America Moves to the City
1865-1900
1
15.1 The New Immigrants
OBJECTIVE:
The impact of immigration on the US in
the late 19th and early 20th Centuries
2
Context
• The Age of Monopolies, Trusts,
Big Labor, and Big Cities
• In the late nineteenth century,
American Society was increasingly
dominated by large urban centers.
Explosive urban growth was
accompanied by often disturbing
changes, including the New
Immigration, crowded slums, new
religious outlooks, and conflicts over
culture and values. Cities also
offered new opportunities and new
perspectives, especially to women.
3
Industrialization
Urbanization
Immigration
5
IMMIGRANTS
What were the reasons European immigrants had
for coming to the US? p. 438
• To escape religious persecution
• Because of population pressure
• Because of the desire to experience democracy
and reform
6
IMMIGRANTS
What were the reasons Chinese and Japanese
immigrants had for coming to the US? p. 439
• In response to the California gold rush
• To build the railroads
• To seek higher wages in Hawaii and California
7
IMMIGRANTS
What were the reasons West Indian and Mexican
immigrants had for coming to the US? p. 439
• To find employment
• Their homes were annexed by the US after the
war
• To find work
• To flee political turmoil and unrest
8
Life in the New Land
• What was the journey like? (p.440)
• What happened when they arrived?
– Ellis Island
– Angel Island
• What is culture shock?
– Have you ever experience it?
9
By Brown Brothers, ca. 1908
Immigrant children, Ellis Island, New York.
Vintage print.
10
http://www.archives.gov/press/press-kits/picturing-the-century-photos/gallery2.html
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1309
”In 1905, construction of an Immigration
Station began in the area then known as North Garrison. Surrounded
by public controversy from its inception, the station was finally put
into partial operation in 1910. It was designed to process Chinese
immigrants whose entry was restricted by the Chinese Ex. Law of
1882. Immigrants from Europe were all expected with the opening
of the Panama Canal. International events after 1914, including the
outbreak of World War 1, cancelled the expected rush of Europeans,
but Asians continued to arrive on the West Coast and to go through
11
immigration procedures. In fact, more than 97 percent of the
immigrants processed on Angel Island were Chinese.”
Immigrants: Who are they?
Old Immigration
Ireland + Germany
VS
New Immigration
Southern Europe (Italians, Greeks)
Central Europe
(Slavs, Poles, Russians, Hungarians)
• Increasingly diverse: more countries and more
religions, esp. Catholics and Jews
• 200,000 African-Americans move to Chicago & Detroit
• NATIVISM reemerges as a counter-reaction, in form of
American Protective Association (APA)
• Congress restricts immigration 1882
12
• 1882:Chinese Exclusion Act vs.1886: Statue of Liberty
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS
• What is the “problem” with the melting pot
metaphor for immigration?
• What were the goals of the members of
the American Protective Association?
13
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS
• What were some of the ways Nativists
attempted to restrict immigration? Social
Segregation/Discrimination
– Literacy tests
– Chinese Exclusion Act
– Gentlemen’s Agreement
• Which of the restrictions were most
effective?
• Which groups experienced the most
discrimination? Why?
14
15
http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/images/im2.1.gif
16
http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/images/im2.4.gif