Transcript Immigrating To America - chight

Immigration
1865-1915
More than 13.5 Million Immigrants
came to the United States
• *In the five decades
after the Civil War,
roughly 1865-1915, a
flood of immigrants
came to America.
From 1865 to 1900,
some 13.5 million
immigrants arrived in
America.
• * Wars, famine,
religious persecution,
and overpopulation
were the four major
reasons why people
left Europe and came
to the United States.
• * Passage to the United States often cost
a life’s savings. Because of this cost,
entire families would often save enough
money to send just one or two family
members to America, hoping that
eventually these members could afford to
bring over the rest of the family.
Travel Dangers
• As for conditions below decks, an agent for the
United States Immigration Commission described
them as follows:
“During the twelve days in the steerage I lived
in…surroundings that offended every sense. Only
a fresh breeze from the sea overcame the
sickening odors. Everything was dirty, sticky, and
disagreeable to the touch.”
• In such conditions, disease and even death were
not uncommon.
Ellis Island
• *In 1890, Congress
designated low-laying,
three- acre Ellis Island in
Upper New York Bay as
an immigration station. By
the end of 1910, six
million immigrants had
come through Ellis Island.
Inspection
• *The immigration
inspection process was a
humiliating and
dehumanizing experience
for many. Newly arrived
immigrants were given
medical inspections and
asked 32 background
questions. Immigrants with
contagious diseases were
shipped back.
• Some native-born
Americans feared and
resented the new
immigrants. Their
languages, religions, and
customs seemed strange.
They also competed for
jobs. Desperate for jobs,
immigrants often accepted
lower wages and worse
working conditions.
• *The majority of
immigrants settled in the
big cities where factory
jobs were available. By
1900, 4 out of every 5
people in New York City
were immigrants or
children of immigrants.
• * Many immigrants lived in
areas with people of similar
ethnic background. Such
neighborhoods provided
support but separated the
immigrants from the rest of
Americans thus slowing
their assimilation into US
culture.
In the Tenements
• *Many immigrants
lived in crowded
tenement buildings.
Families shared living
space and decent
lighting & fresh air
were scarce.
• *
Living Conditions
• Conditions were uncomfortable, crowed,
and dirty.
• In New York, 1,231 people lived in only 120
rooms in one part of the city.
• In Chicago in one year, over 60% of
newborns never reached their first
birthdays. Many babies asphyxiated in their
own homes.
Jacob Riis
• An immigrant himself,
Jacob Riis was well
known for his
photographs
documenting the lives
of immigrants & the
urban poor in his
book How the Other
Half Lives.
The New Immigration
•
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After 1890, most immigrants are coming
from Southern and Eastern Europe
Italians,Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks,
Poles Serbs, Croats, Russians,
Romanians, Greeks
Difference in culture, language, and
religion
A. Catholism and Judaism
Immigrants Life
Working Conditions
- Mines, Mills and Sweatshops
Exploitation
- labor recruiters claimed a healthy percent of
wages from grateful immigrants
Woman worked as domestic servants
Gravitated to hoods populated by their own
A. Little Italy, Little Hungary, Chinatown……
Areas turned into slums
Map of Angel Island
The Nativist response
1.
New immigrants viewed as a threat
A. Large influx of immigrants changes existing Anglo-Saxon
Protestant Culture
B. Anti-Catholic movement- (anti-Irish)
1. xenophobes wanted longer wait time between immigration and
naturalization
C. Anti-German Movement
1.distrusted due to separatist social structure
2. opposition to prohibition
3. attachment to native tongue
4. neutrality toward war (WWI)
2. Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act)
A. limited annual number of immigrants that could be admitted to
country
1. caused by isolationism and fear of Eastern and Southern
Europeans who had started coming in large numbers since 1890
Anti-Immigrant Legislation
• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
– Banned entry to all Chinese except students,
teachers, merchants, tourists, and
government officials
– Originally set for 10 yrs, but act continued to
be extended
– Law was in effect until 1943
Exclusions
Immigration restriction
A. Early Laws excluded “undesirables”
B. Chinese Immigrants excluded in 1882
1. Excluded all Chinese labor immigration to US for 10
years.
2. Act renewed in 1892, and in 1902 with no terminal date.
Repealed in 1943 (Magnuson Act) allowing 105 Chinese Per
year
3. First U.S immigration Law that targeted ethnic group
C. Gentlemen’s agreement with Japanese
1. Informal agreement between U.S and Japanese
government to not issue passports to Japanese citizens
wishing to work in United States
2. attempt by Japanese govt. to prevent possible
segregation of Japanese in San Francisco
Urbanization Issues - Housing
• Types of Housing
– Row Houses
– (dumbbell) Tenements
• Overcrowding
• Affordable housing very poor
– Deteriorating
– Dangerous
– No water/indoor plumbing
– Very little air or light
Urbanization - Water
• In the late 1800s, few had indoor plumbing
& water was collected in pails from faucets
on the street and heat it for bathing
• Needed to improve water quality b/c of
cholera and typhoid fever
• Access to safe water (even after the
introduction of filtration and chlorination at
turn of century) was limited
Urbanization - Sanitation
• Horse manure piled up on streets
• Sewage flowed through open gutters
• Factory smoke filled the air
• Garbage was dumped in the streets (no
formal trash collection)
Urbanization - Crime
• Political Corruption
• Gangs - nativism, violence
• Theft
• Drunkeness
• No police
Urbanization - Fire
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Building materials were flammable
No fire departments
No water
Overcrowding
Fires occurred in every major city (2 major
examples):
– Chicago (1871): 24 hours, 300 ppl died, 100,000
homeless, 3 sq mi destroyed, $200 mil in damages,
17,500 buildings destroyed
– San Francisco (1906): 4 days, 1,000 ppl died,
200,000 left homeless, 5 sq mi destroyed, $500 mil in
damages, 28,000 buildings destroyed
Political Machine continued
• Precinct Workers – Worked to gain voters’ support
on a city block or in a neighborhood and reported
to the ward boss.
• Ward Boss – Helped the poor and gained votes by
doing favors or providing services. In return for
votes they would provide city jobs, contracts or
appointments.
• City Boss – Controlled thousands of municipal
jobs, including police, fire and sanitation
departments. Controlled business licenses and
inspections. Had a lot of influence over courts and
other municipal agencies.
Immigrant Populations
• Rapid urbanization
occurred in the late 19th
century in the Northeast
and Midwest.
Immigrants settled in
cities because of the
available jobs and
affordable housing. By
1910, immigrants made
up more than half the
population of 18 major
Migration from Country to City
Discrimination and segregation were
often the reality for African Americans
who migrated north
• Rapid improvements
in farm technology
(tractors, reapers,
steel plows) made
farming more
efficient and required
less labor.
• Many rural people left
for cities to find work
– including almost a
quarter of a million
Urban Problems
• Problems in
American cities in the
late 19th & early 20th
centuries included:
• Housing:
Overcrowded
tenements were unhealthy places to live.
• Sanitation: Garbage
often was not
collected and
Famous photographer Jacob Riis
captured the struggle of living in
crowded tenements
Harper’s Weekly image of
Chicagoans fleeing the fire over the
Randolph Street bridge in 1871
Chicago 1871 and San
Francisco 1906 were
two major fires.
• Transportation: Cities
struggled to provide
adequate transit systems.
• Water: Without safe
drinking water cholera
and typhoid fever were
common
• Crime: As populations
increased thieves
flourished.
• Fire: Limited water,
wooden structures, and
Reformers Mobilize
• The Social Gospel Movement
preached salvation through
service to the poor. Some
reformers established
Settlement Houses. These
houses provided a place to
stay, classes, health care and
other social services. Jane
Addams, who founded Hull
House in Chicago, was the
most famous social worker