AMERICA MOVES TO THE CITY Chapter 25 AP US History
FOCUS QUESTIONS: How did the influx of immigrants before 1900 create an awareness of ethnic and class differences? How did Victorian morality shape middle -class society and culture? How did social and religious reformers address urban poverty? How did the urban working class change attitudes toward leisure and recreation by 1900? How did writers, artists, and educational reformers address issues of cultural conflict?
THE NEW AMERICAN CITY: Cities grew rapidly in the late 19 th Century: New Orleans population increased nearly 50% Buffalo s population nearly tripled Chicago s population increased nearly five fold! New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago would all have populaces over 1 million by 1900. By 1900, 40% of Americans resided in cities! Cities were defined as having a population of 2500 or more inhabitants. Between 1870 and 1900, 11 million immigrants stimulated economic development. Immigrant groups competed with one another and with native - born inhabitants for jobs, power, and influence.
The rapid growth of cities had negative effects: Trash piled up in the streets Drinking water was poor Sewage systems were ineffective Air quality was terrible Animal droppings were everywhere. The result was unhealthy and unclean conditions in the streets! Slums emerged and presented challenges to the city: These areas were over-populated and unsanitary. Literally, the slums were death-traps!
NEW IMMIGRATION: Before 1880, most immigrants to America were from "Old Immigration." They came from northern and western Europe Britain, Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia. They largely came from nations with some democratic backgrounds and were of Anglo-Saxon origins. They were Protestant (with the exception of the Irish and Germans). They were generally better educated and with a bit of money behind them.
Around 1880, most immigrants to America were from "New Immigration." They came from southern and eastern Europe Poland, Italy, Slovakia, Croatia and included Slavic, Greek, and Jewish immigrants. They largely came from nations with little democratic tradition. They were typically Catholic, uneducated, and generally penniless. In 1880, new immigrants made up ~19% of immigrants. By 1910, new immigrants made up ~66% of immigrants. They generally came to areas consisting of their home-country neighbors. Ex: "Little Italy" Americans felt these newcomers could not or would not melt into the American way of life.
TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY IMMIGRATION:
What would cause people to desire leaving a home country (Push Factors)? Overpopulation Economic Reasons Industrial depression Religious persecution Violence Crop failure and famine Land shortages What would cause people to desire moving to a new country (Pull Factors)? Availability of jobs Few restrictions No class system FREEDOM!
On the west coast, despite the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, more than 81,000 Chinese remained in the west by 1900. ~300,000 Chinese had arrived the earliest attracted by the gold rush. Many worked on railroads, farms, mines, as domestic servants, and in businesses. What about Japanese immigration? More than 100,000 Japanese workers arrived in Hawai i drawn by higher wages on sugar plantations While many immigrants remained after arrival to the United States, several would return to their homeland with more money to support their family. Women rarely traveled to America alone although Irish women would and then they sent their earnings home!
Where would immigrants settle once in America? o o In cities in the northeastern and north -central states. Rarely would immigrants settle in the South! By 1890, 4 out of 5 people living in New York City had been born abroad or were children of foreign - born parents. IMMIGRANTS: SETTLEMENT OF
WELCOME TO ALL BY JOSEPH KEPPLER PUCK MAGAZINE, 1880
LOOKING BACKWARD BY JOSEPH KEPPLER PUCK MAGAZINE, 1893
Arrival in America At the turn-of-the-century, the federal government constructed two new immigration facilities: Ellis Island in New York Angel Island in San Francisco Once at the immigration station, immigrants faced complications Medical inspections for physical handicaps and contagious diseases. Leprosy Trachoma (a viral eye disease) STDs Once through the medical examination, immigrant names would be recorded usually Anglicized!
ADJUSTING TO AN URBAN SOCIETY: Chain Migration: as immigrants moved, they clustered together with compatriots. West Side: Irish East Side: German Manhattan: Poles, Hungarians, Russians, Italians, and Chinese. Ethnic groups that formed a substantial percentage of a city s population had a major advantage. Example: Irish Immigrants New York: 16% Chicago: 8% Boston: 17% Assisted in mainstreaming Irish immigrants Dominated Democratic politics Controlled the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in all three cities! Does domination by one group cause problems? YES! Often integration for other groups becomes difficult.
SLUMS AND GHETTOS: Why do we find slum neighborhoods throughout cities in America? These developed when landlords subdivided long narrow buildings with few windows (tenements) and packed them with residents. The poorer the renters the worse the slums. Slums became ghettos when laws, prejudice, and community pressure prevented the inhabitants from renting elsewhere. Who suffered the most? CHILDREN! Whooping Cough, Measles, and Scarlet Fever increased infant mortality. What problems would residents face? Factory noise, pollution, foul odors, coal soot Racism: high rents, real-estate covenants and neighborhood pressures
FASHIONABLE AVENUES & SUBURBS: Within these cities, there were also opulent neighborhoods! Monumental residences found on the most famous streets: Commonwealth Av. (Boston), Euclid Av. (Cleveland), Summit Av. (St. Paul). Suburbs also sprang up during this era! The middle-class lived here! Artisans, shopkeepers, clerks, accountants, sales personnel, lawyers, doctors, small business owners, and professionals. Two-story homes (30-feet from the sidewalk) were the norm. By 1900, trolley cars and steam powered trains left the boundaries of the mid-century city! America was a land of contrasts: Social groups were increasingly separated Dissimilar living conditions for rich and poor increased the ethnic, racial, and class divisions