Chapter 15
Immigrants and Urbanization
Section 1-New Immigrants
• 1870-1920 approximately 20 million
Europeans arrived
• Shift- now from southern and eastern Europe
rather than northern Europe
• Push- rising population- scarcity of landpogroms- political unrest- unemployment
• Pull- plenty of jobs, join family members
Chinese and Japanese
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Much smaller numbers than Europeans
Gold rush brought Chinese
Railroads
After railroads completed- farmers, mining
domestic service- Severely limited by the Chinese
Exclusion Act in 1882
• 1882 Japanese allowed their people to move to
Hawaii to work on plantations. When US
annexed Hawaii, the emigration continued to the
west coast.
West Indies and Mexico
• 1880-1920 over a quarter of a million immigrated
from the West Indies. Scarce jobs- US had an
industrial boom, therefore more jobs than
people.
• Mexicans- came for work and to flee political
turmoil.
• 1902 National Reclamation Act- irrigate arid
lands and turn them to farmland- drew many
Mexicans to work.
• 7% of Mexico’s population came here over the
next 20 years.
Life in the New land
• A difficult Journey
• Steamship- Atlantic one week- Pacific three
weeks
• Steerage- disease- death
• Ellis Island- inspected- about 2% were denied
entrance- Usually because of disease.
• Had to be healthy, able to work and have
$25.00, not be a felon.
• 17 million passed through Ellis Island
• Angel Island- west coast’s equivalent to Ellis
Island- Located in San Francisco Bay.
• Much harsher treatment than Europeans:
detailed questioning
• If admitted: find place to live, job, unfamiliar
language and culture.
• Developed ethnic neighborhoods, social clubs,
aid societies- built churches and synagogueseven newspapers in their native language.
• Hyphenated Americans
• Nativism- Xenophobia
• Immigration Restrictions
• Melting pot vs. salad bowl
• Nativism-believed that Anglo-Saxons were
superior. Did not object immigration from
“the right” countries . Prescott F Hall, founder
in 1894 of Immigration Restriction Leaguevery WASP- Anti Catholic, Anti Jewish
• Desirable to the Nativists were British, German
and Scandinavian
• American Protective Association 1887- very anti
Catholic- many institutions refused to admit Jews.
• Influenced by these movements Congress passed
laws requiring literacy tests.
• If you could not read 40 words in English or your
native language, you were denied entry.
• President Cleveland vetoed the bill. A similar bill
would pass over Wilson’s veto in 1917.
Anti-Asian Sentiment
• Nativist allied with labor movement- fear of lost jobs or
lower wages
• Workingmen’s Party- Denis Kearney- headed the anti
Chinese movement in California.
• 1882- Chinese Exclusion Act- banned entry of almost all
Chinese- 1892- extended for another ten years- not
repealed until 1943. (China was our ally during WWII)
• San Francisco- put Japanese kids in separate schools. T.
Roosevelt worked out deal with the Japanese- known
as the Gentleman’s Agreement of 1907- limit unskilled
Japanese from coming in return for desegregating
schools.
Section 2- The Challenges of
Urbanization
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Immigrants Settle in the Cities
Cheapest and most convenient place to live.
1910- As many Irish in NYC as in Dublin
By 1910- immigrants made up half the
population of 18 major US cities
• The Americanization Movement- designed to
assimilate people into the American Culture
• Schools- teach English, US history, government,
cooking, etiquette
• Many did not wish to abandon their old ways
• Ethnic neighborhoods became the norm. Soon,
overcrowded, slums developed.
• Migration from country to city:
• Technology forced some into unemployment- steel
plow, reaper. So moved to the city to seek work
• Segregation and discrimination were the norm
• Racial tension grew between blacks and whites over
jobs.
Urban Problems
• Housing: two options- buy on outskirts of the
city (transportation problem) rent boarding
house room in central city. (overcrowding)
• Jacob Riis- photographer- tenements- 2-3
families occupying a single family dwelling.
• Un sanitary
• No garbage collection, poor sewage facilities,
rats, windows nailed shut to keep out smell
Transportation
• Mass transit:
• Street cars- SF and Boston
• Water- safe drinking water
• Homes seldom had indoor plumbing
• Usual method was a bucket of water from a
central communal source
• Effort to control diseases like cholera and typhoid
(waterborne diseases)
• Filtration in 1870s- chlorination in 1908
Sanitation
• Manure
• Trash collection
• Chamber pots
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Crime
Pickpockets/thieves
NYC first police department 1844
Most cities had none
• Fire: limited water supply contributed to this
problem
• Use of candles and kerosene lamps and
heaters
• Closely packed wooden buildings
• Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Reformers mobilize
• Social Gospel movement- preached salvation through
service to the poor.
• Established Settlement Houses: community centers in
the slums to assist people especially immigrants.
• Run by middle-class college educated women
• Classes in English, health and general aid.
• Founded in 1886 by Charles Stover and Stanton Coit in
NYC
• Jane Addams- founded Hull House
• By 1910 there were about 400 settlement houses in
the US.
Section 3- Politics in the Gilded Age
• The Emergence of Political Machines
• 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.
• Role of the Political Boss- not necessarily the
Mayor. Controlled access to municipal jobs and
business licenses. Influenced courts and other
city agencies. Roscoe Conkling of NYC build parks,
schools orphanages, and hospitals
• Not only $ that motivated city bosses. Solving
urban problems reinforced voters’ loyalty and
extended their influence.
Immigrants and the Machine
• Many precinct captains and bosses were first
or second generation immigrants.
• Few had much formal education.
• Could talk to immigrants in their own
language
• Helped with citizenship, jobs, housing etc.
• In return immigrants provided votes.
• Big Jim Pendergast- city boss Kansas City- by
1900 controlled entire state’s politics
Harry Truman
Municipal Graft and Scandal
To win elections some used fake names of
voters- multiple ballots- the dead voting
Graft- illegal use of political office for personal
gain
• Politicians granted favors to businesses in
return for cash also bribes to look the other
way for illegal activities.
• ****Until 1890- police were hired and fired by
political bosses.
• Tweed Ring Scandal
• Wm. Tweed- Boss Tweed head of Tammany
Hall- powerful Democratic machine who were
constantly defrauding the city.
• NY County courthouse- billed taxpayers 13
million- actual cost was 3 million
• Thomas Nast- political cartoonist- helped break
the Tweed ring. Tweed indicted on 120 counts of
extortion and fraud and was sentenced to 12
years in jail. Sentence was reduced to one yearimmediately arrested on release. He escaped to
Spain. Rearrested after being recognized in a
Nast cartoon.
• Political corruption had become a national issue.
Civil Service replaces Patronage
• Patronage: giving government jobs to people
who helped a candidate get elected.
• Evolved from Spoils System of Andrew Jackson
• As a result, many were not qualified for the
jobs they held…. Even at the highest level.
• Patronage vs merit system
• Rutherford B. Hayes- couldn’t convince
congress for the need of the merit system.
• So he appointed independents to his cabinet.
• He set up a commission to investigate customs
houses.
• As a result, Hayes fired two top officials of
NYC’s customs house. These jobs were
controlled by the Republican Party.
• This enraged Roscoe Conkling (senator and
city boss) His followers were known as the
Stalwarts.
• When Hayes decided not to run again in 1880,
free for all at Republican convention between
Stalwarts and the reformers. No resolution so:
• Convention settled on independent James A
Garfield from Ohio (tied to Reformers) and as
his VP Chester A. Arthur ( a Conkling
supporter)
• Garfield gave reformers most of the patronage
jobs,,, thus angering the Starwarts.
• July 2, 1881- Train Station in DC Garfield was
shot twice by Charles Guiteau, whom Garfield
had turned down for a job.
• “I did it and I will go to jail for it. I am a Stalwart
and Arthur is now president.”
• Once Arthur became president he became a
reformer. His first message to congress was to
pass a Civil Service Law.
• Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883
• Bipartisan civil service commission make
appointment to federal jobs via a merit system
based on performance and examination.
• By 1901- 40% of all federal jobs had been
classified as Civil Service jobs.
• Because politicians could no longer demand
cash to keep jobs, politicians turned to other
means to raise money. They turned to
wealthy business owners
• Business Buys Influence
• Republicans wanted high tariff- Dems wanted
no tariff because it caused prices to rise.
• 1884- Grover Cleveland (Democrat) elected
president. First time in 28 years.
• Cleveland tried to lower tariff rates, but congress
refused to support him.
• 1888- ran again against Benjamin Harrison,
grandson of Wm. Henry Harrison. He was
financed by big business who wanted higher
tariffs.
• Cleveland won the popular vote, but Harrison
won the electoral college.
• He signed the McKinley Tariff Act which raised
tariffs to their highest level.
• In 1892 Cleveland was elected again- only
president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
• He supported a bill (Wilson-Gorman Tariff) to
lower tariffs, but refused to sign it because it
had a provision for an income tax. It became
law without the president’s signature.
• 1897- McKinley became president and
promptly raised tariffs again.
• Attempts to reduce the tariff failed, but
reform was far from dead.