Movement in America
Essential Question
Why do people migrate?
2. How is urban life different from rural life?
1.
3 Types of Immigration
People moved around the United States in 3 different
directions during the 1800’s.
 Movement to the U.S. from a foreign nation
 Movement to the cities from rural areas
 Movement to the western frontier
Arriving in America
 “Birds of Passage”: young men who worked a short
period of time then returned home.
 Old Immigration: Immigrants came from Northwest
and Central Europe.
 New Immigration: Immigrants arrived from Eastern
and Southern Europe.
 Once they arrived, most immigrants settled in the city
where they entered because the could not afford to
move.
 Nativism: feeling of favoring native-born Americans
Excluding Asians
 Asian workers became targets of poor treatment
because their culture was different than Europeans.
 Asians found the path to acceptance was difficult.
 Chinese Exclusion Act: prohibited Chinese laborers
from entering the country if they did not already have
family here
 Gentlemen’s Agreement: compromise with Japan to
end segregation of Japanese students in San Francisco’s
schools in exchange for Japan to stop issuing passports
to laborers.
Going to the City
 Between 1880-1910, the population of Americans living
on the farm fell from 72% to 54%.
 By 1890, 150,000 African Americans had moved to
northern cities.
 As the poor farmers moved into the cities, the
wealthier city residents moved to the suburbs.
 To handle the increasing population, poor tenement
housing was constructed.
 Ghettos, area in which one ethnic or racial group
dominated, emerged.
Results of City Growth
 Political Machines: unofficial city organization
designed to keep a particular group in power
 Worked through an exchange of favors
 Successful because they bribed immigrants to support
the party with promises of food, shelter and jobs
 Most notorious was New York’s Boss Tweed of the
Tammany Hall political machine.
A Picture of City Life
Moving to the Western Frontier
 Life was not as easy on the western frontier as
advertised.
 Homestead Act: gave free land to settlers willing to
farm the land for 5 years
 Complaints:
 Tariffs made manufactured goods too expensive.
 Railroads charged farmers more than manufacturers to
ship goods.
Reforming the Wild West
 The Grange: organized farmers to buy supplies in
bulk and to represent the farmers against the
government.
 Populists: political party formed to fix the problems
faced by the farmers
 Increase the circulation of money
 Progressive Income Tax: taxes increase as income
increases
 Government ownership of transportation and
communication systems
 Eight-hour work day (to attract urban supporters)