1. America Moves to the City

2. Urbanization: the physical growth of urban areas which result in rural migration & suburban concentration into cities In 1860, 20% of Americans lived in cities with a population of at least 2500 By 1900, that percentage increased to 40% By 1950, it was 54%

3. But why??? The mechanization of farming greatly reduced the number of farm jobs Conversely, the rise of big industry caused an increase in factory work New immigrants arrived (we’ll talk about that Thursday) The allure of the city had a big impact on Americans at this time, sort of like....

5. “Good, Wholesome Fun and the City”

6. The city offered attractions like never before Electricity & telephones became common by 1900 Huge departments stores offered city dwellers both jobs & shopping opportunities New, impressive engineering feats offered jobs as well as prestige to growing cities Brooklyn Bridge built in 1883

7. New Lifestyles Waste & garbage disposal became a new, and major, issue Criminals flourished, and “urban crime” became a phenomenon (and never stopped!) Dirty water, dirty air, & dirty humans became a problem for cities Horrible slums, called tenements, became the common living space for the poor working class

8. Tenements Average bedroom size: 8.5x8.5 ft Parlor (biggest room): 11x12.5 ft; only room w/ direct sunlight; had small adjoining kitchen & bedroom Entire apartment measured 325 square feet No running water; toilet located in backyard or common hallway By 1900, 2/3 of New Yorkers lived in tenements (roughly 2 million) Average family was 6-8 people

9. “Dumbell Tenement”

10. Political Corruption Large urban centers were often run by corrupt “political machines” controlled by “political bosses” The machines often offered jobs to the poor & immigrants in exchange for votes Machines became involved in city-run services like hospitals & schools Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall is the most famous (NYC)

11. Women & Minorities

12. Women More than 1 million women entered the work force in the 1890s Vast majority of working women were single Work was segregated among class & race Blacks: domestic service Native-born: social workers, secretaries, store clerks, telephone operators Immigrants: sweatshops, factories

13. Some middle & upper class women became social reformers Jane Addams established the Hull House in 1889 Settlement houses were run by wealthier people to help the poor Addams would win Nobel Peace Prize in 1931

14. Blacks Ex-slave Booker T. Washington taught at a black school in Tuskegee, Alabama Believed that blacks should learn valuable skills like agriculture to achieve economic security He did not challenge segregation or white supremacy Criticized by other blacks for being “accommodationist”

15. W.E.B. Du Bois called Washington an “Uncle Tom” for not challenging for not fighting enough for blacks Born in Massachusetts, first black to earn a PhD at Harvard Demanded complete equality for blacks Helped found NAACP Died in Africa in 1963

16. The “New” Immigrants

17. What is “new”? Most immigrants in the 1870s – 1900 came from Southern or Eastern Europe Most were either Catholic or Jewish, & spoke no English upon arrival Most arrived in big eastern harbors like NYC & Boston; most stayed there & lived in ghettos Immigrants were pushed out of their native countries by oppression and/or poverty, & pulled to America by the promise of freedom & economic opportunity

19. Reaction to Immigrants An estimated 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island from 1900-1924 Nativism: the American belief that immigrants were inferior to Native-born white Americans (especially White Anglo-Saxon Protestants); & that immigrants would steal jobs from Native- born Americans The process of “Americanizing” immigrant’s children was practiced by the government & schools

20. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) By the 1880s, politicians in California blamed unemployment & low wages on the influx of Chinese immigrants The Act, passed by Congress, temporarily banned Chinese immigrants from entering the U.S. & excluded Chinese living in the U.S. from gaining citizenship Two U.S. Supreme Court cases upheld the law, saying the government did have a right to bar certain people from entering the country However, in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), the court ruled that children of Chinese immigrants born in the U.S. were citizens, per the 14 th amendment

22. Questions: Did Nativists have a point? Why or why not? The Knights of Labor actually supported the Chinese Exclusion Act. Why? From ~1900 to ~1950, immigrant children & grandchildren became assimilated into U.S. society & culture. Is this good or bad? Situation: an immigrant arranges a marriage for his/her 13 year old child because this is the common custom in their home country. Should this be allowed in America?