1. Urban America: 1865 – 1896 Immigration
Chapter 4 Lesson 1
Urban America: 1865 – 1896
Immigration

2. Immigrant = person who comes to a new place to live permanently
The foreign-born population of the U.S. nearly doubled between 1870 and 1900.
Immigrant = person who comes to a new place to live permanently
Post-Civil War America
25 Million Immigrants came to America b/w
#s would steadily grow until 1920s
The New Immigrants
Essential Question:
How did European Immigrants of the late 1800s change American Society?

3. Colonial Period (thru Indep.)
“Old Immigrants”
Colonial Period (thru Indep.)
Mostly English
Scots-Irish, German, Swedish, Dutch
Settled throughout Eastern Seaboard
Old Immigration (Independence – Civil War)
Northern & Western Europe (Still English)
Ireland, Germany, Scandanavia
* Old immigrants had profound influence on shaping society
* Brought language (English), forms of government (Democracy), religion (Protestantism), Family & cultural traditions (strong family ties), economic patterns
The New Immigrants
Patterns of Immigration in the United States:
OLD vs. NEW

4. Until 1870, the majority of immigrants were Protestant Christians from Western & Northern Europe (WASPs)
“New” Immigrants:
Mostly from southern and eastern Europe
Italy, Greece, Poland, Austria -Hungary, Russia, Serbia
(Many immigrants Arrived until WWI, when the U.S. restricted immigration)
Many immigrants on West Coast from Asia – China & Japan
Unskilled
Poor
Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox
Radical Politics (Socialism, Anarchy)
Settled in cities not farms.
*Single males
The New Immigrants

8. Push Factors: Compel people to leave their homes, such as famine, war, or persecution.
Jews from Eastern Europe (Russia/Poland) came in large numbers because of persecution
Pull Factors: Draw people to a new place, such as economic opportunity or religious freedom.
Immigrants were recruited from Europe to work building railroads in western U.S.
Chain Immigrants: Joining family or friends that are already settled in America.
The New Immigrants
Push/Pull factors lead to Immigration

9. The Immigrant Experience
The Atlantic Voyage:
Steamships made the trip across the Atlantic safer and faster than ever before.
Three months now took 2 weeks
Large sacrifices were made to come to the U.S.
Steerage: Located on the lower decks with no private cabins, crowded and dirty. Worst Accommodations
The Immigrant Experience

10. The Immigrant Experience
Ellis Island:
All third-class, or steerage, passengers were sent here. Immigration officers conducted legal and medical inspections. (Only 2% were denied entry.)
Immigrants w/ disesases (leprosy, V.D.) were sent back
Customs officials often Anglicized names
*About 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954!
The Immigrant Experience

11. Ellis Island

12. Ellis Island

13. The Immigrant Experience
Angel Island:
Immigration station in San Francisco Bay.
Designed to filter out Chinese immigrants.
Very harsh towards Chinese – had to prove U.S. citizenship or had family here
The Immigrant Experience

14. The Immigrant Experience
Most poor immigrants stayed in cities close to industrial jobs in factories.
Some traveled West to North Central States
Lived in ethnic neighborhoods with people who shared their native language, religion, and culture.
Often grouped together with folks from same village or region
Provided the most help and comfortable surroundings
The Immigrant Experience

15. The Immigrant Experience
By 1890, NYC contained:
Twice as many Irish as Dublin
Same amount of Germans as Hamburg
½ as many Italians as Naples
2.5 x Jews than Warsaw
4/5 New Yorkers had been born abroad or were children of foreign born parents
The Immigrant Experience
Impact on Urbanization

16. Mulberry Street – “Little Italy”

17. Hester Street – Jewish Section

18. Pell Street – “China Town”

19. Most Immigrants Settled in Urban Areas (Specifically Industrial Centers)

20. How were “new” Immigrants absorbed into the larger society?
Assimilation
Americanization: Programs helping newcomers learn English and adapt American dress, diet, work habits, etc.
Settlement houses – ran the Americanization programs
Many Americans believed that America was quickly becoming a “melting pot”
“Melting Pot”: White people of all different nationalities blended to create a single culture. (Asians/African Americans excluded ?)
Resulting culture is made up of various, unidentifiable cultures
It usually took 1-2 generations to become more Americanized
Salad Bowl (pluralism)
Groups do not always lose distinctive characteristics
Can and do live side by side
Groups, like different vegetables in a salad, remain identifiable but create a new, larger whole
How were “new” Immigrants absorbed into the larger society?
Another theory

21. Nativism became a movement
As immigration continued into the early 1900s, many Americans rejected the “new” immigrants
Nativism became a movement
Nativism – belief that Native-born white Americans (descendents of “old” immigrants) were superior to newcomers
Nativist resentment stemmed from several factors:
Competition for jobs and housing (during a recession)
Religious and Cultural Differences
(Protestants vs. Catholics and Jews)
“New Immigrants” seen as threat – Main targets were Asians, Jews, and eastern Europeans.
Nativism
Fight for power:
WHITE
ANGLO-
SAXON
PROTESTANT

22. Laws were passed to limit immigration Chinese Exclusion Act – 1882
prohibited immigration by Chinese laborers for 10 years
Limited the civil rights of Chinese immigrants in U.S.
Forbade the naturalization of Chinese residents
*Eventually a quota system was established (Emergency Quota Act)
Nativism

23. “The Gentlemen’s Agreement”
1906 San Fransisco School board required all Japanese and Chinese school children to attend segregated “Oriental” Schools
Japan took offense
President Teddy Roosevelt made a deal – Place a limit on Japanese immigration if San Fran. School board would revoke segregation order
*This was not an official treaty, and required leaders from US and Japan to uphold their end of agreement
Nativism