Coming To Terms With The New Age

 Starting in the 1820s their was a surge in immigration to the U.S.  Most immigrants came from Germany (political/economic) and Ireland (famine) and many were Catholic  Factories needed the unskilled laborers and led to the rise of nativism  Working and living conditions were harsh

 Signs would often read ‘No Irish Need Apply” and most settled in NYC and Boston  Most Germans settled in PA and were wealthier than the Irish  Germans formed their own towns and created their own schools, churches which attracted more Germans  Gold Rush in California attracted Chinese immigrants to the mines

 Almost all immigrants moved into ethnic neighborhoods to protect themselves from the nativist  Urban centers population skyrocketed during this migration period  Newspapers would depict Irish as monkeys and blacks  Life in America was hard on the 1 st generation of immigrants but eased for 2 nd and 3 rd generations

 Led to the rise of larger cities  Cities located along major transportation routes grew in wealth  Benefits of the market system were unevenly distributed  Large gap between the rich and poor  Water systems were poorly regulated and outbreaks of diseases was common

 Cities were slow to respond to outbreaks and the wealthy often fled the cities to their country estates  Penny Papers were a common form of communication for the poor  Whitman and Edgar Allan Poe written works appeared in these papers  Crime was high and NYC did not create a police force until 1845

 African Americans in the north lived in cities and competed with immigrants and poor whites for jobs  Most faced segregation and job discrimination  African Americans would cluster into certain areas and create their own communities which were often poor

 Early union organizations were very similar to party politics  Skilled workers across different trade lines would band together and formed the General Trades Union (GTU) in 1833  The goal was to improve working conditions and wages for their members

 Machine politics would represent the class structure of a particular city  Machines would use the immigrant votes to gain power  Early NYC Irish immigrants quickly became Democrats  Tammany Society- the most powerful machine in NYC

 Machines would hold rallies and parades to gain support  Often times votes were exchanged for govt. positions, community donations or just out of fear  Machines were controlled by the “Boss” and were often corrupt  Once in power political machines would then bribe, launder or steal money from the taxpayers

 New middle class preached a moral reform in America  Evangelicals were very hostile towards the new Catholic immigrants  Temperance and sabbatarism (no business on Sunday) became popular

 Women became deeply involved in reform movements and many focused on education  Horace Mann- pushed for public education in Massachusetts  Mann pushed for education funded by taxes, uniformity in curriculum, and better teacher training  Mann wanted grades based by age rather than one large classroom

 American Society for the Promotion of Temperance (1826)- largest organization that tried to deal with the evils of alcohol  Many felt (women/religious people) America had a drinking problem  Many felt that it led to poverty, violence and was supported by the Whigs and opposed by the Democrats

 Female Moral Reform Society- was the most successful anti-prostitution group in NYC  Dorothea Dix led the movement to help the mentally ill out of asylums  Many of the mentally ill lived in cages and were treated like animals  Massachusetts was one of the first states with a mental asylum

 Shakers- followers of Mother Ann Lee who preached a religion of strict celibacy and communal living  Mormonism- led by Joseph Smith and preached strong unity to the group  Moved form NY to OH to MI, then to IL  Many disliked Mormons b/c of their unity and were polygamists  Smith was killed by a mob and Brigham Young moved the Mormons to Utah

 American Colonization Society (1817) called for the emancipation of the slaves and the removal of freed blacks to Africa only 1,400 actually went  William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas, Harriett Tubman and Sojourner Truth all wanted to abolish slavery

 Garrison radicalized the northern abolitionist movement  Douglas, Truth and Grimke Sisters (White) wrote and spoke about their experiences with slavery  Frederick Douglas wrote the North Star  Abolitionists were growing in number and political power throughout the Antebellum period

Harriet Beecher Stowe- wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin (account of slavery) Very controversial in the south Lincoln described her as the “little women whose book made such a great war.” Several books were written during this time period exposing the problems of slavery

 Sarah and Angelina Grimke’s family were slave owners and hated it  They were very anti-slavery but also criticized b/c they were vocal women  Many women found it difficult to be heard in the reform movements b/c of their gender

Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Lucretia Mott Preached “all men and women are created equal.” Women become active in the abolitionist movement. Declaration of Sentiments- called for equality for men and women.

 Reform movements of the Antebellum period were extremely successful in getting female support  Immigrants faced discrimination and poverty when they came to America  Abolitionist movement was divided amongst its members on how to achieve the emancipation