urban america: 1865 – 1896 immigration chapter 4 lesson 1
TRANSCRIPT
URBAN AMERICA: 1865 – 1896
IMMIGRATION
Chapter 4 Lesson 1
The New Immigrants
Essential Question:
How did European Immigrants of the late 1800s change American Society?
The foreign-born population of the U.S. nearly doubled between 1870 and 1900.
Immigrant = person who comes to a new place to live permanently
Post-Civil War America 25 Million Immigrants came
to America b/w 1865 - 1914 #s would steadily grow until
1920s
The New Immigrants
Patterns of Immigration in the United States:
OLD vs. NEW
“Old Immigrants”Colonial Period (thru Indep.)
Mostly English Scots-Irish, German, Swedish, Dutch Settled throughout Eastern Seaboard
Old Immigration (Independence – Civil War) Northern & Western Europe (Still English) Ireland, Germany, Scandanavia
* Old immigrants had profound influence on shaping society
* Brought language (English), forms of government (Democracy), religion (Protestantism), Family & cultural traditions (strong family ties), economic patterns
The New Immigrants
Until 1870, the majority of immigrants were Protestant Christians from Western & Northern Europe (WASPs)
“New” Immigrants: Mostly from southern and eastern
Europe Italy, Greece, Poland, Austria -Hungary,
Russia, Serbia (Many immigrants Arrived until WWI, when
the U.S. restricted immigration) Many immigrants on West Coast from
Asia – China & Japan “New” Immigrants:
Unskilled Poor Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox Radical Politics (Socialism, Anarchy) Settled in cities not farms. *Single males
The New Immigrants
Push/Pull factors lead to Immigration
Push Factors: Compel people to leave their homes, such as famine, war, or persecution. Jews from Eastern Europe
(Russia/Poland) came in large numbers because of persecution
Pull Factors: Draw people to a new place, such as economic opportunity or religious freedom. Immigrants were recruited from
Europe to work building railroads in western U.S.
Chain Immigrants: Joining family or friends that are already settled in America.
The Immigrant Experience
The Atlantic Voyage: Steamships made the trip
across the Atlantic safer and faster than ever before.
Three months now took 2 weeks
Large sacrifices were made to come to the U.S. Steerage: Located on the
lower decks with no private cabins, crowded and dirty. Worst Accommodations
The Immigrant Experience
Ellis Island: All third-class, or steerage,
passengers were sent here. Immigration officers conducted legal and medical inspections. (Only 2% were denied entry.)
Immigrants w/ disesases (leprosy, V.D.) were sent back
Customs officials often Anglicized names
*About 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954!
Ellis Island
Ellis Island
The Immigrant Experience
Angel Island: Immigration station in San
Francisco Bay. Designed to filter out Chinese
immigrants. Very harsh towards Chinese –
had to prove U.S. citizenship or had family here
The Immigrant Experience
Most poor immigrants stayed in cities close to industrial jobs in factories. Some traveled West to North
Central StatesLived in ethnic
neighborhoods with people who shared their native language, religion, and culture. Often grouped together with
folks from same village or region Provided the most help and
comfortable surroundings
The Immigrant Experience
Impact on Urbanization
By 1890, NYC contained: Twice as many Irish as Dublin Same amount of Germans as
Hamburg ½ as many Italians as Naples 2.5 x Jews than Warsaw
4/5 New Yorkers had been born abroad or were children of foreign born parents
Mulberry Street – “Little Italy”
Hester Street – Jewish Section
Pell Street – “China Town”
Most Immigrants Settled in Urban Areas (Specifically Industrial Centers)
How were “new” Immigrants absorbed into the larger society?
Another theory
Assimilation Americanization: Programs helping
newcomers learn English and adapt American dress, diet, work habits, etc.
Settlement houses – ran the Americanization programs
Many Americans believed that America was quickly becoming a “melting pot” “Melting Pot”: White people of all different
nationalities blended to create a single culture. (Asians/African Americans excluded ?)
Resulting culture is made up of various, unidentifiable cultures
It usually took 1-2 generations to become more Americanized
Salad Bowl (pluralism) Groups do not always lose distinctive
characteristics Can and do live side by side Groups, like different vegetables in a salad,
remain identifiable but create a new, larger whole
Nativism
Fight for power:
WHITE
ANGLO-
SAXON
PROTESTANT
As immigration continued into the early 1900s, many Americans rejected the “new” immigrants
Nativism became a movement Nativism – belief that Native-born white
Americans (descendents of “old” immigrants) were superior to newcomers
Nativist resentment stemmed from several factors: Competition for jobs and housing
(during a recession) Religious and Cultural Differences
(Protestants vs. Catholics and Jews) “New Immigrants” seen as threat –
Main targets were Asians, Jews, and eastern Europeans.
NativismLaws were passed to limit
immigrationChinese Exclusion Act – 1882
prohibited immigration by Chinese laborers
Limited the civil rights of Chinese immigrants in U.S.
Forbade the naturalization of Chinese residents
*Eventually a quota system was established (Emergency Quota Act)
Nativism
The Gentlemen’s Agreement