New Immigrants

1. New Immigrants • The United States has been called a nation of immigrants • Of all the groups who made America, only Native Americans have not come from somewhere else • Between 1800 and 1880, more than 10 million immigrants came to the United States • These “old immigrants” were mainly from northern and western Europe • Chinese immigrants also arrived for the Gold Rush or to work on the railroads

2. New Immigrants • Between 1880 and 1910 a new wave of immigration brought some 18 million newcomers to America • Most came from places in southern and eastern Europe • Greece, Italy, Poland, and Russia • Because of severe immigration laws, smaller numbers came from East Asia

3. New Immigrants • These “new immigrants” made America more diverse in ethnicity and religion • They included people of Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and Jewish faiths • By 1910 nearly one out of every seven Americans was foreign-born

4. Coming to America • People came to America in search of a better life, but they left their homelands for various reasons • Jews in particular fled Russia and eastern Europe to escape religious persecution • Emigrants left southern and eastern Europe because of desperate poverty and little economic opportunity

5. Ellis Island • The U.S. government opened an immigration station in 1892 on Ellis Islandin New York Harbor • Over the next 62 years, some 12 million Europeans passed through Ellis Island • After 1910 newcomers from Asia passed through Angel Island, an immigration station in San Francisco Bay • Because of discriminatory laws, many Chinese immigrants were held in prison-like conditions for weeks or months, awaiting a ruling on whether they could stay

6. Coming to America • While many immigrants found a better life in the United States, they also met hardships • Many lived in crowded tenements and took low-paying, unskilled jobs • Many settled near others from their homeland, who spoke their language and shared their culture • People in ethnic neighborhoods worked to keep their cultures alive and build a sense of community • They established churches and synagogues and formed organizations that helped immigrants with money, jobs, health care, and education

7. Reactions to Immigrants • Some native born Americans, known as nativists, saw immigrants as a threat • Nativists blamed immigrants for increases in crime and poverty and said they took American jobs • On the West Coast, prejudice was directed against Asians • California had restrictions against Chinese holding jobs or even living in certain places • On the federal level, Congress banned immigration for 10 years, with a few exceptions, and barred Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens • In 1906 San Francisco required Japanese students to attend separate schools from white students, although the policy was later dropped

8. Americanization • Some nativists called for all immigrants to pass a literacy test, an exam to determine whether they could read in English or their native language • Congress approved a literacy test bill over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto • Other native-born Americans, driven by a mixture of fear and charity, wanted to help the new immigrants assimilate, or blend in, to American society • This process became known as Americanization

9. Reactions to Immigrants • Schools and voluntary organizations taught immigrants English literacy skills and subjects needed for citizenship, such as American history and government • Many immigrants from southern and eastern Europe gained valuable skills • However, the process often involved a loss of cultural heritage

10. Urban Life in America • Before industrialization, American cities were compact, with buildings only a few stories high • People could walk to workplaces, schools, shops, and churches • In the late 1800s cities changed dramatically • As buildable space grew limited, architects began to build up • Strong steel frames let them design taller buildings • The mechanized elevator, invented by Elisha Otis, made taller buildings practical

11. Urban Life in America • As cities grew more crowded, some people worried that urban areas would no longer have any green space • Specialists in the new field of urban planning looked at the use of space in cities • Landscape architects such as Frederick Law Olmsted designed city parks such as Central Park in New York City

12. How Different Classes Lived: The Wealthy • Lifestyles and opportunities varied tremendously with status in society • Most wealthy people of the late 1800s had made their money in industry and business • They showed off their wealth in many ways, especially in their homes • On New York City’s stylish Fifth Avenue, they built houses resembling medieval castles and Italian Renaissance palaces

13. How Different Classes Lived:The Middle Class • The urban middle class was made up of corporate employees such as accountant and managers • Also professionals such as teachers, engineers, lawyers, and doctors • During the 1870s and 1880s, professional organizations began to set standards for certain occupations such as medicine, education, and the law

14. How Different Classes Lived:The Working Class • Most people in the cities lived in poverty • Wages were low, and housing shortages meant that people lived in crowded tenements, or rundown apartment buildings • Tenements were usually within walking distance of the factories, stockyards, and ports where many poor urban dwellers worked

15. How Different Classes Lived:The Working Class • Tenement life was unhealthy • Buildings did not have sufficient light or ventilation • The few windows overlooked streets and alley filled with trash and sewage • With no indoor plumbing, women and children had to haul water from an outdoor water pump • In addition, many working-class women held jobs outside the home

16. The Settlement House Movement • A reform movement in Great Britain inspired some Americans to try a new approach to helping people overcome poverty • In 1883 London reformers founded the first settlement house, a place where volunteers offered immigrants services such as English-language and job-training courses • They also provided social activities such as clubs and sports

17. The Settlement House Movement • One of the first American settlement houses was Hull House in Chicago, founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889 • In New York City, Lillian Wald founded the Henry Street Settlement • In Richmond, Virginia, Janie Porter Barrett began the Locust Street Social Settlement • The first for African Americans • By 1910 U.S. cities had 400 settlement houses

18. Social Gospel • Most settlement-house workers were college-educated women • Many believed in the concept of social gospel, the idea that faith should be expressed through good works • These people believed churches had a moral duty to help solve social problems

19. Political Scandal and Reform • By the late 1800s many American cities had problems such as crime, bad housing, and poor sanitation • In some cities, control of local government passed to a political machine, which was an organization of professional politicians • Political machines made cities run better, but they were often corrupt

20. Political Scandal and Reform • Machine bosses won support by giving people jobs or helping their families • In return, they expected votes • They also won elections by fraudulent means and used their positions to gain money • Demanding bribes in exchange for city contracts

21. Political Scandal and Reform • The most notorious political machine was Tammany Hall in New York City • William Marcy Tweed, known as Boss Tweed, became head of Tammany Hall in 1863 • He used his position to make himself and his friends, the Tweed Ring, very rich • Tweed’s power seemed unbreakable until 1871, when his corruption was made public • He was convicted of fraud and sent to prison

22. Scandal in the Government • Political corruption extended all the way to the nation’s capital • Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant became president in 1869, but scandals marred his presidency • One such scandal involved the CréditMobilier, a company set up by the Union Pacific Railroad • It was actually a scheme to funnel federal railroad money to CréditMobilier stockholders, who included members of Congress and the vice president

23. Scandal in the Government • Attempts at reform split the Republican Party • In 1880 the Republicans chose a reformer, Ohio senator James A. Garfield, as their candidate • But four months into his term, Garfield was assassinated • His successor, Chester A. Arthur, surprised many people by supporting government reforms • In 1883 he helped secure passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Act, which required that promotions be based on merit, not political connections

24. Farmers’ Reform Movements • Times were desperate for farmers in the late 1800s • Crop prices were falling • Merchants, banks, and railroads were getting richer, but farmers were in debt • They organized to help themselves • The first major group of farmers was the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, known as the National Grange

25. Farmers’ Reform Movements • Its first political goal was to persuade state legislatures to regulate railroad rates • Railroads challenged these laws in court • The Supreme Court first upheld the laws but later ruled that the federal government, not the states, could regulate traffic across state lines • This led Congress to pass the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, which called for reasonable railroad rates • It was the first time that the federal government had passed a law to regulate an industry

26. Silver versus Gold • Another farmers’ group the Farmers’ Alliance, formed in the 1870s • The Alliance wanted the government to print more paper money • It believed that farmers could charge more for farm goods if there were more money in circulation

27. Silver versus Gold • Paper money was originally redeemable for either gold or silver • Then in 1873 Congress put the U.S. dollar on the gold standard, meaning that a dollar could be redeemed only for gold in the U.S. Treasury • That reduced the amount of money in circulation and hurt farmers • Farmers wanted money to be backed by silver

28. Populist Party • Farmers’ Alliance policies gained support, and its leaders decided to form a national political party • The People’s Party, usually called the Populist Party, was a coalition of Alliance members • Farmers, labor leaders, and reformers • It lasted only a few years, but its stand against powerful interests influenced later politicians • It called for bank regulation, government ownership of railroads, and free (unlimited) coinage of silver

29. Panic of 1893 • Soon after the 1892 election, a major railroad company failed, triggering the Panic of 1893 • Stock prices fell, and millions lost their jobs • This depression had many causes • President Cleveland blamed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which required the government to purchase silver with paper money redeemable in either gold or silver

30. The Election of 1896 • Silver was still an issue in the 1896 election • The Republicans nominated Ohio governor William McKinley, who supported the gold standard • Democrats chose William Jennings Bryan • In a famous speech, Bryan defended the free coinage of silver • The “cross of gold” speech won Populist support for Bryan • Terrified business leaders contributed millions of dollars to the Republican campaign, and McKinley won the election

31. Segregation and Discrimination • After Reconstruction ended, Southern legislatures passed laws that restricted the rights of African Americans • However, the prejudice that led to such laws existed nationwide

32. Legalized Discrimination • Some white southerners were determined to prevent African Americans from using the right to vote • Tactics included making voters pay a poll tax and pass a literacy test • Most African Americans were too poor to pay the tax and had been denied the education to pass a literacy test

33. Jim Crow Laws • Southern state legislatures also passed laws—known as Jim Crow laws—to create and enforce segregation in public places • The name Jim Crow came from a character in a minstrel song • The first, passed in Tennessee in 1881, required separate railway cars for African Americans and whites • By the 1890s southern states had segregated many public places, including schools

34. Homer Plessy • In 1890 the Louisiana legislature passed a law requiring African Americans to ride in separate railway cars from whites • Homer Plessy, an African American man, sat in a whites-only train compartment to test the law • He was arrested, and his case finally went to the U.S. Supreme Court

35. Plessy v. Ferguson • In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson(1896), the Court upheld segregation • It ruled that “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment • Justice John Marshall Harlan disagreed, saying “Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.” • But the Plessy decision allowed legalized segregation for nearly 60 years!

36. Legalized Discrimination • In addition to legalized discrimination, many strict rules of behavior were understood to govern the social and business interactions of white and black Americans • In every encounter, African Americans were supposed to confirm their lower status in society • If they did not do this, the consequences could be serious even deadly

37. Lynching • The worst outcome of this discrimination was lynching—murder of an individual by a group or mob • Between 1882 and 1892, nearly 900 African Americans lost their lives to lynch mobs • Lynchings could be sparked by even the most minor offenses, or perceived offenses • They declined after 1892 but continued into the early 1900s

38. Opposing Discrimination • Two different approaches to fighting racism emerged • Born into slavery, Booker T. Washingtonbelieved that African Americans had to accept segregation for the moment • He believed they could improve their situation best through acquiring farming and vocational skills • He founded the Tuskegee Institute to teach African Americans practical skills

39. Opposing Discrimination • On the other hand, W.E.B. Du Boisbelieved that African Americans should strive for full rights immediately • Du Bois helped found the Niagara Movement in 1905 to fight for equal rights • Members of the Niagara Movement later founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

40. Hispanic Americans • Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans also experience discrimination • Many Mexican immigrants encountered strong anti-Mexican feelings • Most Mexicans were farmers, but there were not enough farm jobs to go around • Spanish-speaking people often had to take menial jobs for little pay • Many were trapped in their jobs by a system brought from Mexico called debt peonage • They could not leave a job until they paid debts they owed their employer • Debt peonage was made illegal in 1911

41. Asian Americans • In some places, Chinese and Japanese Americans lived in segregated neighborhoods • Many landlords would not rent to Asian tenants • Other laws limited or prevented Asian immigration • In the early 1900s, California legislators passed laws prohibiting marriages between whites and Asian Americans

42. Native Americans • Native Americans had to endure the government’s Americanization policy, which tried to stamp out their traditional cultures • Living on reservations gave them few economic opportunities • Many Native Americans did not even have American citizenship until the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924