Life at the Turn of the 20 th Century Immigration Political Scandal & Reform Discrimination

Urbanization Growth of cities “Pull” Factors Open factories = new job opportunities Luxuries of city (plays, concerts, dept. stores) Technology: indoor plumbing & electricity Anonymity Chain migration: bring families “Push” Factors Mechanization: machines produce goods faster, more efficiently > no need for man power Bad crops Poor economy

Immigration U.S. – Land of Opportunities 1800s stream of immigrants > flood Between , 25 million immigrants (1/2 as many people as living in entire country) Immigration facilitated by transportation 1 st sight of U.S. = Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Most went to cities Created ethnic diversity

Waves of Immigrants “Old” Immigrants Came before 1890 Mostly from N. & W. Europe (GB, Ireland, Germany, Scandinavian countries) Spoke English Protestant religion Well-educated Some wealth ($) “New” Immigrants Made up 80% of immigrants between From S. & E. Europe (Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia) Roman Catholic, E. Orthodox & Jewish Uneducated, illiterate Poor

Social Problems Cities Low pay jobs > additional source of income (gambling, robbery, extortion, prostitution, drugs) Population increased > violence increase (murder, gangs) Lack of adequate services (fire, police, sewage, garbage) Major Problems poor housing & political corruption White racism > difficulty for immigrants to “Americanize” or assimilate Nativists: prefer native-born Americans over immigrants Chinese Exclusion Act 1882: prohibit Chinese from entering for 10 yrs (ban not lifted until 1965)

Labor Structure Immigrants Made up over ½ of working population Hierarchy Native born whites Old immigrants - skilled N. Europeans (farming) Jews (clothing, banking) New immigrants (S. & E. Europe) “dirty jobs” custodial & garbage Blacks & servants

Urban Life Wealthy $ in industry/ business; nice homes Middle Class Accountants, managers, teachers, engineers, lawyers, doctors Standards for living Working Class Low wages & housing shortage > tenements Unhealthy, no plumbing City Map Structure

What would be in the center of the city? Why? Who would live closest to the city center? Why? What’s next? Then? And around the outside of the city?

Settlement House Movement Settlement House Place for people to go for shelter, food, help Focused on women, children & immigrants Jane Addams Started 1 st settlement house (Hull House) in Chicago Social Gospel Movement Faith should be expressed through good works Moral duty to help others

Political Machines Political Machine Organization of professional politicians who won support by promising jobs or helping families Made cities run better but often corrupt Tammany Hall Most famous machine In NY City Led by William Tweed > became rich > convicted of fraud & imprisoned

Farming Reforms Interstate Commerce Act (1887) Reasonable railroad rates 1 st time federal gov’t passed law to regulate industry Populist (People’s Party) Founded by farmers Return to gold AND silver standard Regulate railroads

Segregation Jim Crow Laws Created & enforced segregation in public places Passed by Southern state legislatures Lynching Worst outcome of discrimination Murder of an individual by a group or mob Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Supreme Court UPHELD segregation Said “separate BUT equal” facilities did NOT violate the 14 th Amendment (citizenship)

Discrimination Booker T. Washington Blacks should accept segregation & work w/in system W.E.B. DuBois Blacks should demand full rights immediately Helped found NAACP Other groups Hispanic, Asian & Native Americans all faced discrimination