Unit 6
Transforming the Nation
Chapter 21: A Diverse Nation
I. A Land of Promise
A. Hopes and Fears –Between 1866 and 1915, more than 25 million immigrants
poured into the United States.
1. Push Factors – Conditions that drive people to leave their homes.
a) Lost their jobs.
b) Suffered religious and political persecution.
2. Pull factor- Conditions that attract people to a new area.
a) Hopes for a better life.
b) The promise of freedom.
c) Industry
B. The Unforgettable Voyage – Voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to
America were often miserable. Disease spread quickly in crowded ships.
Some would not survive the journey.
1. A welcome symbol- For most European immigrants, the voyage
ended in New York City. The Statue of Liberty greeted them.
2. A last Hurdle – The ships stopped at Ellis Island.
a) Passengers traveling in steerage had to pass a medical and
legal inspection. On average 2% were sent back to their country
of origin.
3. Asian Immigrants – On the west coast, immigrants from Asia had
to face an even harder inspection. They were processed on Angel
Island in San Francisco Bay.
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C. Changing Patterns of Immigration
1. In the early 1800’s most immigrants were from northern and
western Europe.
a) English, Irish, German, and Scandinavian immigrants had
settled the frontier and built cities.
b) They became known as “old immigrants.”
2. By the late 1800’s, large numbers of people were arriving from
Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
a) Few of these “new immigrants” spoke English.
b) They had many different religions.
c) East Coast – Italians, Poles, Russians, Greeks, and
Hungarians.
d) West Coast – Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Asian Indians, and
Filipinos.
D. Adjusting to the New Land – New immigrants found it harder to adapt
to life in the U.S. By the time they arrived much of the good farmland in the
west had been taken. As a result, most stayed in the cities where they had
first arrived.
1. Ethnic Neighborhoods – Across the United States, cities were mad
up of sections of Italians, Irish, Polish, Hungarians, Germans, Jews,
and Chinese.
a) ethnic group – people who share a common culture.
2. Finding jobs – They found jobs through friends, relatives, and
employment agencies.
3. Becoming Citizens – Often they were torn between old traditions
and new American ways.
a) assimilation – the process of becoming part of another
culture.
b) Children assimilated easier than their parents and often
learned to speak English in school.
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E. Anti-Immigrant Feeling Grows – Many workers resented immigrants
because they took jobs for low pay.
1. Barring Chinese Immigrants – Most Americans didn’t understand
Chinese culture. Also, some Chinese did not try to learn American
ways.
a) The Chinese Exclusion Act( 1882) –The Act barred
immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. Congress renewed
the law several times. It was finally repealed in 1943 (China was
our ally in WWII).
2. Other Limits on Immigration – In 1887, the American Protective
Association was formed.
a) Wanted laws to restrict immigration.
b) 1917 - literacy tests were required.
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II. The Growth of Cities
A. City Populations boom
1. Causes
a) Flood of immigrants
b) Most of the land in the West was taken.
c) Some pioneers gave up their farms in search of a better life
in the cities.
d) African Americans headed north after the Civil War try to
escape racism, segregation, and poverty.
e) Factories needed workers.
B. City Life
1. Cities grew outward from their downtown sections.
a) Poor families lived in the center of the city, usually in the
oldest section.
b) Tenements – buildings divided into small apartments. Many
had no heat, windows, or indoor bathrooms.
c) Middle class families lived further out in a neat row of
houses or new apartment buildings.
d) The wealthy lived on the outskirts of the city in fine built
homes with lawns and lots of trees.
C. Cleaning up Cities
1. By the late 1880’s reformers were demanding change.
a) Passed building codes.
b) Hired workers to collect garbage.
c) Zoning laws kept factories out of neighborhoods were people
lived.
d) Professional fire companies and police forces were set up,
e) New water systems were designed.
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D. Help for the Poor
1. The Catholic Church helped the needs of the Irish, Polish, and
Italian immigrants.
2. The Salvation Army offered food and shelter to the poor.
3. The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) taught classes,
organized team sports, and held dances.
4. The settlement house movement – By 1900, a 100 such centers had
opened in American cities. The best known of these was the Hull
House, set up by Jane Addams in Chicago.
a) Settlement house – a community center that offers services
to the poor.
b) They taught classes in American government, the English
language, and health care.
c) Provide free daycare for the children of working mothers.
d) Organized sports and theater for young people.
e) Hull House volunteers fought for better health laws, and
supported amendments to end child labor and give women
the right to vote.
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III. The Changing Face of Cities
A. Cities take on a new look in the late 1800’s.
1. Skyscrapers became an increasingly common sight in the centers
of big cities where land was scarce.
2. Public Transportation
a) 1887 – street cars, also called trolleys, were designed by
Frank Sprague.
b) 1897 – Boston opened the first subway.
c) 1870-New York built the first “el” – an elevated train. This
system expanded over the next few decades.
3. Cities plan parks
a) NYC’s Central Park –designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and
Calvert Vaux. The first major park intended entirely for public
use. And they knew the Park would be a healthy refuge from
the over-crowded living sections in southern Manhattan.
B. A New world for shoppers
1. Department Stores
a) 1902- R.H. Macy opened the first department store in NY
Herald
C. Sports - Fun Outdoors
1. Baseball – By the 1870’s there were several teams around the
country who formed a league.
a)1880’s- African Americans were barred. They formed their
own league.
b) It became America’s favorite sport.
2. Football – grew out of soccer.
a) Many players were injured.
3. Basketball – developed by the YMCA out of a need to find an indoor
sport to play during the winter.
D. Other Entertainment
1. Music – symphony orchestra and operas
a) attended by the wealthy
2. Vaudeville – a variety show that included comedians, song and dance
routines, and acrobats.
a) attended by the middle class
3. Ragtime – a unique type of music with a rhythmic sound
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a) Scott Joplin, and African American composer, helped make it
popular.
4. Popular songs swept the country because of Edison’s phonograph.
5. Traveling shows
a) acting companies performed plays
b) circuses – P.T. Barnum
c) Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
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IV. A New American Culture
A. Growth of Education
1. Public Schools Improve
a) As industry grew, America needed an educated work force.
b) In the North – passed laws that children must attend school
until 6th grade.
c) In the South – built schools for African Americans and white
students.
d) Schools taught English to immigrants.
2. High schools and colleges
a) By 1900, the United States had 6,000 high schools.
b) New private colleges and state universities were built.
c) African Americans, Chinese, and other non-whites had fewer
opportunities to get an education
3. Public librariesa) Wealthy individuals gave money to build public libraries
B. Headlines and Scandals- as education spread, people read more.
1. Newspapers kept people informed.
a) Reported on important events of the day.
b) They featured stories about local government, businesses,
fashion, sports, and comic strips.
c) Newspapers gave people a sense of belonging (ex. New
Yorkers, Bostonians, etc.).
2. Joseph Pulitzer - In 1883 he created the first modern mass
circulation newspaper, The New York World.
a) Introduced pictures and bold headlines.
b) Added sports pages and comic strips.
c) Splashed crimes and political scandals across the front page.
d) He sent a female reporter, Nellie Bly, around the world.
e) As a result, circulation went from 20,000 to one million.
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3. William Randolph Hearst – He bought the New York Journal and
soon challenged Pulitzer.
a) tried to print more scandals, crime stories, and gossip than
The New York World did.
b) yellow journalism – sensational reporting style.
C. New reading habits - By the late 1800’s, Americans started reading
magazines and books as well.
1. Magazines – Each magazine had a special audience.
a) Ladies Home Journal – middle class white women
b) Harper’s Monthly and the Nation - politics
2. The paperback revolution – In the late 1800’s paperbacks became
popular.
a) Bestsellers were often dime novels- low priced paperbacks
offering thrilling stories. Wild West stories were popular.
b) Rags to riches stories were also popular and offered hope to
many immigrants.
c) Horatio Alger – wrote more than 100 dime novels for
children. His books taught hard work and honesty lead to
success.
3. The Realists –wanted to show life as it was.
a) Stephen Crane wrote about a girl who is born and dies in a
filthy slum.
b) Hamlin Garland described the hard lives of farmers.
c) Jack London wrote about the hardships faced by miners and
sailors.
d) Kate Chopin wrote stories about children breaking out of
traditional roles.
e) Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African American to
make a living as a writer.
4. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) – He was the most popular author of
this period.
a) He wrote Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn.
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D. Realism in Art – Artist set out to capture local color and the harsh, gritty
side of modern life.
1. Winslow Homer a) drew scenes of Civil War battles for magazines.
b) He later painted realistic scenes of New England.
2. Thomas Eakins
a) known for painting the human body accurately, he painted
sports scenes and medical operations.
3. Henry Tanner – The first African American Artist to gain
international fame.
a) painted pictures of black sharecroppers
4. Americans Abroad – Other American artists preferred to work in
Europe.
a) James Whistler – His work influenced young European
artists.
b) John Singer Sargent – painted portraits of wealthy
Europeans.
c) Mary Cassat – painted bright colorful scenes in everyday
situations.
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