Chapter 15
Immigration People move to US for a variety of reasons, some to stay and some (birds of passage) to stay for a short time 1870-1920 about 20 million Europeans come to US First from western Europe and then from the South and East Why? Religious persecution (Jews) Population increase (lack of jobs and farm land) Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
Chinese and Japanese Immigrants Come mostly to West Coast Smaller Numbers Chinese help build RR’s when transcontinental finished many move to farming, mining, and domestic service Japanese move to Hawaii in large numbers to work in pineapple industry Hawaii made US territory 1898 Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
Ellis Island Ellis Island: In New York Harbor, entry point to US, immigrants are inspected here, about 2% denied entry Had to pass physical exam (no diseases like TB, have documents reviewed (must meet legal requirements could not have convicted a felony, must be able to work), must have some $$ 1892-1924 17 million pass through its doors Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
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Off San Francisco Bay, CA Entry point of west c oast Angel Island Off San Francisco Bay, CA Entry point of west c oast Much harsher procedure than Ellis Island Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
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Difficult, must find a place to live, get a job, learn language, etc Life of an Immigrant Difficult, must find a place to live, get a job, learn language, etc Do this because they want a better life Face discrimination from Americans (fear them for many reasons, Nativism) Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
Laws against Immigrants 1896: Immigration Restriction League (have to pass literacy tests, can read 40 English words or in native language could be denied entry) Chinese Exclusion Act: 1882, banned entry to US for all Chinese except students, teacher, merchants, tourists, and government officials for at least ten years Law is extended for 10 more years in 1902 Law repealed in 1943 Gentlemen’s Agreement: 1907-1908 Japan’s government agreed to limit immigration of unskilled workers to the US. Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
Urbanization Urbanization was the rapid growth of cities Immigrants were moving to cities, jobs, and cheapest living areas 1890 there was 2x more Irish in NYC than in Dublin, Ireland Americanization Movement: the effort to assimilate the new immigrants Schools and associations created to teach immigrants to be American (eating, living, watching, listening, living, social etiquette) Many did not abandon their traditions Ethnic communities were a place of support
Housing You could buy a house outside of town But there was lack of transportation Or you could rent what's called a tenement house Cramped conditions Wall to wall housing Large numbers of people living in a small area Little to no sanitation
Transportation and Water Mass transit invented allowing large numbers of people to move from area to area (ex. Streetcars, subways) Safe drinking water was in large demand with little supply Inadequate piped water, if any pipes at all No indoor plumbing Water collected in pails Disease such as typhoid and cholera were an issue
Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives
Sanitation, Crime, and Fire Horse manure in the streets Sewage in the gutters Factories produced smoke No trash collection, dumped in the streets Sewer lines and Sanitation departments are created, but they still have their work cut out for them Population increased= more people to steal from crime increases Major fires occurred in the cities (close quarters with no water) Kerosene and candles were used in wooden homes Full time firefighters develop
Social Gospel Movement Social Gospel Movement: salvation through service to the poor Settlement houses: community centers to provide aid, mostly to immigrants Run by middle class women providing educational, cultural, and social services Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr found Chicago’s Hull House, a settlement house