CHAPTER 15 – IMMIGRATION AND URBANIZATION
SECTION 1 – THE NEW IMMIGRANTS
 Immigration from Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and Mexico reached a new high in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries
 This wave of immigration helped make the United States the diverse society it is today.
THROUGH THE “GOLDEN DOOR”
 Immigrants sought to escape difficult conditions – such as famine, land shortages, or religious or political persecution –
others known as “birds of passage” only came here temporarily to earn money and then return to their homelands
 Europeans (about 20 million arrived in the United States)

Before 1890 – immigrants came from countries in western and northern Europe

After 1890 – immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe

Many European immigrants left their homelands to escape religious persecution, looking for farming land, escape political
movements and revolutions
 Chinese and Japanese (about 300,000 Chinese and 200,000 Japanese arrived in the United States)

Many immigrants sought fortunes, especially after the discovery of gold in California in 1848

Chinese immigrants helped build the nation’s railroads, farming, mining, and domestic service

Japanese immigrants helped the Hawaiian planters then eventually came to the mainland
 West Indies and Mexico (about 260,000 arrived in the United States)

Immigrants came due to jobs being scarce and political turmoil – looking for work and better opportunities in the United States
LIFE IN THE NEW LAND
 A Difficult Journey

Most immigrants traveled by steamship across the Atlantic (1 week) or Pacific Ocean (3 weeks)

Traveled in steerage (cheapest accommodations in a ship’s cargo holds)

Crowded area, no fresh air, infested bunks, shared toilets – causing disease to spread quickly and some immigrants died before they reached
their destination
 Ellis Island (immigration station on East Coast)

Immigrants have to pass through inspections before being allowed entry into the United States – 2% were not allowed to enter

First – pass a physical examination by a doctor
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Second – pass an inspection by a government inspector where they checked documents and questioned immigrants to determine whether
they met the legal requirements for entering the United States
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Requirements – prove they had never been convicted of a felony, demonstrating that they were able to work, and showing they had some money
Third – enter the United States on their own
 Angel Island (immigration station on the West Coast)

Processing at Angel Island was harsher and longer than at Ellis Island
 Cooperation for Survival

Once admitted to the country, immigrants faced the challenges of finding a place to live, getting a job, and getting along in
daily life while trying to understand an unfamiliar language and culture

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Many sought out others who shared their cultural values, religion, and spoke their native language – developed ethnic communities
Native born people often disliked the immigrants’ unfamiliar customs and languages, and viewed them as a threat to the
American way of life
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS
 Melting Pot – mixture of people of different cultures and races who blend together by abandoning their native
languages and customs
 Nativism – overt favoritism toward native-born Americans
 The Rise of Nativism

Believed Anglo-Saxons were superior to other ethnic groups

Wanted immigrants from the “right” countries – British, German, Scandinavian

Nativists objected more to immigrants’ religious beliefs than to their ethnic backgrounds – most Americans were Protestant

1897 – Congress passed a bill requiring a literacy test for immigrants – those who could not read 40 words in English could not
enter - President Cleveland vetoed the bill – eventually passed in 1917
 Anti-Asian Sentiment

Depression of 1873 intensified anti-Chinese sentiment in California – work was scarce, and labor groups exerted political
pressure on the government to restrict Asian immigration

Chinese Exclusion Act – 1882 – this act banned entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists, and
government officials

1892 – Congress extended the law for another ten years

1902 – Chinese immigration was restricted indefinitely – law was not repealed until 1943
 The Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907-1908)

Japan’s government agreed to limit emigration of unskilled workers to the United States in exchange for the repeal of the
San Francisco segregation order
SECTION 2 – THE CHALLENGES OF URBANIZATION
 The rapid growth of cities forced people to contend with problems of housing transportation, water, and
sanitation.
 Consequently, residents of U.S. cities today enjoy vastly improved living conditions
URBAN OPPORTUNITIES
 Urbanization – growth of cities (mostly in the regions of the Northeast and Midwest
 Immigrants Settle in Cities

Immigrants became city dwellers because cities were the cheapest and most convenient places to live

Cities offered unskilled laborers steady jobs in mills and factories

1910 – immigration families made up more than half the total population of 18 major cities

Americanization Movement – designed to assimilate people of wide-ranging cultures into the dominant culture – social campaign was
sponsored by the government and concerned citizens

Schools and voluntary associations provided programs to teach immigrants skills needed for citizenship, cooking and social etiquette,
however, many immigrants did not want to give up their traditions and were content in their ethnic communities – led to overcrowding
 Migration from Country to City

Improvements in farming technology led to a reduction in laborers on the farm, leading to them to move to cities to find whatever work
they could

African Americans moved north and west to escape racial violence, economic hardship, and political oppression

Job competition between blacks and white immigrants caused further racial tension
URBAN PROBLEMS
 Housing

Different variations to choose from – house on the outskirts of town, rent cramped rooms in a boardinghouse, single family
dwellings, tenements (multifamily dwelling)

1879 – NYC passed a law that set minimum standards for plumbing and ventilation in apartments
 Transportation

Mass transit – transportation systems designed to move large numbers of people along fixed routes

Street cards were introduced in San Francisco in 1873

Electric subways in Boston in 1897
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Mass transit networks developed and started to link city neighborhoods to one another and to outlying communities
 Water

Problem of not enough safe drinking water

1870s – filtration was introduced
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1908 – chlorination
 Sanitation

Horse manure piled up on the streets, sewage flowed through open gutters, trash was dumped into the streets, and factories spewed foul
smoke into the air
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1900 – cities developed sewer lines and created sanitation departments
 Crime

Pickpockets and thieves flourished
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1844 – NYC developed and organized the first full-time, salaried police force

Much law enforcement units were too small to have much impact on crime
 Fire

Cities were packed with wooden dwellings (kindling waiting to be ignited) and limited water supply led to the spread of fires

Use of candles and kerosene heaters posed as a fire hazard

1900 – most cities had full-time professional fire departments
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1874 – automatic fire sprinkler and the replacement of wood as a building material with brick, stone, or concrete made cities safer
REFORMERS MOBILIZE
 The Settlement House Movement

Social Gospel Movement – preached salvation through service to the poor

Settlement houses – community centers in slum neighborhoods that provided assistance to people in the area, especially
immigrants

Many settlement workers lived at the houses so that they could learn first hand about the problems caused by urbanization
and help create solutions

Settlement houses were run by middle-class, college education women and provided educational, cultural, and social
services

Jane Addams was one of the most influential members of the movement
SECTION 3 – POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE
 Local and national political corruption in the 19th century led to calls for reform
 Political reforms paved the way for a more honest and efficient government in the 20th century and beyond
THE EMERGENCE OF POLITICAL MACHINES
 Cities experienced rapid growth under inefficient government which led them to be receptive to a new power structure,
the political machine, and a new politician, the city boss
 The Political Machine - an organized group that controlled the activities of a political party in a city – offered services to
voters and businesses in exchange for political or financial support
 The Role of the Political Boss

He controlled access to municipal jobs and business licenses, and influenced the courts and other municipal agencies

Bosses could provide government support for new businesses, a service for which they were often paid extremely well

By solving urban problems, bosses could reinforce voters’ loyalty, win additional political support, and extend their influence
 Immigrants and the Machine

Many precinct captains and political bosses were first-generation and second-generation immigrants

Provided solutions, helped with naturalization, among other things and immigrants provided the political bosses with votes
MUNICIPAL GRAFT AND SCANDAL
 Election Fraud and Graft

When the loyalty of voters was not enough to carry an election, some political machines turned to fraud

Graft – illegal use of political influence for personal gain

Political machines granted favors in return for cash and accepted bribes to allow illegal activities
 The Tweed Ring Scandal

Boss Tweed led a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city

Charged taxpayers $13 million for the construction of the NY County Courthouse, when it actually cost $3 million
CIVIL SERVICE REPLACES PATRONAGE
 The desire for power and money that made local politics corrupt in the industrial age also infected national politics
 Patronage Spurs Reform

Patronage – giving of government jobs to people who had helped a candidate get elected (also known as the spoils system)

Civil service – merit system of hiring – government administration should go to the most qualified persons
 Reform Under Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur
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Rutherford B. Hayes
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Named independents to his cabinet
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Set up a commission to investigate the nation’s courthouses
James A. Garfield
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Independent presidential candidate that was shot twice before entering in the election
Chester A. Arthur

Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 – authorized a bipartisan civil service commission to make appointments to federal jobs through a merit system
based on candidates’ performance on an examination
BUSINESS BUYS INFLUENCE
 With employees no longer a source of campaign contributions, politicians turned to wealthy business owners
 Harrison, Cleveland, and High Tariffs

Big business hoped the government would preserve, or even raise, the tariffs that protected domestic industries from
foreign competition

Grover Cleveland
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Tried to lower tariffs, however, Congress would not support him

Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 – lowered tariffs, but developed a federal income tax
Benjamin Harrison
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McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 – raised tariffs on manufactured goods to their highest level