1. Section 5: Causes and Effects of Urbanization
Standard 4.5

2. History of Cities First cities in the U.S. were built as trade-centers
Next, cities developed into transportation hubs
Finally, cities became known for their industrial production (businesses and factories)

3. Growth of the Cities
Populations grew b/c of immigration and urbanization
More farmers were moving to the cities b/c of the struggles they had with paying off their debts
However, majority of the American people lived outside of the urban areas until 1920

4. Immigration Trends
In the late 19th Century, most immigrants were coming from southern and eastern Europe
The original Americans hated this and tried to apply literacy tests to all immigrants (this did not take effect until the 1920’s)
Immigrants settled in the port centers in which they entered the country
They were usually too poor to move from there
Tended to live in small towns with familiar ethnicities

5. Immigrants and Politics
In city politics, immigrants were able to vote for people and issues
Majority of them voted for people that helped them when they came over
People that helped them find jobs and homes
Is this considered corruption?

6. Movement of African Americans
In the 1890’s, African Americans began migrating due to:
Poor cotton yields
Soil exhaustion and the boll weevil
Discrimination of the Jim Crow Laws
lynchings

7. Search for Jobs African Americans headed to the cities
Mill towns in the south would not hire them
They moved further West and North
Here, they were the last to be hired and first to be fired
Afr. Amer. lived in segregated neighborhoods
The movement began to increase again during WWI b/c of new job opportunities