Immigration and Industrial Revolution

September/October 2013Immigration and Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution CausesRise of the Railroad IndustryConsolidation of Railroads Pools, Rebates and NetworksTranscontinental RR expanded interstate commerce nationwideAvailability of natural resourcesCoalIronSteelNew inventionsAssembly Line, Bessemer ProcessRise of corporations and big businessJ.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, The VanderbiltsLarge corporations forced smaller businesses to closeMonopolies dominated industryThe Rise of Big BusinessStock ownership in a corporation (share in profits)

Trust corporation run by a single board of directors

Monopoly company controls all the business in an industry

Dividend companys profits

Corporation business owned by many investors

Sherman Anti Trust Act 1890 government act that regulated trusts and monopolies

Big Business LeadersThomas Edison Wizard of Menlo ParkJohn RockefellerStandard Oil TrustAndrew CarnegieImmigrant and philanthropistHenry FordAssembly Line ProcessWright BrothersFirst in Flight

Life of Workers in the Industrial AgeTriangle Factory Fire1911 fire in Triangle Shirtwaiste Factory in NYCCaused by poor working conditions (faulty fire escape, locked doors..etc)Resulted in a change in working conditions (fire escapes, fire exits, unlocked doorsetc)Protected the safety of workersChild LaborBreaker Boys coal minersChildren paid less than adultsThe Rise of Labor UnionsLabor Union an organization of workers coming together to fight for their rights. Result of poor working conditions, long hours and child labor

Knights of Labor 1869 American Federation of Labor 1886Skilled trades

Strike workers (labor unions) refuse to work until demands are metBlack Lists and Yellow Dog Contracts practices used by employers against workersLife in the CitiesUrbanization the movement of people from the countryside to the citiesCaused by rapid Industrialization and the rise of factories in citiesImmigrants helped increase population1865-1900ImmigrationPush Factors factors that caused immigrants to leave their home countryPolitical and religious persecutionFamineDiseasePull Factors factors that attracted immigrants to the United StatesJob opportunitiesRumors of streets paved with goldFamily and friends already hereFreedomWhere Immigrants Came FromOld ImmigrantsNorthern and Western EuropeBefore 1885Castle Garden New ImmigrantsSouthern and Eastern EuropeAfter 1885Ellis Island - check-in point used to process immigrants arriving from overseasSettled in Eastern United States due to available factory jobs for unskilled workersChallenges Immigrants FacedThe Voyage to AmericadiseaseAssimilation blending in with American culture (salad bowl vs. melting pot)Tenement Housing poor, run down apartment buildings in urban areas, result of rapid growth of citiesFound in crowded city slumsNativism Americans who discriminated against immigrants and wanted America for American-born citizens onlyFear that immigrants would take over jobs from American workersChinese Exclusion Act 1882Barred Chinese (oriental) workers from immigrating to the United StatesResult of nativism in AmericaHelp for ImmigrantsSettlement Houses places for immigrants to receive aid and assistance in the citiesHull House Chicago Jane AddamsPrimarily taken care of by churches and private charitiesEducationAfter 1870 education improved due to compulsory (mandatory) education laws required school through 6th grade Public schools taught English to immigrants