Immigration-Part 2

Early 1900s- 60% of major cities were immigrants

1892- reception center opened for immigrants on ___ ____ in NYC

Angel Island in San Fransisco

Physical exam upon arrival

Check for tuberculosis, trachoma

Some were quarantined (def)

After handing over documents, they headed off to find relatives

Criminals hung around ports

Some settled in NYC

Others moved to Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago.

people often settled in neighborhoods with other immigrants from same nation (Chinatown in NY or San Fran; Little Italy in Cleveland; Irish sections of Chicago or Boston)

Maintain language, food, customs, other culture

Chinatown, NYC- 1909

Columbus Park, NYC (Chinatown)

Next day

Challenges of Cities

Transportation improvements led to development of suburbs (residential areas surrounding larger cities)

Cable cars, followed by elevated trains and then subways

Philadelphia

1853- Elisha Otis invented _______-

Otis

1895

Urban living conditions

Tenements- low cost apartment buildings housing urban poor

Extremely crowded conditions

Little fire protectionChicago Fire of 1871- 18,000 buildings, 250 dead, $200 million damages (=$2 billion today!)

Chicago Fire (started in a shed? By a cow?)

Diseases such as cholera, tb, diphtheria, typhoid fever rampant

Spread rapidly in close quarters

Jacob Riis- How the Other Half Lives-book exposing horrors of tenement life

Leads to first laws restricting tenement life

(next day!)

Political Problems in Cities

Increased pressure on city officials

Fire Protection

Transportation

Sewage

Electric and Water service

Political Machine

Unofficial organization designed to keep a particular party in power

“Political Boss”

Favors for votes:

Jobs, money, contracts

Helped poor-in turn they supported them

Then stole from the taxpayers!

Graft- use of one’s job to gain profit

Padded bills, false receipts, bill for work not done

William “Boss” Tweed

Tammany Hall- political club that ran NYC

Get candidates in, then steal!

The corruption was breathtaking in its breadth and boldness. A carpenter was paid $360,751 (roughly $4.9 million today) for one month's labor in a building with very little woodwork. A furniture contractor received $179,729 ($2.5 million) for three tables and 40 chairs. And the plasterer, A tammy functionary, Andrew J. Garvey, got $133,187 ($1.82 million) for two days' work; his business acumen earned him the sobriquet "The Prince of Plasterers." Tweed personally profited from a financial interest in a Massachusetts quarry that provided the courthouse's marble. When a committee investigated why it took so long to build the courthouse, it spent $7,718 ($105,000) to print its report. The printing company was owned by Tweed.

Boss Tweed

Tammany Hall

Thomas Nast Cartoon