1. New Movements in America
Chapter 13 (Part I)

2. Immigrants and Urban Challenges

3. Millions of Immigrants Arrive
More than 4 million immigrants came to American from
3 million of them were from Ireland and Germany
Millions of Immigrants Arrive

4. In the mid-1840s the Irish potato famine occurred
Potato blight – a disease that causes rot caused many to starve or die
Many fled to America
Men:
Worked unskilled jobs,
On canals and
On railroads
Women:
Became servants and worked 16 hr/day

5. A failed German revolution in 1848 caused many educated Germans to come to America

6. Most Germans were working class and came here for more economic opportunities
Some Germans became:
Farmers,
Tailors,
Seamstresses,
Bricklayers,
Servants,
Clerks and
Bankers

7. A lot of native-born Americans feared losing their jobs to immigrants who would work for lower wages

8. Many native-born Americans were Protestant
But most immigrants were Catholic
Caused a great deal of suspicion and conflict between the two groups

9. Nativists were people that were opposed to immigration

10. Rapid Growth in Cities

11. Americans cities grew during the mid-1800s for two main reasons
The Transportation Revolution and
The movement of rural workers and immigrants to cities seeking jobs

12. Those that owned their own business became the new middle class
Were wealthier and
Socially superior to their workers,
But not as wealthy or influential as the upper class

13. Cities offered many opportunities for culture and entertainment
Visiting libraries and
Clubs,
Concerts,
Lecturers,
Theatre,
Bowling,
Cards and
Recreation

14. Urban Problems

15. Because of the lack of transportation in cities workers lived near where they worked

16. They lived in tenements
Tenements – poorly designed apartment buildings that housed large numbers of people
Were usually dirty and unsafe

17. Cities did not have: Clean water, Health regulations, or
Trash collection
Disease occurred often and spread quickly

18. Cities were the site of massive criminal activity as there was no organized police force
Volunteer police forces offered little protection

19. Due to overcrowding fire was a threat
Volunteer firefighters used pumps and buckets to put out fires

20. American Arts

21. Transcendentalism

22. Transcendentalism – the belief that people can rise above material things in life
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Margaret Fuller and
Henry David Thoreau

23. Emerson believed people should rely on themselves and not care what other people think of them
Thoreau also believed in self- reliance

24. Some transcendentalists believed in the idea of utopian societies
Utopian Societies – groups of people living together to form a perfect society

25. American Romanticism

26. Romanticists were interested in:
Nature,
Individual expression and
The rejection of society’s rules
They believed each person was unique

27. They wanted to use emotion to create art and books
Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlett Letter
Edgar Allan Poe – The Raven
Poets included:
Emily Dickinson,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
Walt Whitman