immigration and urbanization - northern highlands regional ...€¦ · urbanization (cont.) follow...

New Immigrants ►1820 – 1860: 5,000,000 Europeans

Most were from Ireland, Britain, Germany They came due to overpopulation (fewer jobs / less

farmland) , famine & economic hardships ►1860 – 1890: 10,000,000 Europeans Increasingly from southern & eastern Europe Religious pressures added to reasons Steamships make journey in 10 days ►WHY? Opportunity!

New Immigrants

Tough journey ►Steerage passengers (cheap, in cargo holds)

Foul water, no ventilation, disease, rarely allowed on deck ►Ellis Island 11,000/day

Medical Testing: for serious diseases

Gov’t inspector to prove that you weren’t a felon, that you were able to work & that you had some money to get started in your new life

2% rejected / 20% detained

Age, Sex, Married, Occupation, Nationality, Last residence, Support or lodging in the U.S., Final destination in the U.S., Ticket to final destination, By whom was ticket paid?, Possession of money?, Ever been to US?, Joining a relative?, Ever in prison or supported by charity?, A polygamist?, Under contract to labor in US?, Condition of mental/physical health? , Deformed or crippled, nature or cause?

Tough journey ►Chinese/Japanese : 300,000 ►Gold rush / Hawaiian plantations ►Angel Island, SF, CA

►Long detentions, dirty

Tough journey ►Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

►Banned all but students, teachers, merchants, tourists & government officials

►Repealed 1943

►Gentleman’s Agreement ► Anti-Chinese Anti-Japan segregated schools ►Japan protested ►T. Roosevelt & Japan’s deal limited Japanese

immigration of unskilled workers = end of segregated schools

Nativism ►New immigrants work

for less ►New immigrants were

not assimilating ►Rise of Nativism:

“Overt favoritism to native-born Americans”

Nativism ►Anglo-Saxon= superior ►Slavic, Asian, Latin

races = “down-trodden” ►Catholics & Jews – will

undermine Protestant democracy

►Anti-immigration groups demanded immigration restrictions

Why do immigrants live together? ►Fear of/ lack of

knowledge of US culture

►Seek familiar culture, values, religion, language

►Pool resources to build churches, businesses Cemeteries, (native

language) newspapers, medical expenses

The U.S. was a “Melting Pot”

Italian shoe shine boys

Urbanization ►Less opportunity on farms 1880s – 90s ►Cities offer mills and factories

►Unskilled labor ►Steady jobs

►Cheap housing

Urbanization (cont.) ►Follow the other immigrants

NY Irish : 2x population of: Dublin, Ireland Chicago Polish > Warsaw By 1910: immigrants are 50%+ of pop. in 18 US cities

►200,000 Blacks move north 1890 – 1910 Inventions (ex: McCormick reaper) = less labor needed Escape: racism (violence, poverty, political oppression) To Obtain: Factory jobs and domestic service Found: only slightly better conditions than in the South

Urbanization ►Many immigrants chose to NOT abandon traditions

Polish grocery store

Jewish Kosher Chicken Market

Urban perils ►Overcrowding in Tenement

housing ►2-3 families per flat

►Water ►Dirty ►Limited indoor plumbing ►Cholera & Typhoid Fever

Urban perils (cont.) ►Sanitation

Garbage and horse manure in street until 1890s

Coal smoke = soot ►Fire

►Wood dwellings ►Limited water supply ►Volunteer firefighters

►Crime: pickpockets & thieves

The Great Chicago Fire: Oct 8 – 10 , 1871 ►Mrs. O’Leary’s cow? ►Fire burned 24+ hours ►Estimated 300 died ►100,000 left homeless

►More than 3 sq. miles of the city was destroyed

►17,500 buildings destroyed ►$200 Million in property

loss ($3.8 Billion today)

The San Francisco Earthquake, April 16, 1906

►More than 5 sq. miles of the city was destroyed

►28,000 buildings destroyed ►$500 Million in property

loss ($13 Billion today)

►Earthquake lasted 28 sec. ►The fire for 4 days ► Est. 1,000 died ► Over 200,000 homeless

Reformers want to aid poor and immigrants ► Educated middle class (mostly women) ► Social Gospel Movement

Salvation through service to poor Build churches in poor communities

Reformers want to aid poor… (cont.) ►Settlement houses = community centers in slum

neighborhoods Classes: English, health, crafts, music Social services

Visiting Nurses Support for deserted women & widows

Hull House - 1886 Chicago (founded by Jane Addams) Locust Street Social Settlement – 1890 Hampton VA (f. by

Janie Porter Barrett) – for African Americans

Reformers want to aid poor and immigrants ►Jacob Riis: social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social

documentary photographer This pioneering work of

photojournalism by Jacob Riis focused on the plight of the poor in the Lower East Side, and greatly influenced future "muckraking" journalism. Riis mostly attributed the plight of the poor to environmental conditions, but he also divided the poor into two categories: deserving of assistance (mostly women and children) and undeserving (mostly the unemployed and intractably criminal). He wrote with prejudice about Jews, Italians, and Irish, and he stopped short of calling for government intervention. Still, the catalyst of his work was a genuine sympathy for his subjects, and his work shocked many New Yorkers.