Industrialization, Immigration, and Urbanization in the Gilded Age

The Gilded Age What does ‘Gilded Age’ mean? As we progress through this unit, please decide if the “Gilded Age” is an appropriate term for this period in U.S. History.

Journal Write(s) What was the Industrial Revolution? What do the words Industrial and Revolution mean? Please discuss three inventions that have been created or greatly improved in your lifetime.

Industrialization Industrialization occurs when a nation begins producing goods by machine instead of by hand.

The Agricultural Revolution Fewer people could produce more food. Some people moved to cities to find wage-earning jobs in industry.

Factors Contributing to the Rise of Industrialization Geographical Advantages – rivers, ports, timber, coal, iron ore, fertile soil for plantation crops, etc. Improved transportation and communication. New inventions and technology. Wealthy Entrepreneurs. Stable Political Systems. Plentiful labor.

Los Angeles cable cars, 1889

Elevated Train, Greeley Square, New York City, 1898

Why do people immigrate to the United States? Everyone is seeking a better life. Some are looking for work to improve the standard of living of their families. Some seek political or religious freedoms that are guaranteed in the United States. Some are refugees, escaping war or political persecution. Education Opportunities.

Immigration to the United States 1866 -1915 - 25 million immigrants entered the United States. Industrialization encouraged immigration; people seeking jobs in factories. The “New Immigrants” - Shift in sources of immigration from northern and western Europe to southern and eastern Europe. Before 1800, only 200,000 southern and eastern Europeans had migrated to America. Between 1880 and 1910, approximately 8.4 million arrived.

Immigrants with their belongings pictured outside the Main Building at Ellis Island.

Immigrants aboard a ship heading for the Port of New York, circa 1892.

Immigrants aboard a ship heading for the Port of New York, circa 1892.

Hungarian mother and daughters specially dressed for their arrival in America.

Approved for entry, these immigrants wait in the Ellis Island Railroad Ticket Office

Immigrant family pictured on arrival at Ellis Island in 1908

Irish family at Ellis Island, anticipating a future in America (circa 1905)

Ellis Island Replaced Castle Garden Immigrant Processing Center in 1892 More than 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924. Immigrants arrived by ship, were ‘processed’ (names registered and often changed, medical examinations, mental examinations, lots of waiting, etc.) 1890 The States turned over control of immigration to the Federal Government. The U.S. Congress appropriated $75,000 to build the first Federal immigration station on Ellis Island. Artesian wells were dug, and landfill (from incoming ships' ballast and New York City subway tunnels) doubled the size of Ellis to over six acres. While the new immigration station was under construction, the Barge Office on the Battery on the tip of Manhattan was used for immigration reception. During 1891, there were 405,664 immigrants, or about 80% of the national total, that were processed at the Barge Office. 01 Jan 1892 The first Ellis Island Immigration Station was officially opened. The first immigrant to pass through Ellis was a "rosy-cheeked Irish girl," Annie Moore, age 15, from County Cork. She came with her two younger brothers to join their parents in New York City. That first day, three large ships were waiting to land, and 700 immigrants passed through Ellis Island. In the first year, nearly 450,000 immigrants passed through the Island. 17 Dec 1900 The present Main Building opened, an impressive, French Renaissance structure in red brick with limestone trim. It cost some $1.5 million and was designed to process 5,000 immigrants per day. This was scarcely big enough for the surge in immigration in the pre-World War I years. The island was continuously enlarged with landfill, remodeling, additions and new construction. 1907 This was the peak year at Ellis Island with 1,004,756 immigrants received. The all-time daily high was on April 17th of this year when a total of 11,747 immigrants were processed. 1908 The Baggage and Dormitory Building was completed and capacity of the hospital was doubled. A dining room for 1,000 at a sitting was built on the top floor of the Kitchen and Laundry Building. 1921 Post-war immigration quickly revived and 560,971 immigrants passed through Ellis Island in 1921. The first Immigration Quota Law passed the U.S. Congress, adding to the administration problems at Ellis Island. It provided that the number of any European nationality entering in a given year could not exceed three percent of foreign-born persons of that nationality who lived in the U.S. in 1910. Nationality was to be determined by country of birth, and no more than 20 percent of the annual quota of any nationality could be received in any given month. The total number of immigrants admissible under the system was set at nearly 358,000, but numerous classes were exempt. 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924 further restricted immigration, changing the quota basis from the census of 1910 to that of 1890, and reducing the annual quota to some 164,000. This marked the end of mass immigration to America. The Immigration Act also provided for the examination and qualification of immigrants at U.S. consulates overseas. The main function of Ellis Island changed from that of an immigrant processing station, to a center of the assembly, detention, and deportation of aliens who had entered the U.S. illegally or had violated the terms of admittance. The buildings at Ellis Island began to fall into disuse and disrepair.

A 46-star American flag dates this photo of the Great Hall between 1907-1912.

Angel Island Immigration processing center in San Francisco Bay. Many Chinese immigrants entered through Angel Island. Approximately 300,000 immigrants entered through Angel Island. Angel Island Poems

Angel Island Immigration Station, San Francisco, 1916

Waiting outside hospital at Angel Island

Angel Island Poems

Reactions to Immigration Economic Exploitation – Offered very little money for very hard work in dangerous conditions. Political Exploitation – politicians manipulated immigrants for votes. Nativism/Racism Social Darwinism – ‘survival of the fittest’ philosophy toward human societies. Those living in poverty are in such a situation because they are inferior.

Urbanization The process of creating cities. Industrialization drew large numbers of people seeking jobs to areas around industry. The United States transformed from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy. Tenements

San Francisco, Chinatown, 1900

“. . . A brick building from four to six stories high on the street, frequently with a store on the first floor. . . Four families occupy each floor, and a set of rooms consists of one or two dark closets, used as bedrooms, with a living room twelve feet by ten. The staircase is too often a dark well in the center of the house, and no direct ventilation is possible, each family being separated from the other by partitions.” Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives

Lewis Hine, Garment Workers in New York, NY, 1908

Lewis Hine, Boys in a Cigar Factory, Indianapolis, IN 1908

Lewis Hine, Children working in a bottle factory, Indianapolis, IN 1908

Lewis Hine, Girls working in a box factory, Tampa, FL 1909

Lewis Hine, Girls at Weaving Machines, Evansville, IN 1908

Immigration Restrictions Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 – Excluded Chinese, as well “feebleminded” lunatics that could become public charges. Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the National Origins Act – limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890.

The “Well-Greased” Political Machine Boss Tweed, Tammany Hall The Democratic Party bribed the state legislature to pass laws that increased the power of the city to tax, borrow, and spend. Then a leader built public support by spending tax funds on various charities, helping the poor, and funding construction projects. The poor and those receiving jobs and construction contracts, in turn, were expected to vote for the politicians. When helping construction businesses, city governors expected kickbacks from already inflated construction budgets, as well as votes.

“Go right down among the poor families and help them in the different ways they need help. . . It’s philanthropy, but it’s politics too – mighty good politics. . . The poor are the most grateful people in the world, and let me tell you, they have more friends in their neighborhoods than the rich have in theirs. If there’s a family in my district in want I know it before the charitable societies, and me and my men are first on the ground . . . The consequence is that the poor look up to George W. Plunkitt as a father, come to him in trouble – and don’t forget him on election day.” George W. Plunkitt

Economic Corruption Railroads - Vanderbilt John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil Company Horizontal integration – bought up all oil refineries. Vertical Integration - Rockefeller acquired oil leases, oil wells, pipelines, advantageous transportation contracts with railroads, and retail stores. Cartel/Pool - a group of producers who cooperated to control producing, pricing, and marketing of goods Monopoly – by 1890, Rockefeller controlled 90% of the petroleum industry.

Let’s Draw the Gilded Age Draw a comparison of the good and bad aspects of the Gilded Age. On one half of a sheet of paper draw the “golden” side of the Gilded Age. On the other half of that sheet of paper, draw the ugly underside of the Gilded Age.

Let’s Draw! Industrialization Immigration Urbanization Draw a picture, first of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration, as pictured above. Then draw, and use words, to show the relationship between each of these three processes.

Letter Home You are a recent immigrant to the United States writing a letter home to your family. Your letter must include the following: Why you immigrated to the United States. What was your immigration experience? (On the ship, during processing at the immigration station, where did you land, etc.) What are your hopes? What are your fears? What city did you finally end up in? What is it like? How are you treated by the other immigrants? How are you treated by the ‘natives’? What are your living conditions like? Where do you work? What are your working conditions like? Is the United States all you had hoped it would be? Why or why not? Your letter must be one to two pages in length.