Immigration and Urbanization Chapter 7
Q: Which ethnic group settled in the largest area of NYC? Did immigrants have a pattern in the way they settled?
Europeans Between 1870-1920, 20 million Europeans from Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia arrived in the United States Reasons they had for coming to the US: To escape religious persecution Rising population-> scarcity of farming land, competition for jobs
Caribbean Islands and Central America From Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other islands Reasons: jobs were scarce and industrial boom promised work for everyone; political turmoil Q: What pull factor influenced emigration to the US for those from the Caribbean and Central America?
Asia Q: How did both immigration policies impact the United States of America economy? 1851-1883: about 300,000 Chinese arrived Railroads completed, farming, mining, and domestic service; business Chinese Exclusion Act: entry was restricted w exception of teachers, students, government officials Japan immigration to West coast increased after Hawaii was annexed in 1898. Gentlemen's Agreement (1907-1908): limited entry of unskilled workers in exchange for repealing San Francisco segregation in schools
Americanization movement sponsored by government to assimilate people into the dominant culture Taught- English literacy, American history/ government, cooking, social etiquette Ethnic communities provided social support for immigrants from the same country Helped them to retain their own language, customs and religion
Migration from country to city rural-city Improvements in farming technology led to rural people moving to cities to find work African Americans sought to escape racial violence and economic hardship. However, they still faced segregation and discrimination. Job competition also caused more racial tension
Social Gospel movement: early reform program that encouraged service to the poor preached it would bring salvation Settlement houses: community centers provided assistance to people in slum neighborhoods Provided educational, cultural, and social services Run by middle-class, college-educated women Helped cultivate social responsibility toward the urban poor Jane Addams one of the most influential members of the movement
Challenges of Urbanization Growing industrial strength led to rapid urbanization or growth of cities mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. Major factor in the growth of industrial cities: they were located in the vicinity of major natural resources Immigrants settled in cities because it was cheap and convenient Cities offered steady jobs for unskilled laborers
Continued Challenges of the Urbanization Challenges Limited housing options Unsanitary living dwellings and communities Rural lived to far from employment Poor mass transit system- most of the infrastructure needed to be repaired. Sewage overflowed Poor air quality Limited homes with indoor plumbing Filthy streets Crime (pickpockets') Spread of fires Poor building structures of wood instead Solution Repair and expanded transportation infrastructure as population increased. Supplying safe drinking water Collected water from the street to heat it for bathing and drinking ( personal solution) Chlorination was introduced First full time fire department First full time police department in 1844 ( NYPD) Major cities started to do the same
What message is the cartoon trying to express regarding
Politics in the Gilded Age What is this section about? Local & national political corruption in the 19 th century led to calls for reform. Why is this important for us? Political reforms paved the way for a more honest and efficient government tin the 20 th century and beyond. Emergence of political machines Cities grow rapidly under inefficient government Political machines offered services to votes and businesses in exchange for political and financial support Organized like a pyramid
City boss-> controlled all activities of the political party in the city Ward boss-> secured vote in all precincts or electoral district by helping poor and gaining their votes Local precinct workers & captains->tried to gain voters support Immigrants & the Machine
Precinct captains, ward bosses, and the city boss worked together to elect their candidates and guarantee the success of the machine. Political Boss Won voters loyalty by controlling jobs and businesses and solving urban problems How did some bosses use their power to benefit the community? Examples of community Services: Building of parks, hospitals, orphanages, sewer systems, etc. Immigrants and the Machine Machines helped immigrants with naturalization, housing, jobs -> immigrants provided political bosses with votes
What message does the cartoon express about political bosses?
Municipal Graft & Scandal As political bosses gained power they fell to corruption Election Fraud & graft Graft: illegal use of political influence for personal gain For example: Political machine helps a person find work in a construction project-> asks worker to bill city for more than the actual cost -> worker can kick back a portion of earnings to the machine Taking kickbacks,( illegal payments) enriched political machines and politicians
The Tweed Ring Scandal William Tweed or Boss Tweed: Head of Tammany Hall, New York City s Democratic political machine Led a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city. New York County Courthouse: taxpayers paid $13 million; actual construction cost $3 million
Corruption in local politics also present in national politics Reformers began to eliminate patronage- the giving of government jobs to people who helped a candidate get elected Merit system for hiring
Reform under Hayes, Garfield, & Arthur (R) President Rutherford B. Hayes: named independents to his cabinet Set up a commission to investigate customhouses Based on reports, fired top officials-> angered Republican Party; did not run for reelection James A. Garfield: in the debate over civil service reform, Garfield favored the reformers Assassinated
Chester A. Arthur (vice president) assumes presidency Supported reform; urged Congress to pass a civil service law-> the Pendleton Act Authorized a bipartisan civil service commission to make appointments based on the merit system based on performance on an examination Result: Public administration became more honest and efficient Politicians turned to business owners since they no longer pressured employees for campaign contributions