TEST #4 LECTURE NOTESIndustrialization and Immigration VUS.8

Settling the West

Following the Civil War, the westward movement of settlers intensified in the vast region between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean

The years immediately before and after the Civil War were the era of the American cowboy, marked by long cattle drives for hundreds of miles over unfenced open land in the West, the only way to get cattle to market

Settling the West Homestead Act 1862

Gave free public land in the western territories to settlers who would live on and farm the land

Many Americans had to rebuild their lives after the Civil War They took advantage of the Homestead

Act (free land) and moved westward to start new lives

Southerners, especially African Americans, moved west to seek new opportunities

Settling the West Morrill Land Grant Act A United States statute that allowed for

the creation of land grant colleges Under the act, each eligible state

received a total of 30,000 acres of federal land

This land, or the proceeds from its sale, was to be used toward establishing and funding educational institutions that taught agriculture and mechanic arts Virginia Tech

Settling the West Transcontinental Railroad Built between 1863 and 1869 created a nation-wide transportation network

that united the country replaced the wagon trains of previous decades

and allowed for the transportation of larger quantities of goods over longer distances

Known as the "Pacific Railroad" when it opened, this served as a vital link for trade, commerce, and travel and opened up vast regions of the North American heartland for settlement

Linked railroads in the east to those in the west Chinese and Irish workers helped build the

Transcontinental Railroad

Transcontinental Railroad

Chinese railroad workers

Settling the West New technologies also help open western lands for

settlement and made farming profitable These devices helped the people move west The railroad

Helped people move west Helped products move Land was given to the private railroads—land grants—to

help build the rail lines Many people in the US detested the giving away of public

lands to private companies

Mechanical Reaper Created by Cyrus McCormick A horse drawn mechanical machine used for harvesting

grain or other small crops Designed to cut down wheat much more quickly and

more efficiently than by doing the work by hand

Removal of the Indians and Age of the Cowboy The forcible removal of the American

Indians continued throughout the 19th century as settlers began to move west following the Civil War

Once the Indians were forcefully removed, the land opened up for cattle and cowboys

Beef cattle became very profitable Cowboys were needed to drive the

cattle from Texas to the northern markets

Immigration Some of the people that helped settle the

American West were not native to the US—they were immigrants to the US

Prior to 1871, most immigrants to America came from northern and western Europe (Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden)

During the half-century from 1871 until 1921, most immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe (Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia, present-day Hungary, and former Yugoslavia), as well as Asia (China and Japan) Like earlier immigrants, these immigrants came to

America seeking freedom and better lives for their families

Immigration

There were several reasons for immigrants to want to come to the US

1.) Push Factors (Reasons why people left their native lands) Escaping religious and political

persecution Many were poor farmers who could not

make enough $ to survive at home—move to US looking for a better opportunity

Relaxed immigration laws in their own nation

Immigration

2.) Pull Factors (reasons to come to the US) US gave the promise of freedom and

hope Many had family and friends that lived in

the US The US needed cheap labor for

developing industry US actually recruited people from foreign

nations to come and work in the US

Immigration and Industrialization Many of the immigrants helped to expand the United

States’ as an industrial nation Like earlier immigrants, these immigrants came to America

seeking freedom and better lives for their families Jewish Immigrants

Many Jewish females worked in the clothing industry in New York City

Chinese Immigrants Settled in the west; worked in mines and helped to build the

transcontinental railroads Irish Immigrants

Worked in the building and construction industries Slavs, Poles, and Italians

Worked in the coal mines of West Virginia and Pennsylvania

Contributions of Immigrants The new immigrants to the US brought with them

the cultures from their homelands Food—Italian food, Chinese food, Irish Pubs Language—Chinese, Yiddish, Italian, Slavic Music Dress

Many of these immigrants contributed to America’s growing industry by providing cheap labor in the factories

Other immigrants will make even more major contributions to the United States Irving Berlin Enrico Fermi Albert Einstein

Contributions of Immigrants Irving Berlin Originally from Russia He was a popular songwriter Wrote “God Bless America”

Irving Berlin

Contributions of Immigrants Enrico Fermi Italian immigrant Physicist Discovered the element Neptunium 1938: received the Nobel Prize in

physics

Enrico Fermi

Contributions of Immigrants Albert Einstein German immigrant Recognized as the greatest physicist

of all time Helped to advance science and the

atomic theory

Albert Einstein

“Melting Pot”—Assimilation of Immigrants to the US Although the US held many opportunities

for immigrants, they still faced lots of problems in their new homes Prejudices against race, language, and religion Housing was scarce The language barrier made their lives difficult Many in the US feared and resented that the

immigrants would take their jobs for lower pay

The Irish were highly disliked by many in the US Many blacks and whites were losing jobs

to Irish immigrants Caused lots of anti-Catholic feelings in

the US The Irish usually voted Democrat in

elections A new political party arose that was

very anti-immigrant—the Know Nothing Party Wanted to keep Catholics from holding

political office Wanted to keep Catholics from voting

Many Nativists--people against immigration—claimed that the immigrants’ language, customs, and ideas upset the American way of life

They were upset that natives were willing to work for less pay, taking jobs away from poor blacks and whites

Believed that immigrant ideas were a threat to democracy

Most Europeans entered the US through Ellis Island Located in New York Harbor Their 1st view was often the Statue of

Liberty Ellis Island was an immigrant

receiving station Upon arrival, the immigrants were

inspected for disease Those with disease or without job

skills were, many times, sent back to Europe

Many even had their family names changed

Once here in the US, immigrants had to begin the process of assimilation (blending into society) into America’s “melting pot”

In order to become a citizen of the US had to go through naturalization To become naturalized, the immigrants had to be able

to read and write in English They also had to answer questions involving US history

and government America’s public schools served an essential role

in educating immigrants to American Society and customs The public school system helped the immigrants—

especially the children—learn English and American customs

Public schools were essential to helping the immigrants become assimilated

Legislation limiting immigration Congress, feeling pressure from nativists groups,

began passing legislation to restrict immigration Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Banned Chinese immigration to the US for 10 years http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWIAv7yTqLE

Immigration Restriction Act (1921) Created a quota system designed to restrict

immigration from all areas except Northwest Europe Both pieces of legislation effectively cut off most

immigration to the US for many decades; however, the immigrants of this period and their descendants continued to contribute immeasurably to American society

Urbanization—the Growth of Cities

As the nation’s industrial growth continued, cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York grew rapidly as manufacturing and transportation centers

Cities were growing because of the influx of immigrants and freed-slaves looking for jobs

This urbanization will lead to problems that city governments and the national government will have to address

Factories in the large cities provided jobs, but workers’ families often lived in harsh conditions, crowded into tenements and slums

Housing was scarce for many of the city dwellers

Sometimes, 2 or 3 families will live in the same apartment

Horse stables, garages, and storage shacks were turned into housing

Pollution was a major problem Waste was thrown into the streets Water was polluted by sewage Disease was very common

Violence was very common

The rapid growth of cities caused housing shortages and the need for new public services, such as sewage and water systems and public transportation

New sanitation methods were created to clean up sewage and water

Fire and police departments were created

New York city created the subway system to improve transportation

The Trolley system was created in Richmond, VA

Political Machines

The people who ran the big cities stood to make a lot of $ Many jobs could be given out to people

Police Fire Sanitation jobs

Many cities were dominated by Bosses The Bosses fixed elections by promising jobs and contracts to

men who voted for them Many times they preyed on the poor who needed jobs by

giving them jobs and help in return for votes Many city politicians built city-wide organizations called

political machines The political machines were created to win votes The machines promised jobs, contracts, and favors to win

votes

Industrial Revolution Many new inventions will push industry forward

during the late 1800s and early 1900s Electricity—Pioneered by Thomas Edison

Allowed for better lighting and easier work in factories Light Bulb—Thomas Edison

Safer lighting than using oil lamps Better lighting at night

Bessemer Process—Henry Bessemer A way of taking coal and iron and creating steel

cheaper Assembly Line— Pioneered by Henry Ford

Workers stayed stationary The product moved on a conveyor belt Each worker had a particular duty to perform on the

product as it passed down the belt

Model T—Henry Ford A cheap form of transportation Allowed more people to buy cars Gave people greater mobility

Airplane—Wright Brothers First powered flight Revolutionized travel over long distances

Telephone—Alexander Graham Bell Pioneered communication Allowed for quick and easy communication over long

distances Railroads—undertaken by Cornelius

Vanderbilt Opened up the US Helped transport goods from manufacturers to market

Thomas Edison

Henry Bessemer

Henry Ford

Wright BrothersVideo

Alexander Graham Bell

Horizontal vs. Vertical Integration Corporations began to develop in the

United States as industry began to boom A corporation is a company/business that

sells shares of stock Those that own stock are actually part owners

of the corporation Limited Liability

If a corporation fails, shareholders normally only stand to lose their investment and employees will lose their jobs, but neither will be further liable for debts that remain owing to the corporation's creditors

Horizontal vs. Vertical Integration As companies began to expand and grow, many

company owners began buying up or merging with the competition

1.) Horizontal Integration: When one company merges or buys all of the other

competing companies Allowed a single company to control one particular

part of industry 2.) Vertical Integration:

When a firm attempts to control all aspects of production—from the acquisition of raw materials to the final delivery of the product

Allowed a single company to totally control the national market

Trusts and Laissez-Faire Economics A trust is a combination of companies

that dominate an industry Certain influential people became rich

and famous for their involvement and creation of trusts

Most of the people believed in laissez-faire economics The government should stay out of business

affairs Business owners should have all control of

industry and business without any government interference

1.) Andre Carnegie Scottish immigrant Made his fortune in the steel industry His mill combined all stages of steel

production into one plant He bought up coal mines and iron ore

deposits for his steel mill He purchased railroads and ships to

transport the raw materials and send the materials to market

Carnegie controlled nearly every aspect of the steel producing industry

Andrew Carnegie

2.) John D. Rockefeller A major figure in the 19th century merger

movement in industry He started a business that refined

kerosene from petroleum His company eventually became

Standard Oil Rockefeller purchased all competing oil

companies By the late 1800s, Standard Oil had

control over most of America’s oil industry

John D. Rockefeller

3.) J. P. Morgan 1901: Morgan purchased Carnegie’s

steel company Morgan then created U. S. Steel He was also involved in Banking Morgan took control of many weak

business and made them profitable He will create several giant railway

networks that controlled nearly all of the rail systems in the US

J. P. Morgan

4.) Cornelius Vanderbilt He went on to make his fortune in the

steamship business When he was nearly 70 years old he sold

his ships and got into the railroad financing business