1. Immigration
In the
Gilded Age

2. Why Immigrants Came? Jobs - factories, mines, railroads, farms
Free Land - Homestead Act
Education – free public schools
Freedom – political and religious

3. of Jews in Russia in the late 1880’s
Pogroms
Violent massacres
of Jews in Russia in the late 1880’s
Many immigrants came to have religious freedom and escape religious persecution, such as the Pogroms in Russia.

4. How Many Came? Between 1865 and 1920 About 30 million came
Nearly doubled population of U.S.

5. Immigrants “Old” & “New”
1865 – 1890
Germany
England
Ireland
Western Europe
1890 – 1920
Italy
Jews from Russia
Poland
Greece
Eastern and Southern Europe

6. Russian-Jewish Immigrants 1911

7. Hungarian Immigrants 1920

8. How They Came
Steam powered ships
Crossed the Atlantic in 2 – 3 weeks

9. A famous steamship from 1912
The RMS Titanic – the largest, most luxurious passenger ship of the time (2222 passengers)

10. The Main Staircase on the Titanic

11. Parlor on the Titanic

12. Did the poor travel
like this?

13. Steerage
Large open area beneath a ship’s deck near the steering mechanism
Cheap tickets
Limited toilet facilities
No privacy
Poor food

14. 1875 Steerage Rates from Europe to New York
Average Fair: Adults $22
Children $12
Infants $3

15. Typical Steerage Accommodations

16. What happened when they arrived?
Most Europeans came in through the port of New York – Ellis Island
Subjected to physical exams and quarantined or sent back if found to be diseased

17. Ellis Island
Huge reception area in New York harbor near the Statue of Liberty
Opened by federal government in 1892 for steerage passengers entering the country

18. Ellis Island, New York

19. Ellis Island Registry Room, 1905

20. The port cities where they entered:
Where did many of these European immigrants settle after crossing the Atlantic by steam ship?
The port cities where they entered:
New York
Boston
Baltimore

21. If you were an new immigrant settling in a large city,
where would you be most
comfortable living?
Why?

22. Ethnic communities within a city
Ghettos
Ethnic communities within a city
Chinatown
Little Italy

23. Two other major groups of immigrants came during the Gilded Age
and settled in 2 parts of the country.
Can you name these groups?

24. Asians Mostly Chinese Settled in California
Most worked on railroads or mining
Worked for extremely low wages

25. Chinese immigrants working on the Central Pacific Railroad

26. Chinese man in traditional clothing, 1900

27. Chinese Immigrants 1900

28. Mexicans
Settled largely in the Southwest (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California)
Agricultural jobs
Built Southern railroads
Accepted hard jobs for low wages, especially after Chinese were excluded from immigrating

29. How did many Americans respond to the huge numbers of new immigrants?

30. Nativists and Nativism
Native-born Americans who opposed immigration, because they believed that many of these “new immigrants” would never fit into American society.
Thought schools should Americanize immigrants by teaching English and “Anglo-Saxon” values.

31. Chinese Exclusion Act
1882 – Law that prohibited any new Chinese laborers from entering the U.S.
Labor unions claimed that American wages were dropping because Asian immigrants accepted such low pay.
Law was in effect until 1943

32. Immigration Brings Rapid Urbanization

33. The growth of cities (urban areas)
Urbanization
The growth of cities (urban areas)

34. Philadelphia
c.1890

35. New York City
c. 1900

36. Urban Living Conditions
Crowded - Insufficient adequate housing
Air Pollution – soot from factories made the air dark and foul
Water Pollution - Poor sanitation – human and animal waste, garbage, rats in streets
Diseases - Tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid
Fire – Wooden buildings burned rapidly – No fire/safety codes
Great Chicago Fire of 1871
18,000 buildings destroyed
250 died

37. Great Chicago Fire of 1871

38. Tenements Low-cost apartment buildings No windows in some rooms
Crowded
No electricity
No plumbing
Sinks and toilets in hall or basement

39. Dumbbell Tenement Design
Windows
Improvement: Courtyard in middle allows window in every room

40. New York Tenement, c.1890

41. Tenement living
c.1890

42. How did these conditions affect politics in the cities?

43. Political Machines
Corrupt powerful organizations that worked to keep a particular political party elected to city offices, such as mayor
Usually run by a party “boss”
The boss either ran for office himself or chose someone else whom he could control.
Promised new immigrants favors and help in return for their vote

44. Tammany Hall The most famous political machine
Ran the NYC Democratic Party
“Boss Tweed”
Featured in the movie, Gangs of New York

45. “Boss” William Tweed

46. “As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?”
Boss Tweed:
“As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?”

47. What will it take to change the filth, disease, crime and corruption in the cities of America in the Gilded Age?

48. Muckrakers
And
Reformers

49. Social Reform Efforts to improve society by24
Efforts to improve society by
Aiding and educating the poor
Eliminating evil or destructive elements

50. Jacob Riis Immigrant from Denmark 1870 Lived in NYC tenements25
Immigrant from Denmark 1870
Lived in NYC tenements
Became a newspaper reporter
Wrote How the Other Half Lives, exposing the terrible conditions in tenement slums

51. Prohibition Movement to legally abolish alcohol in the U.S.26
Movement to legally abolish alcohol in the U.S.
Supporters blamed immigrants for a large portion of the alcohol-related problems in the nation.

52. Social Gospel Movement27
Churches sought to address problems like drinking and gambling by applying Jesus’s teachings to society.
Sought labor reforms and improved living conditions for workers

53. Education Schools aimed at assimilating immigrants into society.28
Education
Schools aimed at assimilating immigrants into society.
Immigrants sought literacy and civic skills needed to gain citizenship.

54. Settlement Movement 29
Reformers who believed that hand-outs did not help the poor
They would settle among the needy to witness their plight first-hand and offer social services through “settlement houses.”

55. Hull House A “settlement house” in Chicago30
A “settlement house” in Chicago
Opened by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889
Provided child-care, playgrounds, clubs and children’s summer camps, legal offices and a health clinic

56. Jane Addams
c. 1896

57. Hull House

58. Hull House Museum in Chicago today

59. Purity Crusaders 31
Sought to end the vices (immoral behavior) such as alcohol, drugs, prostitution and gambling
Formed societies that supported candidates for office and sought legislation to end vice and corrupt political machines