1. Urbanization and immigration

2. Urbanization Industrial Revolution will cause the cities to boom
Reasons for Urbanization:
Railroads and roads improved
Culture and convenience- music halls, museums, libraries, and universities
Rise of factories- more jobs in the cities

3. Cities Face Problems
A lot of people at once, public services could not keep up
Overcrowding and slums
Tenements
Lack of Sanitation and Pollution
Vast differences in wealth
Political Corruption
Public services- fire departments, hospitals, schools and police forces
Tenements- low cost living usually small one room apertments where entire families would live- families not small- no heat or electricity, sometimes one toilet for entire building
Cities lacked sewer systems in 1870s- raw sewage flowed into drinking water outbreaks of cholera or typhoid were common, lack of ventilation, factories and railroads polluted the air water and ground with smoke ash and chemicals, cities will gradually build sewer systems

4. Political Corruption Cities were run by political machines
Tammany Hall- NYC- Boss Tweed (William Marcy Tweed)
So bad it was the focus of reform
Thomas Nast – political cartoons
Did provide social services to those in need
PM- an organization controlled by a boss, that gets citizens to vote for its condidates on election day, people worked for the machine in exchange for favors like electricity or money or food or plumming
provided jobs and services to immigrants in exchange for their votes, then used its control of the city to make money by overcharging on city contracts- like construction
tammany hall- vast power over multiple wards of nyc, especially welcomed irish immigrants,
Nast- most people couldn’t read but they could understand his drawings
Tweed was unable to stop a riot in 1871, which turned the elite against him, tweed ws arrested and died in jail in 1878

5. Shifting Patterns of Immigration
Push and Pull Factors
“old” immigrants- before 1880
Spoke English, came to escape great hardship
Western Europe
With the exception of the Irish, generally Protestant
“new” immigrants
Lower transportation costs
Southern and Eastern Europe
Catholic, Jewish, or Orthodox Christian
Austria-Hungary, Italy, polish, Russia, Greece,
came to escape great hardship as well, jews in Russia escaped pogroms- violent attacks on jewish communities
Letters back home spread optimistic hope and advertised to come to america

6. Establishing a New Life
The Voyage across
1892- Ellis Island
Challenges in the New Land
Ghettos
The Process of Americanization
children
Voyage across- travelled by train to a port in Europe, where they boards a steam ship – usually in steerage, usually had about 1 bag, came to NYC where statue of liberty will welcome them: “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses”
ellis island- medical examination, mental examination and political questions. Could be turned back- sick, didn’t have a job or family member to claim you, criminal record, once admitted took trains to other cities or remained in NY
Challenges in the New Land- either worked in factories, or moved west to start farms- could only find unskilled work for low pay, were unfamiliar with American customs
create ghettos- communities near other people from their home (Chinatown or little Italy) felt more comfortable
Americanization- adults too busy working to learn English or American culture, so children will assimilate into American culture- could lead to conflict beween generations

7. Immigrants from Asia Chinese Americans
1868- treaty of Burlingame- permitted free migration of Chinese
Prejudice arises- Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
opium
Angel Island (Ellis Island of the West)
Japanese Americans
1869- first Japanese immigrants
Cheap labor
“Gentlemen’s Agreement” in 1907
Before 1848 (gold) evidence of only 6 Chinese immigrants, after gold many Chinese will emigrate to California, laborers for the transcontinental rr, mostly only men came, left wives at home.
San Francisco- Chinatown
Looked and dressed differently, and language was very different
Prejudice Cal supreme court rules Chinese cannot testify in court, US Naturalization act of permitted whites and people of African descent to become citizens but denied Asians that right, presidential election of both candidates will promise to restrict chinese immigration, exclusion act- ban on Chinese laborers (skilled and unskilled) all Chinese living in the US had to obtain a special certificate before leaving to a trip to china, 6 years later certificate was no good, any Chinese who left could not come back
Japanese immigration- after the Meiji restoration in 1868 cause unrest and social change in Japan
Gentlemens agreement- Japanese government would stop sending laborers if the wives of Japanese already in America could still immigrate. – picture brides

8. Rise of Nativism No limits on European immigration before WWI
At first- felt country was so large that it could easily welcome newcomers
Flood of immigration led to a rise in Nativism
Native born Americans were superior to others
Will eventually lead to restrictions on immigration
“true” americans were native born white English speaking protestants
New immigrants dirty and unhealthy
Immigration Restriction League- California against Asians
KKK- catholics jews and blacks