Urbanization Cities and Immigrants

Standards SS.912.A.3.2: Examine the social, political, and economic causes, course, and consequences of the second Industrial Revolution that began in the late 19th century. End of Course Exam Benchmark. SS.912.A.3.7: Compare the experience of European immigrants in the east to that of Asian immigrants in the west (the Chinese Exclusion Act, Gentlemen's Agreement with Japan) SS.912.A.3.11: Analyze the impact of political machines in United States cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Immigration Old Immigrants- came before 1880- from Western Europe (England, Ireland, Germany, France) Came to escape religious and political persecution or to find new economic opportunities. Spoke English Protestant

Immigration New Immigrants- 1880-1924-from Eastern Europe and Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia) Did not speak English Catholic/Jewish Escape religious persecution

Establishing a New Life Traveled across the Atlantic in steerage (cheapest class on ship) Most landed in Ellis Island, NYC Could be sent back if they had poor health Found unskilled jobs Settled in ghettos (urban neighborhood with immigrants of one nationality-Little Italy, Chinatown) where people spoke language, had same religion, same newspapers

Americanization Americanized-assimilate into mainstream American society by learning its values and behaviors Children began to assimilate (made similar to other Americans)

Asia Pushed by warfare and economic hard times in China Pulled by the lure of gold, later railroad work Chinese Immigrants were needed to build transcontinental railroad but once it was completed, they became discriminated

In 1850s, a white man murdered a Chinese man and was sent to jail after other Chinese testified against him. California Supreme Court ruled to free him, starting a trend of legal discrimination and abuse US Naturalization Act of 1870- only whites and African descent can become US citizens 1882- Chinese Exclusion Act-made a ban on immigration for 10 years Any Chinese immigration was processed at Angel Island in San Francisco

Japanese pushed by changes in Japan and pulled by lure of greater economic opportunity Racial prejudice of segregated schools in San Francisco forced a negotiation called “Gentlemen's Agreement” in 1907. The Japanese government agreed to prevent the further immigration of workers

Nativism Nativism-the belief that native-born Americans were superior to others, and that immigrants and their diverse cultural influences were undesirable. True American=native-born, white, English-speaking, Protestant Anti-immigration societies began to spring up across America, KKK reemerges, effect immigration laws

Cities Urbanization-the movement of people from country to city In 1865 most Americans lived in countryside (farming movement) By 1920 half lived in cities. NY, Chicago, Philadelphia had over a million residents

Reasons for Urbanization Push/Pull factors Railroads and improved roads made it easier for people to move to cities. Cities like Chicago and Atlanta grew because of this. Many people attracted by the city life and opportunity Rise of factories and the needs of growing urban populations created more jobs. Uncertainty of farm life, new farm machinery pushed people away from the farms

Cities Face New Problems Cities grew too fast and cities lacked services (hospitals, schools, fire, police, garbage) Overcrowding and slums Tenements-low cost rental housing barely meeting minimal living requirements Lack of sanitation and pollution=people died from diseases Traffic congestion Political corruption

Political Machines Political machine- an organization controlled by a “boss” that gets citizens to vote for its candidate on election day. People worked for the “machine” in exchange for political favors and other rewards Bosses provided jobs and services to immigrants and other poor residents in return for their votes. Machine makes profit by overcharging on city contracts Tammany Hall in NYC-most famous political machine Graft-using political influence for personal gain

Political Machines William “Boss” Tweed was the most famous boss Thomas Nast-made anti machine political cartoons