URBAN AMERICA 1865-1896

URBAN AMERICA1865-1896I. Immigration GUIDING QUESTIONSWHY DO PEOPLE MIGRATE?

HOW IS URBAN LIFE DIFFERENT FROM RURAL LIFE?Europeans Flood Into AmericaHow did European immigrants of the late 1800s change American society? Lets find out!

Europeans Flood Into AmericaBetween 1865 1914, 25 million people immigrated to the U.S.1890s the immigrants were from eastern and southern Europe

Old Immigrants- mostly Protestant from northwestern Europe Irish, British, German, FrenchArriving between 1800-1880New Immigrants- mostly south and eastern EuropeCzech, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Chinese, JapaneseArriving between 1891-1910

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Something that pushes you out of your home country or causes you to leave Push factors: Religious persecution, scarce (limited) land, famine, no jobs, wars, family already left

Push Factors

Pull Factors

Something that pulls or attracts an immigrant to a new countryPull factors: Job opportunities, land, religious freedom, political freedom, to be with family

Travel was long and could take weeks months. Most could only afford to travel in steerage. Steerage- below deck compartment in the poorest conditions, cramped, dark, overcrowded

Ellis IslandNew York Harbor, next to the Statue of LibertyMost European immigrants passed through Ellis Island12 million people pass through between 1892 1954

HISTORY CHANNEL: Deconstructing history: Ellis IslandStatue of Liberty UnknownEllis Island Angel IslandSan FranciscoProcessed Asian immigrants 8Stop and ThinkExplain what a pull factor is and give three examplesExplain what a push factor is and give three examplesDescribe the conditions that many immigrants faced as they traveled to AmericaImmigration StationExtremely loud, crowdedHad to undergo medical examCriminal record checkSometimes had name changed or altered

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Why was it important to know whether an immigrant could read and write?

Why might the immigration agents be interested in who paid for an immigrants passage and how much money the immigrant had?

Why do questions about being a polygamist or an anarchist seem out of place?

Immigrants were asked if they had family living in the United States. Why might this be important?

Marie Priesland It was a warm day and were thirsty. . . . The guard withdrew and returned shortly with a pail of water, which he set before the group of women. Some men stepped forward quickly to have a drink, but the guard pushed them back, saying "Ladies first!" When the women learned what the guard had said, they were dumbfounded, for in Slovenia, women were always second to men. . . . Happy at the sudden turn of events, one elderly lady stepped forward, holding a dipper of water, and proposed this toast . . . "Long live America, where women are first!Marie Priesland, recalling her arrival in the United States

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Angel IslandDiverse Cities1890s immigrant made up large portions of cities populationSeparated in ethnic groupsLittle ItalyLower East Side (Jewish neighborhood)Spoke native languagesRe-created churches and synagoguesClubsNewspapers from their homeland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvRxL2Wwuk8 1 hr documentary

Asian ImmigrationHow were the experiences of Asian immigrants different from those of European immigrants?

Lets find out!Asian Immigration1800s China had severe unemployment, poverty and famine1850 Taiping Rebellion caused suffering for thousandsSettled mainly in the West (California)Central Pacific Railroad employed thousands of ChineseSome opened their own business

Japanese immigrants soared upward between 1900 and 1910. As Japan industrialized, economic problems caused many Japanese to leave their homeland for new economic opportunities.

China

Japan

Asian ImmigrationHow did the experiences of immigrating to the United States compare for Chinese and Europeans?

Asian ImmigrationThe Chinese suffered severe unemployment and famine, unlike the Europeans. The Chinese often waited for weeks or months in crowded barracks before allowed into the Unites States, while the Europeans were hurried through Ellis IslandNativism ResurgesWhy did nativism oppose immigration?Nativism ResurgesNativism hostility toward immigration by native-born peopleSurfaced during the heavy wave of Irish immigration in the 1840s and 1850s. By the late 1800s it was focused mainly on Asians, Jews, and eastern Europeans.

Nativism ResurgesSome feared the influx of Catholics from Ireland, Italy and Poland would swamp ProtestantsLabor unions argued immigrants undermine American workersWould work for low wagesAccept jobs as strike breakers

Backlash Against CatholicsAmerican Protective Association founded by Henry Bowers (1887)Voted not to hire Irish CatholicsLater all Catholic immigrantsThey were usually illiterate Worked at lowest paying jobs

Restrictions on Asian ImmigrationIn West, Chinese sentiment led to racial violenceDenis Kearney (Irish) organized Workingmans Party in 1870sFought Chinese immigrationWon seats in California legislaturePushed to stop Chinese immigration

Restrictions on Asian Immigration1882 Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion ActBarred Chinese immigration for 10 yearsPrevented Chinese in the country from becoming citizensLaw made permanent in 1902Law repealed in 1943

Restrictions on Asian ImmigrationOctober 1906, San Francisco Board of Education ordered all Chinese, Japanese, Korean children to attend Oriental SchoolJapan took offense to this ActPresident Theodore Roosevelt proposed a limit on Japanese immigrationIf school board rescinds segregation orderRoosevelt negotiated and agreement with Japan. Ban lifted.Became know as the Gentlemen's Agreement

Nativism ResurgesHow did President Roosevelt respond to Japans protest about the treatment of Japanese students? Nativism ResurgesHe brokered a Gentlemens Agreement, by which San Francisco schools agreed not to segregate students if Japan accepts limits on immigration to the United States.JournalYou are an immigrant from a country of your choosing. You just made the very long and difficult journey to America. Write a letter back home to describe for your family and friends what the journey was like and what they can expect.

Be sure to include the following:What country your fromWhy you are leaving (2 push factors)Why you are going to America (2 pull factors)The journey itselfYour experience at Ellis IslandWhere you are living in NYC