Chapter 8
POLITICS,
IMMIGRATION,
AND URBAN LIFE
Politics and the Gilded Age
read p. 290
 The “Gilded Age” describes the post Civil War era in which a glittering
layer of prosperity covered the poverty and corruption of much of
society
 The wealth of the few covered the problems faced by immigrants,
laborers and farmers. It also covered up the widespread abuse of power
in business and government
Business of Politics
 Laissez-faire policies: “hands off” approach of government
towards business (social darwinism)
 As businesses got more and more powerful/ruthless, a call for
government intervention came from the people
 Tariffs, Land Grants, Subsidies are some of the early government
interventions
 Mega-wealthy bribed politicians to ensure most of that aid came to
their businesses
 Ex – between 1875 – 85, the Central Pacific Railroad budgeted
$500,000 per year for bribes
Business of Politics
 Credit Mobilier Scandal – government subsidies for building
railroads invited corruption
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Congress granted Union Pacific RR Co. loads and land to complete the
transcontinental railroad
Owners hired an outside company to build the railroad for them (Credit
Mobilier)
Credit Mobilier charged far more than value and the government just
sent more and more money
Credit Mobilier gave members of Congress very cheap shares of the
company in exchange for keeping the government coming
The result was a finished transcontinental railroad that cost FAR MORE
than necessary at the taxpayers expense
The owners, Credit Mobilier, congressmen all got rich on the taxpayer
Business of Politics
 The Spoils System – another means of corruption in government
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Elected officials appointed friends and supporters to government jobs, regardless of their qualifications
Government run by unqualified, corrupt people
People supported candidates because it meant they got a job, not because he would be best for country
People would use jobs to skim money out of the government
 Reforms of the Spoils System
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Rutherford B. Hayes
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Refused to use spoils system, appointed qualified people, fired others
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Angered own party by removing key people
President James Garfield killed by man who believed he was denied a job he was owed
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Chester Arthur
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Had supported spoils system earlier in career
Surprised many when he pushed for reform after the death of Garfield
PENDLETON CIVIL SERVICE ACT:
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Commission classified jobs and the qualifications for each job
Governmental employees could not be required to give money to candidate or party
Democrats take Power
 Grover Cleveland became first democratic president since 1856
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Regulating Railroads
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Took back more than 80 million acres of land given to wealth RR investors
Ended practice of REBATES (partial refunds to favored customers)
INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT: required set rates for shipping, rates made public
Depression to Prosperity
People on the Move
 Immigrants’ Hopes and Dreams
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US population will nearly double between 1865-1920
Immigrants dreams (were told) of riches, personal freedoms
Many left their countries because things were SO bad (push of immigration) Italy/Russia
 Crossing the Ocean
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Most crossed ocean in STEERAGE
(large open area in bottom of ships)
 Arriving in America
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10 million came between 1865-1890
Most came from NW and C Europe
Before 1880 – who got in was up to states
US government took over in 1880’s to control who and how many
Key Ports: Ellis Island, Angle Island
Immigrants from Europe
 Physical Exams – to keep diseases out. If failed, immigrant would be
quarantined, maybe deported. If passed, they showed their documents
to the officials and were recorded
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If they had friends or family, they went off to find them
If they knew noone, they would have a much harder time finding lodging and work
 Where immigrants settled
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Usually settled in areas with people of similar language and culture (gangs of new york)
mostly in the cities of the northeast or on the west coast
Immigrants paid much less than “American” workers (who were vastly underpaid as well)
GHETTOS – an area where one racial group dominated
RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS – agreements among homeowners not to sell real estate to
certain groups of people (jews, blacks, catholics, etc). This restricted immigrants from
buying nicer homes in better areas, even if they could afford to do so
Immigrants from Asia
 Cultural, language, and looks differed Asian immigrants for those from
Europe
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Often the target of violence and discrimination
 Chinese Excluded –
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RR companies brought thousands of Chinese immigrants to US to help build RR (cheap,
expendable labor source)
Immigrants worked to pay off the cost of their passage and upkeep
Once they paid off debt, they often settled into working in the fields
Like European immigrants, Chinese immigrants also lived in groups, helped with safety
American workers fought to keep Chinese workers out, they accepted lower wages and drove
down wages for all
Some in American used “funky” science to try to prove Chinese were inferior mentally and
physically to whites
US Congress passed the CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT in 1882. This prohibited Chinese
immigrants from entering this country. The act was renewed several times
Angel Island in San Francisco also tested new immigrants before allowing entry
Immigrants from Asia
 Japanese restricted too
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Many Japanese had immigrated to Hawaii before it was a territory or state
Then they would immigrate to the US mainland for a better life
By 1920, 200,000+ in US (mostly California) working in fields
Mostly working in private industry, did not compete with union jobs, so didn’t have same
problems as Chinese workers
1906 – San Francisco schools ruled all asian students must attend separate schools
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A “Gentleman’s Agreement” was made with Japanese government. The San Francisco schools would
end its policy of segregation in exchange for no more Japanese workers coming to America
1913 – Law banning asians from owning farm lands
Immigrants from Mexico
 1902 – Congress passed law to irrigate lands of the southwest
 New farmland meant need for labor – Mexican workers filled the need
 Mexican workers worked hard, tough jobs for low pay
 World War I also increased need for laborers – filled by Mexican workers
 These new opportunities at a better life were the PULL factor
 The Mexican Revolution and civil war drove more into the states (PUSH)
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Nearly 1 million Mexicans died (10% of population) during this time
 Immigration Restriction Act of 1921 limited immigration from Europe and
Asia, but immigrants from Mexico continued to flow into the US
 By 1925, LA had largest Spanish speaking population in North America
outside of Mexico
The Challenge of the Cities
 Expanding Cities
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As immigrants moved in, the wealthier people moved out to the “suburbs”
Builders tore down houses to build 5-6 story apartment buildings
Between 1880-1920, 11 million Americans moved into cities (migration)
Machines making things people used to make. City dwellers were no longer self-sufficient
African Americans migrated North to escape the discrimination/violence of the South
 How Cities Grew
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Before Civil War, few cities were bigger than 3-4 miles across and people walked or rode horses
most places
The invention of transit allowed those who could afford to, to move further away from city
center/work and commute in. This created SUBURBS or residential communities outside the city
Later, motorized vehicles made commuting even easier, growing the suburbs more
Trolley’s, subways, etc also grew the suburbs
Cities grew upwards as well
Elisha Otis invented the elevator. This allowed for more growth upwards
As cities expanded so did services like banks, stores, government offices, etc. These were located
out near the suburbs to make them more convenient to the people living there
Industrial, wholesale, and warehouse districts formed around the city centers where the land was
cheaper
Urban Living Conditions
 Most workers moved into areas built up for them (couldn’t afford suburbs)
 Buildings left vacant by move by middle class to suburbs converted to
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multifamily units
TENEMENTS – low cost apartment buildings designed to house as many
families as the owner could pack in. Groups of TENEMENTS would
transform an area into a slum
SLUM - a thickly populated, run-down, squalid part of a city, inhabited by
poor people.
Fire was a constant danger. Buildings were packed close together. No
electricity meant fires used to cook. No safety devises to help put fire out.
All this meant fires were a huge concern
Great Chicago Fire of 1871 – 250 dead, 100,000 homeless, property losses
of over $200 million (equiv. to $2 billion today)
Disease another problem. People were packed in so tight that once a
disease started, it spread quickly. Epidemics common
Heatwave in 1896 in New York took lives of 400 (no ventilation)
Urban Living Conditions
 Push to reform living conditions (sewer, water, air flow)
 1879 – NYC required an outside window in every room
 Dumbbell tenement created to bring light, air to apartments
 It did little to lessen the crowded, unsanitary conditions
 1901 – NYC required a hallway bathroom on each floor
Urban Living Conditions
 A book written about the conditions “How the Other Half Lives” by
Jacob Riis brought the conditions to the awareness of Americans with
pictures and personal interviews
 New York passed the first laws that really changed how people lived in
the slums and tenements
Results of City Growth
 Some avoided problems in the cities by moving out to suburbs. The gap
between rich and poor grew bigger and bigger
 A few cities protected the mansions and parks in the center of cities.
The people who lived there become more and more isolated
 Political Divisions
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Increased need for police, services (transportation, sewers, water, garbage) cost city governments
Cities raised taxes to pay for these. Opened centers for apply for help
As the government collected more money, corruption followed
Competition between groups in the city for money available caused conflict
 Rise of Political Bosses
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Political Machines operated outside elected government to access money & power
Political Boss – individual that ran the political machine and skimmed money for himself & friends
System worked on the basis of exchanged favors (I’ll get you aid if you vote for me)
Graft - use of job to gain profit – those attached to the political machine used graft
Political Machines relied on immigrants to stay in power. Many blamed system on immigrants
Boss Tweed (Tammany Hall) most notorious political boss. He and his friends stole millions of dollars
from NYC
They did help people, earning their loyalty, at the same time they stole from them
Because of power they controlled, political parties came to them for support
Ideas for Reform
 Use your books (p. 311-315 ) to fill in information on the diagram below
Immigration
Morality
Ideas for Reform
 Helping the Needy – Many middle class people shocked to learn of the
horrid conditions the poor lived in and worked in. Moved by social conscience
and religious idealism, 1000’s joined organizations to help
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The Charity Organization Movement (making charity a scientific enterprise)
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The Social Gospel Movement (churches provided aid for the poor around them)
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Took down data on those received aide. Used this to determine who they deemed ‘/worthy’ of
help
Wanted immigrants to adopt ‘american’ ways
Tried to treat the conditions that caused bad behavior (gambling, drinking, etc)
Better living and work conditions were strived for
The Settlement Movement (young educated men and women moved into settlements
in poor parts of the city and worked with the poor) Hull House
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Settlement Houses – community center for the poor
Offered classes in english, reading, ect
Childcare, playgrounds for children while parents looked for work or took a class
More the 400 Settlement Houses opened in country in late 1800’s and early 1900’s
Development of Sociology
 The study of how people interact in society.
 Collect data on societies, measures the data against theories of human
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behavior
Looked at every aspect of human life (church, government, schools,
library, museum) in various cultures
Might include how children/parents interact in various cultures
Sociologists of the day tried to study the impact of industrialization on
human culture
Rapid growth of America gave sociologists a perfect place to study
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Migrants moving to cities (cultural interactions)
Immigrants from MANY cultures moving to America (cultural interations)
Controlling Immigration and Behavior
 Many Americans blamed society’s problems on new immigrants.
Hoping to restore better days, they tried to keep immigrants out of US
 Nativism: favoring native born Americans
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Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
American Protective Assoc.- targeted immigrants and Catholic Church
Immigration Restriction League – wanted to exclude unwanted immigrants by requiring
literacy tests
 Prohibition: ban on manufacture and sale of alcohol
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Temperance Movement – wanted to eliminate alcohol consumption as it was blamed for
causing many of the ills of society (abuse, corruption, vices)
Slow progress, but progress made. 1917 18th Amendment
 Purity Crusaders: campaign against vices (immoral behavior)
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As cities grew, so did drug use, gambling, prostitution and other forms of vice (profitable)
“Purity Crusaders” pushed for laws prohibiting what they considered immoral behaviors
Other crusaders attacked the corruption of government (bribes, graft)
Ch 8 Need to Knows
 Section One
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Gilded Age – scandals
Spoils System
Reforms – Pendleton Civil Service Act
Regulating Railroads
 Section Two
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Immigration Experience – promises/reality, steerage,
Entering America – Ellis Island/Angel Island, physicals, quaranteen
Ghettos, slums
Excluding immigrants – Chinese, Japaneses
Mexican immigrants - different
 Section Three
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Growth of Cities – suburbs, slums, tenements
Increased need of services
Political Machines, Political Bosses
 Section Four
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Charity Organization Movement, Social Gospel Movement, Settlement Movement
Sociology
Nativism, Prohibition, Purity Crusaders
Ch 8 Vocabulary
Chinese Exclusion Act
Civil Service
Ghetto
Gilded Age
Graft
Laissez-Faire
Nativism
Political Machine
Settlement House
Tenement
Ch 8 Essays
Pick 2 of 3 essays
 1) Many immigrants who came to the US expected to
find streets paved with gold and easy opportunities
to make their fortunes. Describe what they were
more likely to find. (living conditions, work, etc)
 2) On the issue of immigrants, compare the attitude
of a Nativist to that of a Settlement House worker.
 3) Massive immigration caused overcrowding in the
cities. What problems did this cause and how were
these problems dealt with?