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Daily Essential Questions:
#1: How did American urban (city) life change between 1875-1914?
• With regard toimmigrants?
• With regard to cities?
#2: How did politics change
during the Gilded Age?
Old Immigrants (pre-1870s)
• 1600-1830s - Protestants from North West Europe
• 1840-50s, German & Irish Catholics
• Families to settle farms
• Had money, a skill, or an education
• Children blended into society.
“New” Immigrants (post-1870s)
• Mainly Catholics or Jews from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Poland) – make up 70% of immigrants after 1900.
• Attracted to cities (vs. farms)
• Poor & unskilled
• There was a fear these new immigrants would destroy American culture.
• Sought ways to participate in the democratic process.
How were immigrants different in the late 1800’s?
Old Immigrants (pre-1870s)
• 1600-1830s - Protestants from North West Europe
• 1840-50s, German & Irish Catholics
• Families to settle farms
• Had money, a skill, or an education
• Children blended into society.
“New” Immigrants (post-1870s)
• Mainly Catholics or Jews from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Poland) – make up 70% of immigrants after 1900.
• Attracted to cities (vs. farms)
• Poor & unskilled
• There was a fear these new immigrants would destroy American culture.
• Sought ways to participate in the democratic process.
How were immigrants different in the late 1800’s?
1. Processed at stations, - Ellis Island in NY Harbor or
Angel Island in San Francisco Bay.
a. Europeans – primarily at Ellis Island
b. Chinese and other Asians – Angel Island
2. Lived in cities in Ethnic ghettos. (Little Italy,
Chinatown)
3. Nativism - hostility from native-born white Americans
4. People voted for those who helped them find jobs
such as neighborhood and ward bosses!
What was it like when a new immigrant arrived?
How did Congress start to restrict immigration to the US?
• In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited immigration and limited the rights of Chinese immigrants. Did not allow the naturalization of Chinese residents.
• Another law prohibited the immigration of criminals, paupers, anyone likely to need public assistance.
What is urbanization?
The movement to cities!
In 1860 - only 16 % live in towns/cities
By 1900, 32 %—15 million Americans—lived in cities of more than 50,000
Today: Approximately 80%
NAME OF CITYPOPULATION IN
1870POPULATION IN
1900POPULATION IN
1920
Boston 250,525 560,892 748,060
Chicago 298,977 1,698,575 2,701,705
Los Angeles 5,728 102,479 576,673
New York 1,478,103 3,437,202 5,620,048
Philadelphia 1,293,687 1,350,000 1,823,779
Pittsburgh 86,075 321,616 588,343
San Francisco 149,473 342,782 506,676
Seattle 1,107 237,194 315,312
1. Neighborhoods -
overcrowded.
2. Poor workers lived in
crowded tenements –
little sanitation, often
dangerous, crime.
3. Unpaved streets.
4. Disease.
What problems did rapid population growth cause in cities?
This leads to….
1. City sanitation – garbage men!
2. Firefighters and more police.
3. Electric streetlights for safety.
4. New transportation – streetcars, trolleys
What advantages did cities offer to the middle class?
More money for some led to an increase in the standard of
living which led to…
1. conspicuous consumerism and mass culturea. Shopping in department stores
b. Wearing fashionable clothing
c. Amusement Parks – Coney Island
d. Circuses and Buffalo Bill’s Wild Wild West Show
e. Vaudeville shows and Ragtime bands
f. Baseball, Boxing, Horse Racing and other sports
2. More public education – literacy rates increased to
almost 90% by 1900.
3. Better sanitation and health
1. Congress passed few laws between 1877 and 1900.
2. Corruption plagued national politics as many officials accepted bribes. Examples:
• 1872-3 - Credit Mobilier Scandal – Railroad company sold shares to politicians who then approved government funds to build more railroads – which made the politicians money.
• 1875 - Whiskey Ring – Whiskey Makers around the country bribed govt. officials so they would not have to pay whiskey taxes.
3. The spoils system – in which party supporters received government jobs regardless of their qualifications, shifted power to a few.
What are examples of political corruption?
4. President James Garfield was assassinated by a man who believed the Republican Party owed him a job SO….
In 1883, President Chester A.
Arthur signed into law the
Pendleton Civil Service Act,
which established a merit-
based system for government
employment. (To try to put an
end to the Spoils System)
President Garfield20th PresidentMarch 1881 – Sept. 1881
President Arthur21st PresidentSept. 1881 – March 1885
5. Local Politics – Political
Machines – organizations that
provided social services and
jobs in exchange for votes.
Most Famous - Tammany Hall
led by Boss Tweed – use fraud
and corruption to gain power
and make money.