Immigration and

UrbanizationChapter 7

Q: Which ethnic group settled in the largest

area of NYC? Did immigrants have a pattern

in the way they settled?

Europeans

Between 1870-1920, 20 million Europeans from Italy,

Austria-Hungary, and Russia arrived in the United States

Reasons they had for coming to the US:

To escape religious persecution

Rising population-> scarcity of farming

land, competition for jobs

Caribbean Islands and Central America

From Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and

other islands

Reasons: jobs were scarce and industrial

boom promised work for everyone; political

turmoil

Q: What pull factor influenced emigration to

the US for those from the Caribbean and

Central America?

Asia 1851-1883: about 300,000 Chinese

arrived

Railroads completed, farming,

mining, and domestic service;

business

Chinese Exclusion Act: entry was

restricted w exception of teachers,

students, government officials

Japan immigration to West coast

increased after Hawaii was annexed

in 1898.

Gentlemen's Agreement (1907-

1908): limited entry of unskilled

workers in exchange for repealing San

Francisco segregation in schoolsQ: How did both immigration policies

impact the United States of America

economy?

Americanization movement sponsored by

government to assimilate people into the

dominant culture

Taught- English literacy,

American history/

government, cooking, social

etiquette

Ethnic communities provided social

support for immigrants from the same

country

Helped them to retain their

own language, customs and

religion

Migration from country to city

rural-city

Improvements in farming technology led to rural people

moving to cities to find work

African Americans sought to escape racial violence and

economic hardship.

However, they still faced segregation and discrimination.

Job competition also caused more racial tension

Social Gospel movement:

early reform program that encouraged

service to the poor

preached it would bring salvation

Settlement houses: community centers provided

assistance to people in slum neighborhoods

Provided educational, cultural, and social services

Run by middle-class, college-educated women

Helped cultivate social responsibility toward the urban

poor

Jane Addams one of the most influential members of the

movement

Challenges of Urbanization

Growing industrial strength led to rapid urbanization

or growth of cities mostly in the Northeast and

Midwest.

Major factor in the growth of industrial cities: they

were located in the vicinity of major natural resources

Immigrants settled in cities because it was cheap and

convenient

Cities offered steady jobs for unskilled laborers

Continued Challenges of the Urbanization

Challenges

Limited housing options

Unsanitary living dwellings and

communities

Rural lived to far from employment

Poor mass transit system- most of the

infrastructure needed to be repaired.

Sewage overflowed

Poor air quality

Limited homes with indoor plumbing

Filthy streets

Crime (pickpockets')

Spread of fires

Poor building structures of wood

instead

Solution

Repair and expanded

transportation infrastructure as

population increased.

Supplying safe drinking water

Collected water from the street to

heat it for bathing and drinking (

personal solution)

Chlorination was introduced

First full time fire department

First full time police department in

1844 ( NYPD) Major cities started to do the same

What message is the cartoon trying to

express regarding

Politics in the Gilded Age

What is this section about?

Local & national political corruption in the 19th century led to calls for reform.

Why is this important for us?

Political reforms paved the way for a more honest and efficient government tin the 20th century and beyond.

Emergence of political machines

Cities grow rapidly under inefficient government

Political machines offered services to votes and businesses in exchange for political and financial support

Organized like a pyramid

City boss-> controlled all activities of the political party in the city

Ward boss-> secured vote in all precincts or electoral district by helping poor and gaining their votes

Local precinct workers & captains->tried to gain voters’ support

Immigrants & the Machine

Precinct captains, ward bosses, and the city boss worked together to elect their

candidates and guarantee the success of the machine.

Political Boss

•Won voters’ loyalty by controlling jobs and

businesses and solving urban problems How did some bosses use their power to benefit the community? Examples of community Services:

• Building of parks, hospitals, orphanages, sewer systems, etc.

Immigrants and the Machine•Machines helped immigrants with naturalization, housing, jobs -> immigrants provided political bosses with votes

What message does the cartoon express

about political bosses?

Municipal Graft & Scandal

As political bosses gained power they fell to corruption

Election Fraud & graft

Graft: illegal use of political influence for personal

gain

For example: Political machine helps a person find

work in a construction project-> asks worker to bill

city for more than the actual cost -> worker can “kick

back” a portion of earnings to the machine

Taking kickbacks,( illegal payments) enriched political

machines and politicians

The Tweed Ring Scandal

William Tweed or Boss Tweed: Head of Tammany Hall, New York City’s

Democratic political machine•Led a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city. •New York County Courthouse: taxpayers paid $13 million; actual construction cost $3 million

Corruption in local politics also present in national politics

•Reformers began to eliminate patronage- the giving of government jobs to people who helped a candidate get elected•Merit system for hiring

Reform under Hayes, Garfield, &

Arthur

(R) President Rutherford B. Hayes: named

independents to his cabinet

Set up a commission to investigate

customhouses

Based on reports, fired top officials-> angered

Republican Party; did not run for reelection

James A. Garfield: in the debate over civil service

reform, Garfield favored the reformers

Assassinated

Chester A. Arthur (vice president) assumes presidency

Supported reform; urged Congress to

pass a civil service law-> the

Pendleton Act

Authorized a bipartisan civil service

commission to make appointments

based on the merit system based on

performance on an examination

Result: Public administration became

more honest and efficient

Politicians turned to business owners

since they no longer pressured

employees for campaign

contributions