1. Immigration in the
late 19th Century
AP US History

3. New Immigrants 1870-1920 - about 20 million Europeans came to U.S.
before most from west and north Europe (Great Brit., Ireland, Germany)
after more from south and east Europe (Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia)

4. U.S. population increase: 1850 to 1900
Most of this increase can be attributed to the large number of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. during the second and third waves of immigration from Europe

5. New Immigrants Push Factors (reasons to leave)
many left to escape religious persecution (Jews)
agricultural poverty - potato famine
relaxation of emigration laws

6. New Immigrants Pull Factors (reasons to come)
promise of freedom and hope
network of family and friends in U.S.
need for and recruitment of cheap labor

7. New Immigrants Immigrants from China and Japan
came to west coast in smaller numbers
Chinese came during gold rush, help build railroad, turn to farming, mining, domestic service
Jap. gov. allowed Hawaii to recruit Jap. workers
Am. annex Hawaii in 1898 > Jap. immigration to west coast increased

8. New Immigrants Immigrants from West Indies and Mexico
about 260,000 went to east and southeast U.S. from Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc.
Mexicans came to find work or flee political turmoil

9. New Immigrants Life in new land the journey - 1-3 weeks
mostly by steamship - in cargo holds - rarely allowed above deck

10. Ellis Island New York Harbor had to pass inspection
physical exam by doctor, gov. inspector checked documents and questioned them (literacy test, ability to work, had at least $25)
About 2% sent back (serious health problems or contagious disease)
more than 16 million immigrants passed through - sometimes 11,000/day

11. Ellis Island, NY Harbor

12. Ellis Island, NY

13. Physical and Mental Inspections

14. Arrival at Ellis Island

15. Angel Island San Francisco Bay
mostly Chinese – about 50,000 between
processing - harsh questioning and long detention
filthy, ramshackle buildings - people confined liked prisoners

16. Angel Island, California

18. The barracks on Angel Island (left) and an Inspection Station (right) for Chinese immigrants

19. From Angel Island to Chinatown

20. Becoming a U.S. citizen did NOT mean your troubles were over

21. Culture Shock people confused/had anxiety - didn't understand culture
con men and thieves take advantage
had to find job, housing, learn English language and American customs (school, citizenship)
often sought out others who were similar > ethnic communities
people pooled money to build neighborhood churches/synagogues, form social clubs, set up aid societies (medical treatment/costs) and orphanages, old people homes, cemeteries, newspapers

22. Immigrant Restrictions
rise of nativism caused by growing number of immigrants
fear of job competition
religious (Jews, Catholics), racial, cultural prejudices
demand for immigration restrictions

23. Chinese Exclusion Act (1892)
banned entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists, and government officials for 10 years
1892: law extended 10 more years
1902: Chinese immigration prohibited indefinitely - repealed 1943

25. Gentlemen’s Agreement
Japan agreed to limit emigration to U.S.

26. Problems and Solutions
Urbanization:
Problems and Solutions

27. Characteristics of Urbanization During the Gilded Age
Megalopolis.
Mass Transit.
Magnet for economic and social opportunities.
Pronounced class distinctions Inner & outer core
New frontier of opportunity for women.
Squalid living conditions for many.
Political machines.
Ethnic neighborhoods.

28. The City as a New “Frontier?”
New Use of Space
New Class Diversity
New Architectural Style
New Energy
New Symbols of Change & Progress
The City as a New “Frontier?”
New Culture (“Melting Pot”)
Make a New Start
New Form of Classic “Rugged Individualism”
New Levels of Crime, Violence, & Corruption

29. Urbanization Problems
Housing
row houses - attached single-family dwellings that shared side walls (townhouse)
tenements - single-family homes in which several immigrant families moved into - overcrowded and unsanitary
dumbbell tenements story buildings shaped like barbells - built to meet new plumbing and ventilation standards

30. “Dumbell “ Tenement

31. “Dumbell “ Tenement, NYC

32. Tenement Slum Living

33. 5 cent lodging

34. Tenement Slum Living

35. Struggling Immigrant Families

36. Two Views of the Lower east Side

37. Mulberry Street – “Little Italy”

38. St. Patrick’s Cathedral

39. Hester Street – Jewish Section

40. 1900 Rosh Hashanah Greeting Card

41. Pell St. - Chinatown, NYC

42. Urban Growth:

43. Urbanization Transportation Water
cable cars – (1873) San Francisco, CA
electric street car – (1888) Richmond, VA
electric subway – (1897) Boston, Mass.
Water
s - public water works built in NY and Cleveland but few homes had indoor plumbing
chlorination to city water
filtration

44. Urbanization Sanitation
horse manure in streets, sewage ran through open gutters, factories release smoke into air, no dependable system of trash removal
by 1900 some cities had sewer lines and sanitation departments

45. Urbanization
Fire
aided by water limitation and abundance of wooden buildings, candle and kerosene use
volunteer firefighters not always available when needed
st paid fire dept (Cincinnati, OH)
in most cities by 1900
invention of automatic fire sprinklers
replacement of wooden structures with brick, stone, concrete

46. Great Chicago Fire
1871
Though the fire was one of the largest U.S. disasters of the 19th century, the rebuilding that began almost immediately spurred Chicago's development into one of the most populous and economically important American cities.

47. Urbanization Crime crime increased as pop. increased
pick-pockets, thieves flourished, con-men
st full-time salaried police force - NYC - but most law enforcement units too small to help