The History of U.S.
Immigration
Here is not merely a nation, but a teeming nation of
nations.
Walt Whitman
Why Immigrate?
1607-1830
Push factors:
Political Freedom
Religious Tolerance
Economic Opportunity
Refugees
Slavery
Family Reunification
Why Immigrate?
1830-1890
Pull Factors:
Land
Jobs
“streets paved with gold”
Why Immigrate?
1890-1924
Jews for religious
freedom
Italians/Asians for work
Russians to escape
persecution
“Land of opportunity”
Why Immigrate?
1968-Present
Higher wages
Less harassment, chance
of getting arrested,
chance of getting
deported
Waves of Immigration
1820-1860
Great Britain, Germany,
Ireland
1860-1890
Add Scandinavian
nations
1890-1910
Austria, Hungary, Italy,
Russia
Ellis Island
Ellis Island
European immigrants
5+ hours
Physical examination
Government Inspector
- proper documents
- literacy test
- ready for life in U.S.
Ellis Island Examination Room
Angel Island
Angel Island
*Asian immigrants
*Harsh questioning
*Many interrogations
*Ramshackle buildings
*Terrible conditions
Riot of 1919
Chinese exclusion until
1943
The Naturalization Process

18 years old
 Lawful residence
 Good moral character
 Understand some
basic English

Some basic knowledge
of government
 Some basic knowledge
of U.S. history
 Oath of Allegiance
Naturalization Oath of
Allegiance to the U.S.A.

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce
and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince,
potenate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have
heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and
defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America
against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true
faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf
of the United States when required by law; that I will perform
noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States
when required by the law; that I will perform work of national
importance under civilian direction when required by the law;
and that I take this obligation freely without any mental or
purpose of evasion; so help me God.
Countries of Origin
1820-1996
63,140,227 total
Germany 7.1 million
Mexico 5.5 million
Italy
5.4 million
U.K.
5.2 million
Ireland 4.8 million
Destination of the Immigrants
Polish
Chicago
Cleveland
Buffalo
Detroit
Milwaukee
Italians
New York
Chicago
Cleveland
Buffalo
Detroit
Milwaukee
Germans
New York
Chicago
Milwaukee
Cleveland
Philadelphia
Irish
New York
Boston
Philadelphia
Chicago
Russians
New York
Philadelphia
Boston
Chinese/Japanese
California
Hawaii
Problems of Urbanization
Attraction of the Cities
Loss of farming jobs
Cheaper to live in cities
Unskilled labor positions
Social support for
immigrants
Cultural opportunities
“an extraordinary crazy
quilt”
The Cities
The Cities
Urban Problems
Housing, transportation,
water, sanitation
Problems developed as a
result of population
explosions in cities
Housing
Live in outskirts;
commute to work
Boardinghouses in cities
(share
bathrooms/kitchens/
Solution:
Row houses
tenements
Transportation
Lack of decent, safe
transportation
Walked, horse drawn
vehicles
Solution:
Cable car (1873) SF
Subway (1897) Boston
Water
Bought from vendors
Lack of adequate clean water
Solution: Public Water
Cleveland, New York
1850: public water
1893: chlorination
1908: filtration
Sanitation
Horse manure
Sewage (open gutters)
No dependable trash
removal (scavengers)
Solution:
Underground sewers
(1900)
Fire

Limited water supply
 Wooden dwellings
 Candles
 Kerosene heaters
 Volunteer firefighters
 Occurred in most major cities
Chicago Fire 1871






29 hours
300 dead
100,000 homeless
3 square miles
destroyed
$200 million in
damage
17,500 building
destroyed
Chicago Fire 1871
San Francisco 1906

Major earthquake (28
seconds)
 4 days of fires
 478 dead
 250,000 homeless
 5 square miles destroyed
 $500 million in damage
 28,000 building destroyed
San Francisco 1906
San Francisco 1906
Fire
Solution:
1853: first paid fire
department-Cincinnati
1900: in most cities
1874: auto fire sprinkler
Use of brick, concrete,
stone
Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland
Political Machines and the
Gilded Age
Political Machines
Group that controlled the
activities of a political
party in a city
Offer support services to
voters/businesses in
exchange for
political/financial
support
Machine Organization
City Boss: controls activity
of a political party/try to
get their candidate elected
Ward Boss: tries to secure
votes in all precincts in
return for city jobs,
contracts, appointments
Precinct Workers/Captains:
worked to gain voters
support on a city block or
neighborhood
The City Boss
Controlled thousands of city
jobs (fire, police,
sanitation)
Controlled business licenses
& inspections
Influenced courts/judges
Provided gov’t support for
businesses
Problem solving: loyalty=
votes
Immigrants and Political
Machines
Received sympathy &
understanding
Many bosses could relate
to immigrant problems
Immigrants would
support machines in
return
Power Corrupts
In order to win elections
some bosses turned to
fraud
Added fake names to voting
lists
Received kickbacks from
gov’t contracts
Favors for businesses in
return for gifts (graft)
Accept bribes to allow illegal
activities to continue
Tammany Hall
Society of St. Tammany (1789) to promote
patriotism and fraternity
Became linked to the mayor’s office (NYC)
and the Democratic Party during the Civil
War era
Fernando Wood became the first Tammany
Democrat to be elected mayor of NYC
Tammany Hall
William “Boss” Tweed
helped unite
Democrats with
Tammany Hall as
chairman
Boss Tweed was head of
Tammany from 18631871
Boss Tweed
Tweed convinced the city
legislature give City
government more power
Tweed sought rapid
expansion of infrastructure
(extending streets &
sewers)
Tammany Hall gained much
power and became caught
up in one of the biggest
political scandals of the
nation’s history
The Tweed Ring
Corrupt politicians led
by Tweed that used
power to “line their
pockets”
Pocketed $200 million
through graft and
kickbacks
Thomas Nast
Samuel Tilden called for
early reform
Nast drew political cartoons
for Harper’s Weekly
Began a campaign to expose
the Tweed Ring
Tweed sentenced to 12 years
Led to political reform
movement
Nast Cartoons
Nast Cartoons
The End of Tweed
The Gilded Age
The external glitter of
wealth conceals a
corrupt political core
that reflects the
growing gap between
the very few rich and
the very many poor.
America in the 1870’s1890’s
coined by Mark Twain
Hayes-Tilden Election 1876
Tilden- Democrat
Hayes- Republican
Tilden originally projected as
President
Fla, La, SC still counting
Republican officials sent
south to “observe”
Both parties offered bribes to
secure votes
Hayes-Tilden Election 1876
The 3 states in
questioned turned in 2
sets of electoral votes
Congress left to decide
the outcome
Southern Democrats
voted for Hayes in
exchange for the end
of Reconstruction
Kennedy-Nixon 1960
113,000 votes separated
candidates
Votes in Texas, Illinois,
California could have
gone either way
Widespread rumors of
fraud
Kennedy family tied to
organized crime
Kennedy-Nixon 1960
Texas: voting machines fixed, people voted
illegally, move votes than voters
Chicago: ghost voting, more votes than voters,
voters voting twice,
Most are unsubstantiated rumors, Nixon never
pushed the issue
Election Fraud 1960
Patronage vs. Civil Service
Spoils System
“To the victor go the spoils”
Most federal jobs given out by the President
Interfered with the function of government
A merit system was called for to give federal
jobs to qualified people
Ulysses S. Grant
1869-1877
One of the worst
examples of scandal
Congressmen received
bribes/kickbacks
Cabinet cheated Indians
on reservations
“Whiskey Ring”
distillers bribed
treasury official not to
pay taxes
Rutherford B. Hayes
1877-1880
Began civil service
reform
Named independents to
his cabinet
Investigated gov’t
corruption(fired 1,000)
Enraged Conkling & the
Stalwarts
Republican Factions
Stalwarts: opposed change
Mugwumps: wanted reform
Half-Breeds: wanted reform, but loyal to party
James A. Garfield
1881
Ties to reformers, but VP
was Chester Arthur
(Stalwart)
Garfield gave most jobs
to reformers
Garfield assassinated by
a Stalwart that did not
get a job
Chester A. Arthur
1881-1885
Turned reformer after he
became President
Signed the Pendleton Act
(1883)
Created commission to
make appointments of
federal jobs
Today 90% are merit
jobs
Pendleton Act
Increased number of merit jobs
Politicians could no longer uses spoils system
to gain power (decrease of contributions)
Tie between government and big business
became stronger