Transcript Chapter 13, Section 1

New Movements in America
Chapter 13
Immigrants and Urban Challenges
 The Big Idea

The population of the United States grew
rapidly in the early 1800s with the arrival of
millions of immigrants.
Millions of Immigrants Arrive
 Main Idea 1:

Millions of
immigrants, mostly
German and Irish,
arrived in the United
States despite antiimmigrant
movements.
Millions of Immigrants Arrive
 Large numbers of European immigrants crossed the
Atlantic in the mid-1800s to begin new lives in the
United States.
 America was attractive because it provided



Jobs
Greater freedom and equality
Abundant land
Millions of Immigrants Arrive

From1846-1860 over 1.5 million Irish
arrived in the US because of a potato
famine

Irelands best – U2
Many were very poor and took low paying
jobs in Northeast – Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
Irish immigrants arriving
in Boston harbor
Millions of Immigrants Arrive
 Many Germans moved to the Midwest


Most were working class and came for economic reasons.
Many became farmers and lived in rural areas.
Many German
immigrants built
houses made of
sod
Millions of Immigrants Arrive
 Both the Irish and Germans were mostly Catholic
 Most Americans were Protestants before the new
immigration.

Conflict developed between Protestants and newly arrived
Catholic immigrants
Bono and the Pope, who is the head of the Catholic Church
Millions of Immigrants Arrive
 Many native-born Americans feared losing jobs to
immigrants, who might work for lower wages.
 Nativists were Americans who disliked immigrants
because they thought that immigrants



Took Americans’ jobs
Brought crime and disease
And were Catholic
Nativists from the
movie Gangs of
New York
Millions of Immigrants Arrive
 Nativists founded a political party called the Know-
Nothing Party in 1849

Wanted to keep Catholics & immigrants out of public office

Wanted immigrants to live in United States for 21 years before
becoming citizens
A cartoon that
shows how the
Know-Nothing Party
viewed immigrants
Rapid Growth of Cities
 Main Idea 2:

Industrialization led to
the growth of cities.
Rapid Growth of Cities
 The rise of industry and the growth of cities
led to creation of a new middle class

Merchants, manufacturers, professionals, and master
craftspeople

New economic level between wealthy and poor
Poor
Middle Class
Wealthy
Rapid Growth of
Cities
 People found
entertainment and
enriched cultural
life in cities.
 Cities were
compact and
crowded during
this time.
Urban Problems
 Main Idea 3:
 American cities
experienced urban
problems due to rapid
growth.
Urban Problems
 Many city dwellers, particularly immigrants, lived in
tenements: poorly designed apartment buildings that
housed large numbers of people

Fire was a constant and serious danger in crowded cities.
Urban Problems
 Public services were
poor—no clean water,
public health
regulations, or healthy
way to get rid of
garbage.

Cities became centers
of criminal activity, and
most had no organized
police force.