Immigration and Social Reform

New Americans In the 1840’s and 1850’s, about 4 million immigrants arrived in the U.S.

Increase in Immigration Effect of market revolution—industrial jobs Most notable in Northern cities In the 1840’s and 1850’s, most immigrants to the U.S. came from Ireland and Germany.

Irish Immigration Potato Famine of 1845-49 Mostly poor Most Catholic Clustered in laborer and domestic jobs.

German Immigrants Political Unrest and poor economic conditions 1840 potato blight/famine Faced some discrimination because they formed their own communities and practiced their old world traditions clustered in skilled trades.

• Those with money bought farms in the Midwest.

Chinese Immigration Gold Rush drew many Chinese workers By the mid 1860s Chinese workers made up 90 percent of laborers building the Central Pacific Railroad 1852 photo

New York Tenement

New York Tenement (Slum Housing for Irish)

Urban Life of Free African Americans ½ of all free African Americans lived in the North (mainly cities) Faced discrimination worse than Irish and Germans faced Lead antislavery movement

The Union Movement By the 1830s, the skilled craft workers were being undercut by industrialization. Workers organized trade unions and formed city-wide “General Trades Unions.” The local groups then organized the National Trades Union. The trade union movement was met with hostility and most collapsed during the Panic of 1837. Early unions included only skilled white workers. Refer to “The Seal of the Mechanics and Tradesmen,” p. 371

Urban Politics Immigrant workers had a large role in shaping urban politics White immigrants could vote after a short period of time in the U.S. A new form of political organization developed in the cities called political machines. Used the immigrants to become very powerful.

Tammany Hall The most famous big city political machine