A vision of Paradise…

Pro – IMMIGRATION

“Uncle Sam” is playing Noah Immigrants file in 2 x 2 Leave behind the dangers of Europe Sign lists reasons why people came

ANTI – IMMIGRATION

“Columbia’s Unwelcome Guests” Bars anarchists, Socialists, Communists who enter from Europe’s sewers Inscription on the column reads “Anarchy is not Liberty” and “When a Man’s Rights End, His Neighbor’s Begin

NATIVISM

Nativism – preference of native-born people and a strong desire to limit immigration WASP (White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant) who had been in the country from generations Primarily directed towards Asians, Jews and Eastern Europeans Why were they against immigration? Catholics – some feared that the huge number of European Catholics flooding in would override the mostly Protestant U.S. giving the Catholic Church too much power in government STRIKEBREAKERS Labor Unions – argued immigrants would work for lower wages or accept work as STRIKEBREAKERS (sound familiar??)

URBANIZATION

Why were cities so popular? IMMIGRANTS Lack money to buy farms Lack an education to obtain high-paying jobs As terrible as the cities and the work was, it was better than what most had back home America provided social mobility for many immigrants Few were able to move from poverty to great wealth, but many were able to move from poverty to at least middle class which was very difficult to do in Europe FARMERS Urban jobs offered more opportunities and better-paying jobs Modern conveniences and night life Electric lights, running water, plumbing, museums, libraries, theatres, etc.

Louis Sullivan – Skyscrapers Mass Transit Cable Cars Frank J. Sprague – Electric trolley car Olmstead – Parks and City planning Eastman – Kodak cameras First Skyscraper in Chicago, IL

Ever heard of central park?

High Society Wealthiest families established posh districts in the heart of cities (aka you have to be super rich and come from a family name to roll with these people) Construct feudal castles, French château, Tuscan villas, etc. Middle-Class Society Industrialization leads to a growing middle class Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, Managers, Architects, etc. Moved away from the central city and took advantage of new mass transit (trolley cars, subways, etc.) Working Class…

Working Class 3 OUT OF 4 PEOPLE IN NYC LIVED IN TENEMENTS – Dark, crowded, multi-family “apartments” “With…one dollar a day [our mother] fed and clothed an ever- growing family. She took in boarders. Sometimes this helped; other times it added to the burden of living. Boarders were often out of work and penniless; how could one turn a hungry man out? She made all our clothes. She walked blocks to reach a place where meat was a penny cheaper, where bread was a half cent. She collected boxes and old wood to burn in the stove…” - How We Lived

CRIME Minor criminals (pickpockets, thieves, etc.) THRIVED in these huge, ever-growing, overcrowded conditions VIOLENCE Murder rate jumps from 25 per million people to 100 per million people POLLUTION & DISEASE Improper sewage disposal contaminated city drinking water Triggers episodes of Typhoid fever and Cholera FIRE…