Chapter 19 TOWARD AN URBAN SOCIETY, 1877–1900

Urban and Rural Population, 1870–1900 (in millions)

Life in the Cities –Tenements  Very poor living conditions –Disease spread quickly – Inadequate sanitation – Poor ventilation – Polluted water –Overcrowded  Up to 12 people shared a room

Jacob Riis – “How the Other Half Lives”

Immigration to the United States, 1870–1900

Foreign-born Population, 1890

“New” Immigrants  Most immigrants moved for economic reasons and entered through Ellis Island  1880s: Eastern + Southern European “new” immigrants prompted resurgent Nativism –Nativist organizations tried to limit immigration –Immigrants seen as threats to American society

“Welcome to All”

“Looking Backward”

Political Machines  Traded services for votes –Provided necessary services for immigrants –Made millions of dollars in the process  Improved conditions in cities, but were also extreme examples of graft + corruption Brooklyn Bridge

Boss Tweed + Tammany Hall (NYC) Cartoons by Thomas Nast (a mugwump)

“New Women”  Women with self-supporting careers  Demanded an end to gender discrimination  Advocated suffrage –Susan B. Anthony

Educating the Masses  Trend toward universal education  1896: Plessy v. Ferguson allowed "separate but equal" schools

The Settlement Houses  Many workers women  Classical, practical education for poor, immigrants  Most famous was Jane Addams' Hull House in Chicago