15.1 The New
Immigrants
New Immigrants
 Millions of new immigrants came to the United States
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
 Reasons why there were so many immigrants
 Make money $$$
 Famine
 No land
 Religious or political freedom Ex. Russia
Europeans
 Between 1870-1920, over 20 million immigrants arrived
from Europe
 Before 1890, most of those immigrants were from NW
Europe. After that, the majority came from Central and
Southeastern Europe.
 Came to American for:
 Independence
 Land
 Religious and political freedom
 Jobs
Chinese and Japanese
 Over 500,000 Chinese
and Japanese
immigrated to the
American West Coast
 They came to work on
the RR, find gold and
set up businesses
West Indies and Mexico
 About 260,000
immigrants came from
the West Indies…most
settled in the Southeast
 Over 700,000 Mexican
immigrants came during
this time because of
political and economic
problems…most settled
in the Western part of
America.
Immigration Stats
 Germany 26%
 Ireland 16%
 Scandinavia 11%
 England 8%
 Other countries 35%
The Journey Across
 Immigrants traveled to America on steamships…the journey
was very difficult, conditions were horrible and disease was
everywhere
 Ellis Island-an immigration station located in New York
Harbor. At Ellis Island immigrants had to do the following
things:
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Pass a physical examination-if failed sent home
Interview with government officials
Have money,
Couldn’t be a felon, had to demonstrate that they could work
Over 17 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island
Angel Island
 Angel Island-Located
in San Francisco
Bay…this is where
Asian immigrants had
to pass through before
coming to America
 The questioning
process at Angel Island
was much harsher then
it was at Ellis Island
Challenges for Immigrants
 Had to find a place to live, find a job, and figure out how
to adjust to American culture.
 Often times immigrants lived with or by immigrants
from the same country (ethnic communities)
 The ethnic communities provided support in a variety of
ways:
 Churches/synagogues
 Social clubs
 Orphanages/Nursing Homes
 Newspapers
Opposition to Immigrants
 Many native born Americans did not like the numerous
immigrants that were moving to America.
 Melting Pot-mixture of different cultures and races (what
America always has been)
 Not all immigrants wanted to give up culture etc.
 Nativism-favoring native born Americans over
immigrants. This idea would lead to numerous antiimmigrant groups.
Opposition to Immigrants
 Many Americans believed that ancestors of early
immigrants (German, Scandinavian, English) were
superior to the newer immigrants (Southern/Central
Europe)
 Many native born Americans did not like the new
immigrants because they were either Jewish or Catholic
 In 1897, Congress passed a bill that forced new
immigrants to pass a literacy test to enter the country
(vetoed by President Cleveland)
Anti-Chinese Movement
 People were mad at the Chinese for accepting jobs for
lower wages
 The Chinese were also unpopular because they looked
different than European immigrants
 Chinese Exclusion Act-banned entry into the US for all
Chinese except for teachers, students, govt. officials etc
(10 years)
Anti-Japanese Movement
 Gentlemen’s
Agreement-Japan’s
government agreed to
limit the number of
unskilled Japanese that
were coming to
America
15.2 Urbanization
Urban Opportunities
 Urbanization-growth of cities. This became very
prevalent during the later half of the 19th century
(especially in the Northeast and Midwest)
 Most immigrants who moved into America (late 19th
early 20th centuries) choose to live and work in cities
(many more jobs available).
 By 1910, immigrants made up over half of the
population in the 18 major American cities
Americanization
 Americanization Movement-designed to assimilate
people from different cultures into American culture.
 Schools, cooking, language, etiquette, government,
history.
 Most immigrants did not wish to abandon their heritage
and cultures. Instead they chose to stick close to people
with a similar background (ethnic communities) where
they could live a life they were more familiar with. (Very
crowded)
Migration from country to
city
 New inventions is farming meant that less workers were
needed to farm…this meant that more people had to
move to the cities to find jobs.
 200,000 African Americans moved North to cities like
Chicago and Detroit around the turn of the century.
 Segregation and discrimination was very common in the
North and South. (Race, job competition)
Housing Problems
 There were options when living in the cities: buy a house
on the edge of town (transportation problems) or rent
apartments in the middle of the city (very crowded)
 As time progressed, most native born people moved out
of the cities (suburbs) and immigrants tended to live in
the center of the cities.
 Tenements-multifamily early apartments that were
crowded and unsanitary. (People would leave garbage
out or throw thme down airshafts, sewers, etc.)
Transportation Problems
 Early on it was often difficult to travel in the cities
 Mass Transit-transportation systems designed to move
large numbers of people
 Examples would be streetcars, trains, subways etc.
 Helped improve the flow of traffic in cities and
eventually made it possible to live outside the city.
Water
 Cities also had a difficult time finding safe drinking
water.
 Most cities did not have indoor plumbing and citizens
were forced to get water from the streets.
 Disease spread (Cholera and typhoid fever)
 Finally, cities started to use filtering systems to help with
the problem.
Sanitation
 Horse manure piles, open sewage on streets, factories with lots of
smoke, garbage everywhere.
 Eventually, cities started to have sewer systems and regular
garbage pickup
Crime
 When populations
grew, crime increased
as well (mostly
thieves and
pickpockets)
 Most cities did not
have any organized
police force until
around 1900.
Fire
 Major fires occurred in almost every major city…mostly due
to the wood homes being very close together and lack of
water to put out the fires
 Kerosene and candles were used to light many homes as well.
 San Francisco and Chicago had major fires that killed
thousands of people and destroyed a combined 8 square miles
of the cities.
 Eventually, firemen became more popular (paid) and people
started to use brick to make homes
Reform Movements
 People began to search for ways to fix all the problems
that were in the cities
 Settlement Houses-community centers designed to
provide assistance to the poor (usually immigrants).
 Helped teach immigrants how to survive in America
(language, health, etc.)
 Jane Adams-Founded the Hull House in Chicago (one
of the most famous settlement houses)
15.3 Politics of the
Gilded Age
Political Machines
 Organized group that controlled the activities of a
political party within a certain town. Often times they
would offer services in exchange for political or financial
support (votes)
 Organized like a pyramid
Political Boss
 Controlled jobs, business
licenses, courts and other
municipal agencies (fire and
police)
 Most political bosses used their
power to build good things like
parks, sewers, and hospitals.
 Most realized they could stay in
power if they helped fix the
problems that were in the cities
Immigrants and Political
Machine
 Most people in the political machines were first or
second generation immigrants
 This allowed for most of them to easily influence new
immigrants to join the political machine.
 Most importantly, political machines offered solutions to
a lot of the problems that immigrants were facing
(citizenship, housing and jobs)
Corruption
 Many political bosses fell victim to corruption when it
appeared they were not going to win elections (using
fake names, voting numerous times, etc.)
 Graft-illegal use of political influence for personal gain
(usually in the form of kickbacks)
 Political Machines also accepted bribes and took cask to
turn their back on illegal industries such as gambling.
Tweed Ring Scandal
 Boss Tweed was the head of
Tammany Hall, which was NYC’s
most powerful Democratic Political
Machine
 Built a new courthouse that cost the
taxpayers 13 million (really only
cost 3 million)
 This corruption went on in a
variety of places until the national
government started to crack down
on all the illegal activities.
Patronage vs. Civil Service
 Patronage-giving political jobs
to friends who helped you get
elected (very popular during
the 1800s). A lot of times these
people were not qualified.
 Over time people believed that
Civil Service (govt. jobs)
should go to the most
qualified…took a long time to
change.
Presidents who Changed Civil
Service
 Rutherford B Hayes-Decided to appoint independents to
his cabinet and also began to investigate cases of
patronage (esp. with the political machine)
 James A Garfield (Independent) became president in
1880. He gave a lot of support to the people who wanted
reform.
 Garfield was killed by a man who supported the
Stalwarts (people that did not want change)
 Chester A Arthur became the new president.
Pendleton Civil Service
Act
 Ordered that a commission (group of people) were to
make appointments for federal jobs. (not giving them to
friends)
 This did help make politics more honest; however,
politicians often times turned to other means to get
support.
 Politicians began to turn to wealthy business owners for
political support