1 / 62

Immigration and Urbanization

Immigration and Urbanization. The New Immigrants. Massive amounts of immigration Late 19 th and early 20 th century Escape difficult conditions Famine Land shortages Religious reasons Political persecution. “Birds of Passage”

ismael
Download Presentation

Immigration and Urbanization

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Immigration and Urbanization

  2. The New Immigrants • Massive amounts of immigration • Late 19th and early 20th century • Escape difficult conditions • Famine • Land shortages • Religious reasons • Political persecution

  3. “Birds of Passage” • Immigrate temporarily to earn money and then return to homeland • Going through the “Golden Door”

  4. Europeans • 1870 and 1920 = 20 million Europeans • Before 1890 = Western and Northern European countries • Late 1890s = Southern and Eastern European countries

  5. European • Jews were driven out of Russia by pogroms • Organized attacks often encouraged by local authorities against Jews • Left because of rising population • Scarcity of farming land • Spirit of reform and revolt

  6. Chinese and Japanese • Europeans on the east coast while Asians on the west coast • Asian immigration was smaller than European • Wave of immigrants peaked in 1907

  7. Chinese • Seek fortunes (gold mining) • Helped build railroads • Railroads finished = farming, mining, domestic service • Started businesses

  8. Japanese • Government allowed Hawaiian planters to recruit Japanese workers • Annexation of HI = increased Japanese immigration to the west

  9. The West Indies and Mexico • Came to eastern and southeastern United States • Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico • Left because • Jobs were scarce • Industrial boom in the US had promise

  10. Mexicans = jobs and flee political turmoil • National Reclamation Act 1902 • Encourage irrigation of arid land • Created new farmland in western states • Drew Mexican farm workers north

  11. Life in the New Land • Difficult journey • 1870s = almost all immigrants traveled by ship • Trip from Europe = 1 week • Trip from Asia = nearly 3 weeks

  12. Traveled in steerage • Cheapest accommodations • Cargo hold • Rarely allowed on deck • Crowded together in poor conditions • Disease

  13. Ellis Island • In NY harbor • 20% of immigrants who passed through were held for a day or more before inspection • Only about 2% were denied entry • Inspection took 5 hours or more

  14. Ellis Island • Inspection • Pass physical from the physician • Tuberculosis • Sent home if you were found ill • Passed medical onto government inspector • Checked documents • Questioned whether they met legal requirements • Prove they have never been convicted of a felony • Demonstration of ability to work • Showing they had some money

  15. Angel Island • West coast in San Francisco Bay • Process stood in contrast to the procedure at Ellis Island • Endured harsh questioning • Long detention in filthy buildings

  16. Immigrants had to cooperate for survival • Challenges • Place to live • Job • Getting along in daily life • Language • Sought out people who shared with cultural values, religion, language • Creation of neighborhoods in cities • Social clubs, newspapers

  17. Hyphenated Americans • Tried to fit in but it just did not work out • Native born often disliked the immigrants unfamiliar customs and languages • Threat to the American way of life

  18. Immigration Restrictions • Melting pot = mixture of people of different cultures and races who blend together by abandoning their native customs • Immigration increase = anti-immigration feelings increased

  19. Ireland • Other America • Great Britain • Mexico • Scandinavia and other NW Europe • Africa • Australia and Pacific Islands • Germany • Southern Europe • Asia • Central and Eastern Europe

  20. Ireland = 2 • Other America = 11 • Great Britain = 1 • Mexico =10 • Scandinavia and other NW Europe = 3 • Africa = 8 • Australia and Pacific Islands = 9 • Germany = 4 • Southern Europe = 6 • Asia = 7 • Central and Eastern Europe = 5

  21. Rise of Nativism • Favoritism toward native-born Americans • Gave rise to anti-immigration groups • Led to demand for immigration restriction • Anglo Saxons = Germanic ancestors of the English • Superior to other ethnic groups

  22. Did not object to immigrants from the “right” countries • Immigration Restriction League 1894 • Desirable immigrants = British, German, Scandinavian • Wrong immigrants = Slavs, Latin Americans, Asians

  23. Objected more to religion than ethnic background • Jewish immigration would undermine the democratic institution • American Protective Association 1887 • Catholics start to plot • Colleges, businesses, social clubs = No Jews!

  24. 1897 Congress passed a bill • Required a literacy test for immigrants • Couldn’t read 40 words in English or native language = refused entry • Eventually it was vetoed however there was a literacy requirement later on

  25. Anti-Asian Sentiments • Western Americans were worried that their jobs would go to the Chinese • Ultimately lower wages • Workingmen’s Party • Anti-Chinese movement in CA • “The Chinese must go!”

  26. Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 • Banned entry to all Chinese except • Students • Teachers • Merchants • Tourists • Government officials • 1892 = extended the law for another 10 years • 1902 = Chinese immigration was restricted indefinitely until 1943

  27. The Gentlemen’s Agreement • Chinese hate transferred to all Asian American immigrants • CA segregated Japanese children by putting them in separate schools • Japan = raised an angry protest at the treatment of its emigrants

  28. The Gentlemen’s Agreement • President Roosevelt worked out a deal • Japan’s government would agree to limit the emigration of unskilled workers to the US • The US would repeal the San Francisco segregation order in schools

  29. Urban Opportunities • Urbanization = rapid growth of cities • Mostly in NE and MW • Immigrants settled in cities • Cheapest and most convenient • Offered unskilled laborers steady jobs in mills and factories

  30. Americanization Movement • Assimilate people of wide ranging cultures into the dominant culture • Schools and other placed provided programs • Citizenship • Literacy • History/government • Cooking • Social etiquette

  31. Many immigrants did not wish to give up their traditions • Had to find their own support system • Language, religion, customs • Neighborhoods formed = overcrowded

  32. Migration from country to city • Rapid improvements in farming technology • Good for some and bad for others • Farming more efficient = less labor • African Americans • Moved north and west to cities Chicago and Detroit • Escape racial violence, economic hardship, political oppression • Segregation and discrimination

  33. Urban Problems • Job competition between white and black • Government problems • How to provide residents with needed services and safe living conditions

  34. Housing • Options • Buy a house on the outskirts of town = transportation problem • Rent room in boardinghouse in the central city = sanitation, disease, and over all living conditions

  35. New types of housing developed • Row houses = single family dwellings that shared side walls with other similar houses • Tenements = multifamily urban dwellings • Working class families left central city • Immigrants took over their old housing

  36. Improvement in slum conditions in 1879 • Set min. standards for pluming and ventilation • Windows in each room • Fire safety • Ventilation

  37. Transportation • Mass transit = designed to move large numbers of people along fixed routes • Enabled workers to get to and from jobs easily • Linked city neighborhoods • Open to public • Difficult to repair and expand

  38. Central Place Theory • Walter Christaller • Noticed a regular pattern to the locations of different sized urban places • Theory explains the size and location of cities • Shape of a hexagon • Center = Metropolitan area • Second = Suburbs • Third = Rural areas

  39. Central Place Theory • Smaller towns offer fewer goods and services • Not really a hexagon shape • Physical factors (mountains, rivers) • Cultural factors ( political boundaries, trade routes)

  40. Water • Problem = supply of safe drinking water • NY and Cleveland = public waterworks to meet demand • Filtration introduced in the 1870s • Chlorination introduced in 1908

  41. Late 1860s • Grossly inadequate piped water • Some people had no water at all • No indoor pluming • Cholera and typhoid fever were common

  42. Sanitation • Horse manure on the streets • Sewage flowed through open gutters • Factories = air pollution • No dependable trash collection • By 1900 • Most cites = sewer lines and sanitation departments

  43. Crime • Population increase = crime increase • First full time salaried police force 1844 • NYC • Most departments were too small to have significant impact on the crime rates • Corrupt officials

  44. Fire • Limited water supply = accidents waiting to happen • Buildings made from wood • Use of candles and kerosene • Fire fighter volunteers = not always available

  45. Introduction of automatic fire sprinkler 1874 • Replacement of wood with brick, stone, concrete and steel

  46. The Great Chicago Fire • Oct. 8-10, 1871 • Burned for 24 hours • Estimated 300 deaths • 100K left homeless • 3 square miles, 17,500 buildings = destroyed • Property loss = $200 million

  47. Reformers Mobilize • Social welfare reformers targeted efforts at relieving urban poverty • Many 19th century reformers responded to the call to help the urban poor • Social Gospel movement = preached salvation through service to the poor

  48. Settlement Houses • Founded by Stover and Coit in NYC 1886 • Community centers in slum neighborhoods • Provide assistance to people in the area • Immigrants especially • Provided education, cultural, and social services • Run by the middle class

More Related