THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Spark of Immigration to

the United States

-The Contributions Approach

When the Industrial Revolution first came to Britain and the U.S., there was

a high demand for labor. Families quickly migrated from the rural farm

areas to the newly industrialized cities to find work. Once they got there,

things did not look as bright as they had thought.

"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Immigrants from various countries all over the world stuffed themselves into ships such as these. Their one

wish: “The American Dream.”

Ellis Island• Once families arrived to

New York City, they were dropped off at Ellis Island. Families were screened for health reasons. After they were checked, they were processed and then became Americans.

Procedures of Ellis Island•The process typically took between 3-5

hours to complete.•Once their bags were dropped off, they

entered the Great Hall which served as the registry room.

•Doctors screened them for diseases to keep contagious diseases out of the U.S. and to keep strong and healthy workers in America.

Health Screenings

Health Clearance• If a health risk was found, immigrants were

marked with a letter on their clothing as a symbol.• H= Heart Disease• X= Mental Problems• E= Eye Problems

• If a disease could be cured, they were sent to the island’s hospital to recover. In other circumstances, the immigrants were placed back on ships to return back to their native countries.

A Gateway for Millions•12 million people were processed at Ellis

Island.•Nearly 40% of the people living in the

U.S. today had immigrant relatives who went through Ellis Island.

•Immigrants came from many countries such as Ukraine, Romania, Finland, Ireland and Italy.

A New Life• Names of those entering the U.S. were often

changed if they were not pronounceable.• Once they arrived, they worked very hard,

hoping to provide more for their families than they had as children.

• Their children became businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, teachers, athletes, chefs, artists, writers and various other careers.

• The freedom to choose, which brought so many to American shores, was a gift they gave to their children.

Many came to America with the belief that they’d make easy money once they arrived

• “I came to America because I heard that streets here were paved with gold. When I came I

learned three things:

First: streets in America are not paved with gold;Second: streets in America are not paved at all;

Third: I am expected to pave them.”

-Recollections of a 1900's immigrant

Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Spinning Jenny used in textile mills

Steam Engine- Used to make transportation easier than ever before

Person Invention Date James Watt First reliable Steam Engine 1775

Eli Whitney Cotton Gin, Interchangeable parts for muskets

1793, 1798

Robert Fulton Regular Steamboat service on the Hudson River 1807

Samuel F. B. Morse Telegraph 1836Elias Howe Sewing Machine 1844

Isaac Singer Improves and markets Howe's Sewing Machine 1851

Cyrus Field Transatlantic Cable 1866Alexander Graham

Bell Telephone 1876

Thomas Edison Phonograph, Incandescent Light Bulb

1877, 1879

Nikola Tesla Induction Electric Motor 1888Rudolf Diesel Diesel Engine 1892

Orville and Wilbur Wright First Airplane 1903

Henry Ford Model T Ford, Assembly Line 1908, 1913

Labored transformed from farming to more industrial work. Families flooded the factories in search of work and for

a better life for themselves.

Child Labor• Children were paid only a

fraction of what an adult would get, and sometimes factory owners would get away with paying them nothing.

• Orphans were the ones subject to this slave-like labor. The factory owners justified their absence of payroll by saying that they gave the orphans food, shelter, and clothing, all of which were far below par. The children who did get paid were paid very little.

To survive in even the lowest level of poverty, families had to have every able member of the family go to work. This led to the high rise in child labor in factories. Children were not treated well, overworked, and underpaid for a long time before anyone tried to change things for them.

Housing Conditions• People crowded into

already crowded houses. Rooms were rented to whole families or perhaps several families. If there were no rooms to rent, people stayed in lodging houses.

Pollution • Chimneys, bridges and

factory smoke blocked out most of the light in the towns. A layer of dirty smoke often covered the streets like a blanket. This came from the factories that used steam to power their machines. The steam was made by burning coal to heat water. Burning coal produces a lot of dirty, black smoke.

Strike•A refusal to work organized by a body of

employees as a form of protest, typically in an attempt to gain a concession or concessions...: "local workers went on strike.”

The Strikes• For many around Lowell,

MA, they grew tired of their low wages. In order to gain more money, women of the mills headed for the streets and began to strike.

Contributions of Immigrants• Sweden- First log cabins

• Germany- Symphony orchestras and glee clubs

• Dutch- Santa Claus, bowling and ice-skating

• Russian Jews and Greeks- Movies produced in America

• “Immigrants have been a source of national

wealth and strength.”- Abraham Lincoln

Summing Things Up• Culture is the knowledge,

beliefs, values, skills and behavior of a social group.

• Within the Industrial Revolution, it involved the immigration of thousands of people to enter the U.S.

• Today, the United States still uses many of the inventions from The Industrial Revolution such as light bulbs, telephones, airplanes and rail roads.

• People came from countries all over the world to become citizens of the United states and work towards a better life.

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