and were educated, literate • Catholics and Jews from southern and eastern Europe • Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary and Russia • Didn’t assimilate quickly • Birds of passage: making money then going back home • Often came alone • No money and no skills • Settled in cities

6. Northern Europe: Old Immigrants Eastern Europe: New Immigrants Western Europe: Old Immigrants Southern Europe: New Immigrants

7. Eastern & Southern Europeans • About 14 million immigrants from Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia, Slavic states • Many were Catholic, Orthodox, or Jewish • Came because of job and land availability, to escape religious persecution, to escape a fixed class system, and/or to live in a democracy

8. Where did European Immigrants enter the US?

9. Ellis Island • New York Harbor • Used from 1892 to 1954 to process immigrants • Immigrants were medically inspected • Unhealthy quarantined or sent back to Europe (only about 2% were denied entry) • Now part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument

10. Statue of Liberty (1886)

11. An effect of rapid immigration...

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

13. 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

14. Angel Island • In use 1910 – 1940 • Processed over 1 million immigrants • Located in San Francisco Bay • 75% of immigrants were detained for at least 2 weeks, some for up to 2 years

15. Angel Island Inspections Ellis Island Inspections

16. Chinese Exclusion Act • Passed in 1882 • Banned Chinese 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for 10 years • Chinese already here could not become citizens • Renewed in 1892 • Made permanent in 1902 • Finally repealed in 1942 • Led to a decline in Chinese population in US

17. Cartoon Analysis…

19. 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

20. Explain the theory of America as a MELTING POT???

21. “Melting Pot” or “Mixed Salad”? • Melting Pot = assimilation of multiple cultures into a new, blended “American” culture • Mixed Salad = many different cultures thrown together, but little blending – each culture stands out

22. 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

23. Appeal of Cities • More jobs available • Electric lighting • Running water and sewer • Abundance of goods • Variety of leisure activities

24. Adult Entertainment • Vaudeville Theater: collection of acts, including dancers, singers, acrobats, comedians, etc. (similar to “America’s Got Talent” but without judges) • Dance Halls: large venues with live bands playing dance music • Cabarets: bars or nightclubs which offered musical entertainment • Saloons: neighborhood bars where working men ate, drank, talked politics and discussed current events

25. Family Entertainment • Museums • Libraries • Amusement Parks: NYC’s Coney Island became a resort area after Civil War, first “attraction” was a carousel that opened in 1876 • Spectator sports: Boxing, horse racing, wrestling, professional baseball

26. 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”

27. Tallest Modern Buildings

28. Public Parks

29. 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

30. Mass transit • Electric trolley: developed in 1887 by Frank J. Sprague, first used in Richmond, VA • Subways: Boston in 1897, NYC in 1904 • Major bridges, such as NYC’s Brooklyn Bridge (1883)

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

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

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

34. Urban problems • Violent crime: murder rate jumped 400% between 1880 and 1900; rate today is about ½ the rate of US in 1900 • Pollution: especially of drinking water, but also of land and air • Disease: cholera, typhoid • Fire: Chicago (1871), Boston (1872), Baltimore (1904), San Francisco (1906, caused by earthquake)

36. Tenements • Small, extremely crowded apartment buildings (Dumbell Tenements) • Whole families often lived in just one room, sometimes with only a single window for air • Up to a dozen families might share a single bathroom • Buildings were unsafe – hard to escape in a fire, little fresh air and close quarters led to spread of disease

38. Immigration reform: A moral imperative • READ THE MODERN IMMIGRATION ARTICLE AND RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN ESSAY FORMAT: • How does the Author feel about the Modern State of Immigration in the US? What specific evidence does he provide? • According to the Author, what benefits can Immigrants provide to American Society? Be specific? • DO YOU BELIEVE OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS BROKEN? YES OR NO. EXPLAIN YOUR POSITION WITH SPECIFIC EVIDENCE!!!!!! 100/200