Post on 24-Dec-2015
14.1 - IMMIGRATION & URBANIZATION
UNITED STATES HISTORY CHAPTER 14 PRENTICE HALL
The New Immigrants
• Immigrants had always come to America for economic opportunity and religious freedom.
• Until the 1870s, the majority had been Protestants from northern & western Europe. – “Old Immigrants.”
• Many German & Irish immigrants immigrated in the 1840s and 1850s.
• Between 1870 & 1914, the Irish & German were joined by “New Immigrants”, from southern & eastern Europe.
VOCABULARY
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TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL GROWTH
New” ImmigrantsteerageEllis IslandAngel IslandAmericanization“Melting Pot”NativismChinese Exclusion Act
UrbanizationMass transitSuburbTenement
New Immigrants Come to America
• In contrast to “old” immigrants who had come before the Irish and Germans, “new” immigrants were often unskilled, poor, Catholic or Jewish, and likely to settle in cities rather than farms.
• Many came alone, hoping to save money & return home.• They came from Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and
Russia.• After 1900, 70% of all immigrants came from eastern or
southern Europe.
Immigrants Decide to Leave Home
• PUSH FACTORS- Come to America for a new start.
• PULL FACTORS- US offered special attractions.Ex. 1863 Homestead Act• CHAIN IMMIGRANTS- following relatives or
friends over.
PUSH FACTORS• Persecution
• Economic hardship• Lack of Jobs
• War
PULL FACTORS• Religious & political freedom
• Cheap land• Factory jobs
• Family in the US
The Immigrant Experience
• Coming to America was a big risk.
• Most immigrants only had enough money for the tickets, nothing else.
• Usually, they only brought with them what they could carry- clothes, pictures of loved ones, instrument, tools of their trade.
The Immigrant Experience
• Most immigrants traveled in STEERAGE-
• The lowest levels of the ship.
• Cramped, no privacy, little ventilation
Immigrants Arrive at American Ports
• The first stop for ships at American ports was a processing station where immigration officials decided who could stay in the United States.
• Immigration officers conducted legal & medical inspections.
• Most European Immigrants landed at Ellis Island in New York.
• Chinese & other Asian immigrants crossed the Pacific Ocean, arriving in San Francisco Bay- Angel Island.
Chinese in America (includes Mixed)
Immigrants Assimilate Into Society
• Most new immigrants stayed in cities, close to industrial jobs in factories.
• They lived in ethnic neighborhoods (ghettos) with people who shared native languages, religions, and culture.
• Americanization- helping newcomers learn English and adopt American dress and diet.
• Settlement workers and immigrants alike believed that American society was a “melting pot” in which white people from all different nationalities blended to create a single culture.
• This model excluded Asian immigrants. • However, most immigrants held on to their original
cultures.• Children were the first to become “Americanized”.
New Immigrants Face Hostility
• Immigrants often faced Nativism, which was the belief that native born white Americans were superior.
• Immigrants often were willing to work for less pay.
• Protestants were also suspicious of Catholics coming from Italy, Ireland, and Poland.
• Natives often would sign restrictive contracts agreeing not to rent or sell property to Catholics, Jews, or African-Americans.
• Chinese Exclusion Act- prohibited immigration by Chinese laborers, limited the civil rights of Chinese immigrants and forbade naturalization of Chinese Residents.
Immigrants Change America
• Despite opposition, Immigrants changed America.
• They fueled industrial growth, acquired citizenship, elected politicians and made their traditions part of American culture.
• Mexicans & Chinese settled the southwest working on the railroads.
• The coal mines & factories of the northeast were powered by Irish, Polish, and Germans.
14.2 - Cities Expand & Change
• In the late 19th century, American came across a period of URBANIZATION.
• America’s major cities were manufacturing and transportation centers clustered in the Northeast, Pacific coast, and Midwest.
• Cities became magnets for immigrants and rural Americans.
Cities Offer Change
• Women’s opportunities also expanded in the cities. In addition to factory work, they could take in a boarder, do piecework, become a seamstress, a laundress or become domestic servants.
• Educated women found work as teachers or as secretaries.
Cities Offer Change
• Some laborers were stuck in poverty, but most immigrants began to enjoy a higher standard of living.
• Life in the cities was hard, but was preferred over the country.
• Churches, theaters, social clubs, and museums all offered companionship and entertainment.
Farmers Migrate From Country to City
• Many rural-to-urban immigrants moved to cities in the 1890s.
• The move from the farm to the factories was wrenching.
• Conditions in the work place were much different from the farm, dim lighting, cramped work space, rigid schedules, no “off” season.
• However, factories paid in cash. Cash and the excitement of city life was enough to attract people.
Technology Improves City Life
• Cities of the late 19th century began to take modern form.
• Skyscrapers began to mark the skyline. These 10 story-plus building used steel and artistic design to impressive all city-goers.
• Mass transit public systems that could carry large numbers of people fairly inexpensively also reshaped the nation’s cities.
Urban Living Creates Problems
• Growing cities faced problems caused by overcrowding and poverty.
• Most newcomers had to live with in walking distance of their factory.
• Housing was often densely populated and aging.
Housing Conditions Deteriorate
• Urban workers often found themselves living in Tenements. - low-cost multifamily housing designed to squeeze as many families in as possible.
• Middle and upper class people who could afford the transit fares, slowly moved away from the crowded cities.
• Suburbs- were housing developments in the cleaner and quieter perimeter of the city.