Immigration & Urbanization
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
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
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 Ellis Island
Statue of Liberty (1886)
The Know-Nothings The American Party (1849-1860) Nativists Anti-Catholic Opposed immigration Played on prejudices and fears that immigrants would take jobs
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
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
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
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
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!
Chinese Exclusion Acts 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immigration for 10 years Chinese already here could not become citizens Renewed in 1892 Made permanent in 1902 Finally repealed in 1942 Led to a decline in Chinese population in US
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
Melting Pot or Tossed Salad? Melting pot = assimilation of multiple cultures into a new, blended American culture Tossed salad = many different cultures thrown together, but little blending each culture stands out
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
Appeal of Cities More jobs available Electric lighting Running water and sewer Abundance of goods Variety of leisure activities
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
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
Skyscrapers As cities became more crowded, space became more valuable Inventions like highquality steel and the Otis elevator made going higher the most practical solution Chicago architect Louis Sullivan generally credited with pioneering the skyscraper
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!
Tallest Modern Buildings
Public Parks
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
Mass transit Horsecars: railroad car pulled along tracks by horses Cable cars: railroad car pulled along tracks by underground cables (San Francisco, 1873) Electric trolley car: developed in 1887 by Frank J. Sprague, first used in Richmond, VA Elevated railroads: Used in Chicago starting in 1892 Subways: Boston in 1897, NYC in 1904 Major bridges, such as NYC s Brooklyn Bridge (1883)
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
Upper Class High Society Wealthiest families, primarily industrialists like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts Built palatial houses, clustered in downtown districts
Middle-Class Gentility Doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, managers, teachers Lived in streetcar suburbs on edges of cities Average salary = $1100/year
The Working Class 75% of urban population Lived in tenement housing within easy walking distance of the industrial district Average salary = $445/year
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)
Tenements Small, extremely crowded apartment buildings 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
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
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
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