The American Nation Chapter 21 A New Urban Culture, 1865–1914 Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River,

The American NationThe American Nation

Chapter 21A New Urban Culture,

1865–1914

Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

The American NationThe American Nation

Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

Section 1: New Immigrants in a Promised Land

Section 2: An Age of Cities

Section 3: Life in the Changing Cities

Section 4: Public Education and American Culture

Chapter 21: A New Urban Culture, 1865–1914

Chapter 21, Section 1

New Immigrants in a Promised LandNew Immigrants in a Promised Land

• Why did millions of immigrants decide to make the difficult journey to the United States?

• What problems did the “new immigrants” face in adapting to American life?

• Why were some Americans opposed to increased immigration?


Why Immigrants CameWhy Immigrants Came

Push factors• In Europe, farm land was

becoming scarce. Farm families could barely support themselves.

• Political or religious persecution drove people from their homes. In Russia, there were pogroms, or organized attacks on Jewish villages. Armenian Christians in the Ottoman Empire were also persecuted.

• Political unrest drove people from their homes. For example, a revolution in Mexico caused thousands of Mexicans to flee.

Pull factors• Industrial jobs were the chief pull

factor. Factory owners sent agents to Europe and Asia to hire workers. Steamship companies offered special fares. Railroads advertised cheap land.

• Once a family member settled in the United States, he would send for others to join him.

• Many were attracted by the promise of freedom guaranteed in the Bill of Rights—freedom from arrest without a cause and freedom of religion.

Push factors are conditions that drive people from their homes.Pull factors are conditions that attract immigrants to a new area.


Why Immigrants CameWhy Immigrants Came

Push Factors• Scarce land• Farm jobs lost to new

machines• Political and religious

persecution• Revolution• Poverty and hard lives

Pull Factors• Promise of freedom• Family or friends already

settled in the United States• Factory jobs available


The New ImmigrantsThe New Immigrants


Problems the New Immigrants FacedProblems the New Immigrants Faced

• The voyage across the ocean was often miserable. Shipowners jammed up to 2,000 people in steerage, the airless rooms below deck. For most European immigrants, the voyage ended in New York City, where they were greeted by the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of hope and freedom.

• First, immigrants had to go through a receiving station. After 1892, the receiving station in New York was on Ellis Island. Here they had a medical inspection. The few who appeared unhealthy were sent home.

• Often, if American officials had trouble spelling immigrants’ names, they simply changed them.

• After 1910, many Asian immigrants entered through Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. To discourage Asian immigration, new arrivals were often delayed on the island for a long time.

• Immigrants faced a new land whose language and customs they did not know.


Problems the New Immigrants FacedProblems the New Immigrants Faced

• Many immigrants had unrealistic expectations about what they would find in the United States. They had to adjust to reality.

• In large American cities, immigrants packed into city slums. The immigrants tended to settle in their own neighborhoods, where people spoke their own language and carried on their own customs.

• Newcomers were faced with learning American ways. They struggled with acculturation, the process of holding on to older traditions while adapting to the ways of a new culture.


Why Some People Opposed ImmigrationWhy Some People Opposed Immigration

• Even before the Civil War, nativists tried to limit immigration and preserve the country for native-born white Protestants.

• Nativitists argued that immigrants would not fit into American culture. Many workers resented the immigrants for working for low pay. Other people feared them because they were different.

• Nativists targeted Jews and Italians in the Northeast, Mexicans in the Southwest, and Asians on the Pacific Coast.

• In the West, as the Chinese population grew, so did prejudice and violence against them. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers from entering the country. It was the first law to exclude a specific national group from immigrating. It was repealed in 1943.

• In 1887, nativists formed the American Protective Association to work for restricted immigration. Congress responded by passing a bill that denied entry to people who could not read their own language.


Section 1 AssessmentSection 1 Assessment

The strongest pull factor attracting immigrants to the United States wasa) industrial jobs.b) ethnic neighborhoods.c) the voyage across the ocean.d) the opportunity to mix with people from many countries.

One reason nativists opposed immigration was because theya) did not want the immigrants to suffer disappointment when things did

not turn out the way they expected.b) did not want to bother with learning new languages.c) feared people who were different.d) felt that immigrant workers were too highly paid.

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The strongest pull factor attracting immigrants to the United States wasa) industrial jobs.b) ethnic neighborhoods.c) the voyage across the ocean.d) the opportunity to mix with people from many countries.

One reason nativists opposed immigration was because theya) did not want the immigrants to suffer disappointment when things did

not turn out the way they expected.b) did not want to bother with learning new languages.c) feared people who were different.d) felt that immigrant workers were too highly paid.



An Age of CitiesAn Age of Cities

• Why did cities experience a population explosion?

• How did city settlement patterns change?• How did settlement-house workers and other

reformers work to solve city problems?


An Urban Population ExplosionAn Urban Population Explosion



Urbanization, the movement of population from farms to cities, began slowly in the early 1800s. In 1860, one in five Americans lived in a city. By 1890, one in three did.

What drew people to the cities?

Jobs As industry grew, so did the need for workers—in steel mills, garment factories, and so forth. Others were needed to serve the growing population, for example, by working in stores, restaurants, and banks.

Immigrants The flood of immigrants swelled city populations.

In-migrants Fewer Americans went west to homestead. Instead, people moved from the farm to the city in hopes of finding a better life.

African Americans

When hard times hit or prejudice led to violence in the South, many African Americans went north hoping for a better life in northern cities.




City Settlement PatternsCity Settlement Patterns

Cities grew outward from their old downtown sections.

Urban poor • Poor families crowded into the city’s center, the oldest section of the city.

• Builders put up buildings several stories high. They divided the buildings into small apartments, called tenements. Many tenements had no windows, heat, or indoor bathrooms.

• Diseases, and sometimes fires, raged through the tenements.

Urban middle class

• Beyond the slums stood the homes of the new middle class. Rows of neat houses lined tree-shaded streets.

• Middle-class people joined clubs, societies, bowling leagues, and charitable organizations.

Rich • On the outskirts of the city, behind walls, lay the mansions of the very rich.

• Rich Americans tried to live like European royalty.


Working to Solve City ProblemsWorking to Solve City Problems

By the 1880s, reformers pressed city governments for change.• Building codes set standards for construction and safety. They called for

fire escapes and decent plumbing.• Cities hired workers to collect garbage and sweep streets.• Factories were prohibited in neighborhoods where people lived.• Cities set up fire companies and police forces.• Street lighting made streets less dangerous at night.• Cities hired engineers and architects to design new water systems.Religious organizations helped.• The Catholic Church helped Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants. A nun,

Mother Cabrini, helped found dozens of hospitals.• Protestant ministers began preaching a new Social Gospel, which called on

well-to-do members to do their duty as Christians by helping the poor.• The Salvation Army, begun by an English minister, expanded to the United

States. It spread Christian teachings and offered food and shelter to the poor.


Working to Solve City ProblemsWorking to Solve City Problems

Religious organizations helped.• The Young Men’s Hebrew Association provided social activities,

encouraged citizenship, and helped Jewish families preserve their culture. The settlement house movement• By the late 1800s, individuals began to organize settlement houses,

community centers that offered services to the poor.• The leading figure of the movement was Jane Addams. In 1889 in Chicago,

she opened the first settlement house—Hull House.• Hull House volunteers taught classes in government, the English

language, and health care. They provided day care for working mothers and recreational activities for young people.

• By 1900, about 100 such centers had opened in cities across the United States.

• Settlement house workers such as Alice Hamilton, Florence Kelley, and Jane Addams, pressed for reforms—better health laws, a ban on child labor, and women’s suffrage.



The main reason people moved to cities in the late 1800s was because they were seeking

a) police protection.b) jobs in industry.c) good garbage service.d) gymnasiums and other recreational activities.

Jane Addams established a settlement house in order toa) set standards for construction.b) give the middle-class a sense of community.c) keep factories out of the neighborhoods. d) offer services to the poor and help immigrants acculturate.





The main reason people moved to cities in the late 1800s was because they were seeking

a) police protection.b) jobs in industry.c) good garbage service.d) gymnasiums and other recreational activities.

Jane Addams established a settlement house in order toa) set standards for construction.b) give the middle-class a sense of community.c) keep factories out of the neighborhoods. d) offer services to the poor and help immigrants acculturate.



Life in the Changing CitiesLife in the Changing Cities

• How did the building boom affect city life?• Why were sports so popular?• What forms of entertainment did city dwellers

enjoy?


A Building BoomA Building Boom

A building boom changed American cities.

Skyscrapers • Using new technology, builders designed skyscrapers—tall buildings with many floors supported by a lightweight steel frame.

• The new electric elevators carried people to the upper floors.

Traffic • Skyscrapers crowded more people into the downtown. Streetcars, or trolleys, moved people around town quickly and cleanly. Trolley lines could carry people from the city to its outskirts, which contributed to the creation of the suburbs. A suburb is a residential area on or near the outskirts of a city.

• Some cities built steam-driven passenger trains on elevated tracks. Boston built the first American subway.

• Some cities needed ways to move people across rivers or bays. James B. Eads built a three-arched bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis. The Brooklyn Bridge linked Manhattan Island and Brooklyn.


A Building BoomA Building Boom

Parks Some city planners believed that open land would calm busy city dwellers. Frederick Law Olmsted planned Central Park in New York City. Other cities followed and set aside land for parks and zoos.

Shopping In the past, people had bought different items in different stores. The new department stores sold all kinds of goods in different departments of the same store. R. H. Macy opened a nine-story department store in New York in 1902.


Sports Became PopularSports Became Popular

Factory work offered little chance to socialize on the job. Sports provided an escape from the pressures of work.

Baseball • Baseball was the most popular sport. By the 1870s, several cities had professional baseball teams and the first professional league was organized.

• At first, African Americans played professional baseball. In time, the major leagues barred black players. In 1885, Frank Thompson organized one of the first African American professional teams, the Cuban Giants of Long Island.

Football • Football grew out of European soccer, which Americans had played since colonial times.

Basketball James Naismith invented basketball in 1891. He taught physical education at a Young Men’s Christian Association in Massachusetts. He wanted a sport that could be played indoors in the winter.


Entertainment in the CityEntertainment in the City

Music and other kinds of entertainment brought Americans together.Music and variety shows• Many cities organized symphony orchestras and opera companies.• Many people enjoyed vaudeville, a variety show that included

comedians, song-and-dance routines, and acrobats.• Many of America’s best-loved entertainers performed in vaudeville

—George M. Cohan, the Marx Brothers, and Will Rogers.Popular music• Thomas Edison’s phonograph sparked a new industry.• Ragtime was a new kind of music with a lively, rhythmic sound.

Pianist and composer Scott Joplin helped make ragtime popular.• Marching bands were popular. They played the military music of

John Philip Sousa, who composed “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”



The electric streetcar, or trolley, helped bring about the creation ofa) skyscrapers.b) suburbs.c) department stores.d) public parks.

Many city dwellers enjoyed going to a vaudeville house, where they sawa) a basketball game.b) a symphony.c) a variety show with comedians and acrobats.d) an opera.





The electric streetcar, or trolley, helped bring about the creation ofa) skyscrapers.b) suburbs.c) department stores.d) public parks.

Many city dwellers enjoyed going to a vaudeville house, where they sawa) a basketball game.b) a symphony.c) a variety show with comedians and acrobats.d) an opera.



Public Education and American CulturePublic Education and American Culture

• How did public education grow after the Civil War?

• How did newspapers, magazines, and dime novels reflect changes in reading habits?

• Why did writers and painters turn to everyday life for subjects?


The Growth of Public EducationThe Growth of Public Education

Public education• As industry grew, the nation needed a more educated work force.• States improved public schools.• Most states passed compulsory education laws that required

children to attend school, usually through sixth grade.• In large cities, public schools taught English to young immigrants.• In the 1880s, Catholics opened their own parochial, or church-

sponsored, schools.

The school day• The school day usually lasted from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.• Students studied reading, writing, and arithmetic.• Schools emphasized discipline and obedience.


The Growth of Public EducationThe Growth of Public Education

Higher learning• Many cities and towns built public high schools.• New private colleges for women and men opened.• Most public schools had programs to prepare students for jobs in

business and industry.

Family learning• In 1874, a Methodist minister opened a summer camp at Lake

Chautauqua in New York. People gathered each summer for spiritual guidance and lectures on art, politics, and other subjects.

• By the early 1900s, the Chautauqua Society was sending out traveling companies to 10,000 American towns every year.


Changes in American Reading HabitsChanges in American Reading Habits

As education spread, people read more, especially newspapers.• The number of newspapers grew dramatically.• Many immigrants learned to read English by reading the

newspaper.• Joseph Pulitzer created the first modern, mass-circulation

newspaper—the New York World.• William Randolph Hearst challenged Pulitzer with his paper,

the New York Journal. • Critics coined the term yellow journalism for the sensational

reporting style of the World and the Journal.• Newspapers published special sections for women readers. A

few women worked as reporters. Nellie Bly wrote about cruelty in mental hospitals.


Changes in American Reading HabitsChanges in American Reading Habits

Americans also read more books and magazines.• Each magazine, such as The Ladies’ Home Journal and

Harper’s Monthly, had its special audience. • Low-priced paperbacks, known as dime novels, offered

thrilling adventure stories. Many told about the “Wild West.” Horatio Alger wrote more than 100 dime novels about poor boys who became rich.


American WritersAmerican Writers

Realists A group of writers who tried to show the harsh side of life as it was. They wanted to make people aware of the costs of urbanization and industrial growth.

Stephen Crane Best known for a Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. He also wrote Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, about young city slum dwellers.

Jack London Wrote about miners and sailors on the West Coast.

Kate Chopin Wrote short stories about women breaking out of traditional roles.

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Was the first African American to make a living as a writer. He wrote poems, such as “We Wear the Mask.”

Mark Twain The most famous and popular author of this period. He used local color to make his stories more realistic. Local color refers to the speech and habits of a particular region. Twain used homespun characters to poke fun at serious issues. He wrote Huckleberry Finn.


American PaintersAmerican Painters

Realists Like writers, many artists sought to capture local color and the rough side of modern life.

Winslow Homer

During the Civil War, Homer drew scenes of battles for magazines. Later, he painted realistic images of the New England coast.

Thomas Eakins

Learned anatomy and dissected dead bodies to learn to portray the human form accurately. He painted sports scenes and medical operations.

Henry Tanner Won fame for pictures of black sharecroppers.

James Whistler

His use of color and light influenced European artists.

Mary Cassatt Especially known for her bright, colorful scenes of mothers with their children.



One reason states improved and expanded the public school system was because

a) they wanted to keep immigrants from hanging around on street corners.

b) some churches worried that young people were not learning enough about religion.

c) newspapers needed more readers.d) the nation needed an educated work force.

Many American writers and artists turned to realism in order toa) show that American life was superior to life in Europe.b) make people aware of the costs of urbanization and industrial growth.c) offer the hope that even the poorest person could succeed.d) disguise the truth about crimes and political scandals.





One reason states improved and expanded the public school system was because

a) they wanted to keep immigrants from hanging around on street corners.

b) some churches worried that young people were not learning enough about religion.

c) newspapers needed more readers.d) the nation needed an educated work force.

Many American writers and artists turned to realism in order toa) show that American life was superior to life in Europe.b) make people aware of the costs of urbanization and industrial growth.c) offer the hope that even the poorest person could succeed.d) disguise the truth about crimes and political scandals.



Documents

The American Nation Chapter 21 A New Urban Culture, 1865–1914 Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River,