Chapter 21: Changes in American Life Section 1: Cities Grow and Change Section 2: The New Immigrants 1-2 F
1900 began to be a time of urbanization Urban = cities Lots of industry / factories in cities, so there were lots of jobs for people. (A lot of these workers were immigrants) F
And new technologies helped these cities Steel meant skyscrapers were possible, but the elevator was invented – so it was then practical to use a tall building. Patent drawing of Otis' elevator F
Trains and streetcars meant people could travel further places faster They could live a ways away from work and “commute” In New York they put these streetcars underground – and got the subways. In Chicago it was easier to elevate them above the city – the “el” 4 F
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The Illinois Tunnel Company ( later known as the Chicago Tunnel Company) started operating trains through the freight tunnels in 1906. The small four wheel electric locomotives hauled pony freight cars between stores, office buildings, post office facilities, warehouses, factories, and railroad stations. The tiny cars carried packages, goods, mail, food, coal, cinders, and occasionally people! F
In 1893 Chicago even had the “World’s Columbian Exposition” World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago celebrated the "stupendous results of American enterprise" and attracted 27 million visitors over six months. The first Ferris Wheel towered 250 feet over the midway and could carry 2,160 people at one time. F
F The Electricity Building The Administration Building The Women’s Building
The Liberal Arts Building F
But with this great progress came some bad things These city people just didn’t always have enough places to live. Many people ended up living in tenements (run down, overcrowded apartments) F
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Tenements / city living in 1900 Old buildings Not kept up by landlords Poorly designed Several families living together Inadequate garbage removal – some people just threw it in the alley/gutter Little fresh air / smelly Many had no running water Sewage flowing in open gutters 5 F
Some entire sections of cities were filled with tenement buildings and were called slums Neighborhoods with crowded, dangerous housing F
Some tried to help these people. In Chicago: Jane Adams Founded “Hull House” to help the poor and immigrants improve their lives. F
The immigrants that came in the 1890’s / 1900 were called “new immigrants” Early 1800 immigrants came from a lot of Northern and Western European countries. These immigrants were now often from Southern and Eastern Europe – Italians, Jews, Poles, Russians. F
You probably know most of the story: Get off the boat at Ellis Island. Get checked out – healthy stay (diseased – get sent home) “Welcome to America – there you go” and off they went F
But if you were an Asian immigrant You entered at Angel Island in San Francisco. Sometimes immigrants would be kept several weeks there before they could enter the country. F
Many Mexicans came in through: Texas F
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These immigrants settled in: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Chicago 6 About half of all immigrants lived in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and… Illinois Often they’d end up trying to all move to the same neighborhoods – and we still have many of those same neighborhoods today (Little Italy, Chinatown, Lithuanian Village, etc…) F
And it’s not just today… 7 Immigrants have always taken the jobs other people didn’t want. Usually low paying, sometimes unsafe, with poor working conditions. F
Because so many immigrants have always come to America… America has often been described as a “melting pot” (mixture of different parts) These immigrants have always tried to assimilate into American culture (Blending into society) F
But since there have always been prejudiced people, There were times in America’s history when we wouldn’t let certain groups in. There were times when immigrants may have had to pay extra taxes to get in. For about 10 years, no Chinese were let into the country People who didn’t like these immigrants were called nativists 8 F
8-10 on your own F