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Immigrants in the Gilded Age
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Why Immigrants Came Work - factories, mines, railroads, farms
1 Why Immigrants Came Work - factories, mines, railroads, farms Free Land - Homestead Act Education – free public schools Freedom - democracy, no forced military service, religious tolerance
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How Many Came Between 1865 and 1920 Estimated 30 million
Nearly doubled the U.S. population
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Where They Came From 1890 – 1920 1865 - 1890 3 10 million 10 million
Italians (3.8) Russian Jews (3.0) Slavs Greeks Armenians 10 million Germans (2.8) English (1.8) Irish (1.4)
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Chinese Immigrants 1900
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Hungarian Immigrants 1920
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Russian-Jewish Immigrants 1911
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of Jews in Russia in the late 1880’s
Pogroms 4 Violent massacres of Jews in Russia in the late 1880’s
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How They Came Steam powered ships Crossed the Atlantic in 2 – 3 weeks
5 Steam powered ships Crossed the Atlantic in 2 – 3 weeks The poor traveled in steerage
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A typical steamship from 1900
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Steerage 6 Large open area beneath a ship’s deck near the steering mechanism Cheap tickets Limited toilet facilities No privacy Poor food
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1875 Steerage Rates from England to New York
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Typical Steerage Accommodations
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What happened when they arrived
7 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
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Ellis Island 8 Huge reception area in New York harbor near the Statue of Liberty Opened by federal government in 1892 for steerage passengers entering the country
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Ellis Island, New York
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Ellis Island Registry Room, 1905
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Where They Settled and How They Lived
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Asians Settled on the west coast Many worked on RR’s
9 Settled on the west coast Many worked on RR’s Others in mining, fishing, farming, laundry and factory work Willing to work for extremely low wages
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Chinese immigrants working on the Central Pacific Railroad
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Mexicans Settled largely in the Southwest Agricultural jobs
10 Settled largely in the Southwest Agricultural jobs Built RR’s in the South Willing to accept hard jobs for low wages. Because of immigration restrictions on Asians, many jobs open for Mexican immigrants.
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Europeans Settled mainly in cities, or headed west to mining towns
11 Settled mainly in cities, or headed west to mining towns Usually settled with the same ethnic groups in ghettos
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Ethnic communities within a city
12 Ghettos Ethnic communities within a city
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How Americans Responded
13 How Americans Responded Nativism Restrictive Covenants Chinese Exclusion Act Movement to Suburbs
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Nativism An attitude favoring native-born Americans over immigrants
14 An attitude favoring native-born Americans over immigrants Nativists demanded the teaching of only the English language and American culture in schools
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Restrictive Covenants
15 Agreements among homeowners not to sell real estate to certain ethnic groups or nationalities
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16 Chinese Exclusion Act Law passed that prohibited 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
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Suburbs 17 Residential communities that began to develop on outskirts of major cities Public rail carriages were used for transportation to and from the city by those who could afford it.
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Horse Drawn Trolley
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How Immigrants Affected American Cities
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The growth of cities (urban areas)
Urbanization 18 The growth of cities (urban areas)
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New York City c. 1900
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Philadelphia Street Scene
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Tenements 19 Low-cost apartment buildings designed to house as many families as an owner could pack into them Generally associated with slums
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Dumbbell Tenement Design
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New York Tenement, c.1890
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Tenement living c.1890
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Urban Living Conditions
20 Urban Living Conditions Pollution - soot made the air dark and foul Poor sanitation - open sewers, rats and other vermin Contaminated drinking water Diseases spread rapidly - TB, malaria, typhoid Fire danger - 18,000 buildings burned in Chicago and 250 died in 1871 fire
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Great Chicago Fire 1871
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Urban Politics 21 Political Divisions - as cities grew, so did public pressures for sanitation, taxes, transportation, etc. Many people vied for offices. Graft—people using office for personal gain Political machines develop
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22 Political Machines Unofficial organizations designed to keep a particular party in office Usually run by a “boss” who either held office himself or hand-picked an individual to hold office
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Tammany Hall A club that ran the NY Democratic Party
23 Tammany Hall A club that ran the NY Democratic Party Controlled by “Boss” Tweed in the 1850’s -1870’s
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“Boss” William Tweed
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“As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?”
Caption reads: “As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?”
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Social Reform Efforts to improve society by
24 Efforts to improve society by Aiding and educating the poor Eliminating evil or destructive elements
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Jacob Riis Immigrant from Denmark 1870 Lived in NYC tenements
25 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
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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.
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Social Gospel Movement
27 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
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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.
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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.”
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Hull House A “settlement house” in Chicago
30 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
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Jane Addams c. 1896
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Hull House
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Hull House Museum in Chicago today
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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
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