American Studies I Honors
Mr. Calella
1870 to 1900
 TIME
PERIOD: (1870 to 1900)
 BIG IDEAS
◦ Immigrant
◦ Urbanization
 ESSENTIAL QUESTION (Please
answer)
◦ Why do people immigrate to
other countries? Make a list of
some “PUSH” and “PULL” factors
 Possible
Push Factors
◦ Political persecution, religious
persecution, poor economy,
scarcity of land, rising
population, unemployment
 Possible
Pull Factors
◦ Economic opportunity, religious
freedom, political freedom, land
 1866
to 1915, 25 million
immigrants to U.S from Europe
 Before 1880, mostly from northern
and western Europe (“old
immigrants”)
◦ WHERE?
 After 1880, mostly from southern
and eastern Europe (“new
immigrants”)
◦ WHERE?
 Why
did many Chinese immigrate
to California in 1848?
 1851 to 1883, 300,000 Chinese
arrived
 By 1920, 200,000 Japanese lived
on West Coast
 Angel Island
 Why did these two groups settle
on the west coast?
Transportation technology of the time?
 Steamship voyage
◦ 1-3 weeks from Europe
◦ 3 weeks from Asia
 Many traveled in STEERAGE
◦ Cheapest accommodations; in ship’s
cargo area at bottom of ship
◦ Why?
◦ Titanic connection
◦ READ ALOUD “THE LOWER DECK”
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Do you guys have any relatives that passed
through Ellis Island?
Immigration station that inspected
immigrants for disease, mental illness,
crime record, etc.
Would send immigrants back to their home
country if failed test (see test on page 463)
Immigrants were treated well
Asian immigrants went to Angel Island off
of San Francisco, but unlike Ellis Island, they
were treated very poorly
◦ Why do you think there was a difference?
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What is it? What are the pros and cons of it?
Some of the new immigrants were not
interested in assimilation or becoming
American
They wanted to return to their home country
with enough money saved to buy a farm
 Connection to present-day immigrants
from Central America?
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Most immigrants came to save enough money
to bring rest of family to US
Most wanted to become American citizens
but retain some of their culture and customs
◦ Why was this important to them?
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1890, twice as many Irish in NYC than
Dublin
What is the difference between “melting
pot” analogy and “mosaic” analogy?
Americanization Movement: designed to
assimilate immigrants into the dominant
culture.
◦ Hyphenated Americans
◦ What was the dominate culture?
Attributes?
◦ Who wanted immigrants to assimilate?
◦ Did immigrants completely assimilate?
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Nativism: favoritism to native-born
Americans
Social and economic discrimination, but
religious freedom preserved
Nativists felt that immigrants could not
become “good” citizens
Nativists justify their arguments for immigrant
restrictions on Southern and Eastern Europeans
and Asians using Social Darwinism
American Protective Association and the
“Catholic Menace”
1870-1900
 What
some problems
associated with an
overcrowded house?
 Do people living in urban
areas experience similar
issues? Which? How?
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Inventions and improvements in farming
caused fewer laborers to be needed in the
fields
Where do you think these farm laborers went?
Why?
Many of these farm laborers were African
American
◦ Blacks moved to northern cities like Detroit and
Chicago for jobs (pull) and escape racial violence
(push)
◦ City life for blacks was nonetheless difficultdiscrimination and segregation, job competition
with immigrants
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Garbage, clean water, sewage,
overcrowded, crime, vice
Tenement living-Jacob Riis How the Other
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◦ One tub per floor
◦ Interior apartments-no circulation of air
◦ Disease and infant mortality
◦ Crime
◦ Unsanitary conditions-dark and dank,
pests
Wealthy flee cities to suburbs
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Half Lives
As problems in cities pile up,
concerned citizens (reformers) sought
to make things better for poor city
people
 Settlement Houses
◦ Reformers established these
◦ They were community centers in
slum neighborhoods that assisted
people in the area
◦ Food, shelter, education, religion
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All cities’ problems prompted solutions
 Electric lights, paved streets, electric
trolley cars,
 Suspension bridges using steel cables
◦ Brooklyn Bridge and Roebling, NJ (Extra
Credit Assignment)
◦ View short video on Brooklyn Bridge
 Steel girders and skyscrapers
 Parks
 New tenement designs
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