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Industrialization & Immigration. The Essential Questions. What new problems and opportunities developed as America became an industrial power? How did the Gilded Age describe the economic and social conditions that existed in the late 1800’s
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The Essential Questions • What new problems and opportunities developed as America became an industrial power? • How did the Gilded Age describe the economic and social conditions that existed in the late 1800’s • Why do some people describe the United States as a melting pot? How does that view of American Immigration differ from what some historians have called the “tossed salad” view of American Immigration?
Vocabulary • Lewis Latimer: African American inventor who played an important role in improving practical electrical lighting. • Thomas Edison: Inventor of the electric light bulb (that was safe to use indoors) and many other inventions. • Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor of the telephone. • John D. Rockefeller: Founder of the Standard Oil Trust. • Robber Baron: A business leader who became wealthy through dishonest methods. • Andrew Carnegie: Built the U.S. Steel industry. • Gilded Age: Late 1800’s era of fabulous wealth.
Industrial Revolution • The Industrial Revolution was the major technological, socioeconomic, and cultural change in the late 18th and early 19th century resulting from the replacement of an economy based on manual labor to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. • There were many factors that caused industrial growth in the United States after the Civil War.
The electric power industry grew tremendously during the late 1800’s. Thomas Edison invented many new ways to use electricity… including light bulbs safe for home use. He did not actually invent the light bulb… He invented the incandescent light bulb that was safe for homes. Thomas Edison also invented a system to deliver electricity to buildings… by 1882 Edison had installed the first permanent commercial central power system in NYC. Edison & Electricity
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. He figured out how to make the receiver work by accident. By 1880 more than 50,000 telephones had been sold. The invention of the switchboard allowed more people to connect to a telephone network . Bell & the Telephone
In the beginning, a customer would make a phone call by calling the switchboard operator. The operator would see a lit jack on the switchboard and have to manually plug in the cable and say “operator” The caller would then ask the switchboard operator to connect him/her with the person they wanted to talk to. The operator would then call the other party to see if they were available, if they were they would connect the two calls. The Switchboard
Inventions and Women’s Jobs • New inventions opened up more jobs for women. • The Switchboard • Usually the switchboard operator was a woman. • The typewriter • Most secretarial jobs were done by women • The sewing machine • Also, most sewing was done by women.
The invention of the sewing machine changed Americans lives… Factories began producing ready made clothes in standard sizes… people began buying their clothes instead of making their own. The Sewing Machine
Stop & Think • How do you think these new inventions changed American lives?
Corporations Gain Power • Before the late 1800’s most businesses were owned by a single person or by a few partners. • During the Industrial Revolution many businesses turned into corporations. • A business owned by shareholders. • Investors who own part of a company by buying shares of that company’s stock.
Rockefeller is best known for his strategy for success… He believed that the best way to make money was to put his competitors out of business. A company who wipes out its competition and controls an industry is a monopoly. Rockefeller began to buy other oil refineries and he made secret deals with other railroads to carry his oil at a cheaper rate than other refineries. He was able to make more profit!!! John D. Rockefeller & the Oil Industry
John D. Rockefeller • He also developed a trust… • A legal body created to hold stocks in many companies… often in the same industry. • By 1880 he controlled 95% of all oil refining in the U.S. and was able to set high prices for oil. • Consumers had to pay Standard Oil’s high prices because they couldn’t buy oil from anyone else. • Rockefeller was known as a robber baron… • A business leader who became wealthy through dishonest methods.
Andrew Carnegie had a different idea about how to make his corporation a success. He believed that to beat his competition he simply had to produce the best and cheapest product. To do this Carnegie wanted to control all the processes of manufacturing steel. He bought the iron mines as well as the ships and railroads that carried iron to his mills. Andrew Carnegie & the Steel Industry
Andrew Carnegie and the Steel Industry • Carnegie was the U.S.’s largest producer of steel until he sold his corporation to J.P. Morgan, a leading banker, for $480 million. • Carnegie first earned a reputation as a generous employer and a friend of the workers. He supported the right of workers to organize and form unions. • Not common in those days… this limits his power. • He did however give his partner the power to reduce the workers wages when the economy weakened … this caused riots that led to 10 deaths, and the destruction of the labor union. • Carnegie was on vacation when this happened and his role in what happened is unclear… His reputation was never the same.
Rockefeller & Carnegie • Both Rockefeller & Carnegie were philanthropists… • This means that they donated large sums of money to charity. • Rockefeller donated money to the University of Chicago, and Rockefeller University in N.Y. • In his lifetime Rockefeller donated more than $550 million dollars. • Carnegie donated money to several hospitals, and built many libraries. • In his lifetime Carnegie donated about $350 million.
Economic Growth Brings Wealth & Poverty • Industrialization raised living standards and brought great wealth to business owners. • The wealthy flaunted their riches by buying mansions and other luxuries. • The problem was that the Industrial Revolution did not do much to help minorities, factory workers, and many people in the South.
This period became known as the Gilded Age. To gild something means to cover it in gold. The Gilded age became known as the era of fabulous wealth. The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age • The meaning behind calling this era the Gilded age is because… • Just like the gold can disguise an object of lesser value, those who were rich and flaunting their riches overshadowed many other societal problems like corruption in politics, and widespread poverty.
Industrialization Changes Cities • During the Industrial Revolution many people moved to large cities to find jobs. • Factories began to open in large cities with good transportation systems and plenty of people to work. • The more factories opened, the more people moved to the cities to fill the jobs. • The growth of cities that resulted from these changes is called urbanization.
Urbanization • Other things that made urbanization possible was the invention of the electric elevator. • Before this invention most buildings were under 4 stories. • People did not want to have to take the stairs to the 23rd floor… • After the invention of the elevators people began building skyscrapers which increased the housing and workspace available in cities.
The invention of the streetcar made transportation easier, and people were able to live farther away from large cities. This led to the creation of suburbs. Residential area lying immediately outside a city. The Streetcar and Suburbanization
Stop & Think • How did industry and new inventions change society? • Industry and new inventions changed American society because many factories opened in large cities, which made the cities grow and this caused urbanization. • Electric Elevator led to skyscrapers • Streetcars led to suburbanization
The New Immigrants • Before the 1890’s most immigrants to the U.S. came from Northern & Western Europe. • After 1896 immigrants came mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe. • Southern Italy, Poland, Russia, etc. • These groups of immigrants became known as the “New Immigrants”
Ellis Island • For most of these “New Immigrants” Ellis Island was their first stop when they arrived in the U.S. • When they arrived immigrants had to pass a physical exam. • Doctors were trained to give a quick “six second physical” and any immigrants who were sick were sent back home. • Immigrants who passed their physicals had to register and give their names, occupations, and financial situation.
In 1910 Asian Immigrants began to land at Angel Island in San Francisco CA. The Conditions at Angel Island were very bad, most of the buildings were very dirty, and many immigrants were kept there for weeks before they could leave. Angel Island
Finding Work & Housing • Many new immigrants flooded large cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. • When they arrived they usually relied on people from their same country who spoke their language who had immigrated before them to help them find jobs and somewhere to live. • This led to the creation of different sections of the city being predominantly of one nationality or culture. • Thus the creation of small towns within cities such as “Chinatown” or “Little Italy” • I.e. La Villita (Little Village) Pilsen, Humboldt Park etc.
Immigrants from Mexico • Immigrants from Mexico tripled between 1910 and 1930 to 600,000 as a result of revolutions at home and the world wide depression. • El Paso Texas became the “Mexican Ellis Island” the central point of entry. • Some Mexicans immigrants became permanent U.S. citizens while others returned to their homeland frequently because of the short distance.
Reactions to Immigration • How do you think the native born Americans reacted to the new immigrants? • What did they fear about immigration? • As you probably already guessed many of the native born Americans were not very happy about the large influx of immigrants… they were afraid that they would take their jobs… this led many Americans to be prejudice against non-whites. • This included the “New Immigrants”
Immigrants and Jobs • Most immigrants took whatever jobs they could find… • This means that they often took jobs that paid very little for long hours of work and jobs where the working conditions were very unsafe. • Sweatshops were hot, crowded, dangerous factories. • Workers worked long hours for little pay. • Often immigrants, women, and children worked in sweatshops.
Improved Lives for Immigrants • Even though immigrants worked long hours for little money, most immigrants were able to improve their standard of living during the Industrial Revolution. • Why do you think this is true? Compare immigrants lives before and after the Industrial Revolution. • Before the Industrial Revolution there were a lot more people with no job, and not able to feed their families… The industrial Revolution gave people jobs, and most were able to get by.
Restrictions on Immigration • Because there was a widespread fear that immigrants would take Americans’ jobs the Government began to impose restrictions on immigration. • They passed laws that required a tax for immigrants. • They barred certain groups of people such as criminals and people with mental illness.
Discrimination and Racism • Which group of people do you think faced the most prejudice? • Non-whites faced the most discrimination… The Asian immigrants faced the deepest form of discrimination and racism. • The Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese immigrants for ten years… also, Chinese laborers received lower wages than whites for the same work, and some white people refused to work with Chinese workers. • Chinese people often faced violence as a result of prejudice and racism.
Problems with Urbanization • The growing population in the cities led to overcrowding and disease. Soon, political organizations and reformers were working to improve conditions. • Many people in large cities lived in tenements; run down and overcrowded apartment houses. • Old buildings, landlord neglect, poor design, and little government control led to dangerous conditions in many tenements.
Slums • In the tenement buildings tenants sometimes dumped their smelly garbage into the narrow airshaft between tenements. • Many tenements had no running water… the water collected from the faucets on the street was not safe to drink. • Sewage flowed in open gutters and spread diseases to people in the tenements. • Neighborhoods with such overcrowding and dangerous housing were known as a slums.
Reformers • Many Americans were disgusted by the widespread poverty in the Slums. • Many urban reformers fought to solve these problems. • Can you name an urban reformer from Chicago? • What is he/she known for?
Jane Adams founded the Hull House in Chicago. It was the first settlement house in the United States. It offered education, daycare, and healthcare to people in the slums of Chicago. It soon became a model for other settlement houses. She is the second women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Jane Adams and the Hull House
Hull House • At its height, Hull House was visited each week by around 2000 people. Its facilities included a night school for adults, kindergarten classes, clubs for older children, a public kitchen, an art gallery, a coffeehouse, a gymnasium, a girls club, bathhouse, a book bindery, a music school, a drama group, a library, and labor-related divisions. • In addition to making available services and cultural opportunities for the largely immigrant population of the neighborhood, Hull House afforded an opportunity for young social workers to acquire training. Eventually, the Hull House became a 13-building settlement, which included a playground and a summer camp (Bowen Country Club).
