Chapter 15
Immigrants and Urbanization
Section 1-New Immigrants• 1870-1920 approximately 20 million
Europeans arrived• Shift- now from southern and eastern Europe
rather than northern Europe• Push- rising population- scarcity of land-
pogroms- political unrest- unemployment• Pull- plenty of jobs, join family members
Chinese and Japanese
• Much smaller numbers than Europeans• Gold rush brought Chinese• Railroads• After railroads completed- farmers, mining domestic
service- Severely limited by the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882
• 1882 Japanese allowed their people to move to Hawaii to work on plantations. When US annexed Hawaii, the emigration continued to the west coast.
West Indies and Mexico• 1880-1920 over a quarter of a million immigrated
from the West Indies. Scarce jobs- US had an industrial boom, therefore more jobs than people.
• Mexicans- came for work and to flee political turmoil.
• 1902 National Reclamation Act- irrigate arid lands and turn them to farmland- drew many Mexicans to work.
• 7% of Mexico’s population came here over the next 20 years.
Life in the New land• A difficult Journey• Steamship- Atlantic one week- Pacific three
weeks• Steerage- disease- death• Ellis Island- inspected- about 2% were denied
entrance- Usually because of disease.• Had to be healthy, able to work and have
$25.00, not be a felon.• 17 million passed through Ellis Island
• Angel Island- west coast’s equivalent to Ellis Island- Located in San Francisco Bay.
• Much harsher treatment than Europeans: detailed questioning
• If admitted: find place to live, job, unfamiliar language and culture.
• Developed ethnic neighborhoods, social clubs, aid societies- built churches and synagogues- even newspapers in their native language.
• Hyphenated Americans• Nativism- Xenophobia
• Immigration Restrictions• Melting pot vs. salad bowl• Nativism-believed that Anglo-Saxons were
superior. Did not object immigration from “the right” countries . Prescott F Hall, founder in 1894 of Immigration Restriction League-very WASP- Anti Catholic, Anti Jewish
• Desirable to the Nativists were British, German and Scandinavian
• American Protective Association 1887- very anti Catholic- many institutions refused to admit Jews.
• Influenced by these movements Congress passed laws requiring literacy tests.
• If you could not read 40 words in English or your native language, you were denied entry.
• President Cleveland vetoed the bill. A similar bill would pass over Wilson’s veto in 1917.
Anti-Asian Sentiment• Nativist allied with labor movement- fear of lost jobs or
lower wages• Workingmen’s Party- Denis Kearney- headed the anti
Chinese movement in California.• 1882- Chinese Exclusion Act- banned entry of almost all
Chinese- 1892- extended for another ten years- not repealed until 1943. (China was our ally during WWII)
• San Francisco- put Japanese kids in separate schools. T. Roosevelt worked out deal with the Japanese- known as the Gentleman’s Agreement of 1907- limit unskilled Japanese from coming in return for desegregating schools.
Section 2- The Challenges of Urbanization
• Immigrants Settle in the Cities• Cheapest and most convenient place to live.• 1910- As many Irish in NYC as in Dublin• By 1910- immigrants made up half the
population of 18 major US cities
• The Americanization Movement- designed to assimilate people into the American Culture
• Schools- teach English, US history, government, cooking, etiquette
• Many did not wish to abandon their old ways• Ethnic neighborhoods became the norm. Soon,
overcrowded, slums developed.• Migration from country to city:• Technology forced some into unemployment- steel plow,
reaper. So moved to the city to seek work• Segregation and discrimination were the norm• Racial tension grew between blacks and whites over
jobs.
Urban Problems• Housing: two options- buy on outskirts of the
city (transportation problem) rent boarding house room in central city. (overcrowding)
• Jacob Riis- photographer- tenements- 2-3 families occupying a single family dwelling.
• Un sanitary• No garbage collection, poor sewage facilities,
rats, windows nailed shut to keep out smell
Transportation
• Mass transit:• Street cars- SF and Boston
• Water- safe drinking water• Homes seldom had indoor plumbing• Usual method was a bucket of water from a
central communal source• Effort to control diseases like cholera and typhoid
(waterborne diseases)• Filtration in 1870s- chlorination in 1908
Sanitation
• Manure• Trash collection• Chamber pots
• Crime• Pickpockets/thieves• NYC first police department 1844• Most cities had none
• Fire: limited water supply contributed to this problem
• Use of candles and kerosene lamps and heaters
• Closely packed wooden buildings• Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Reformers mobilize• Social Gospel movement- preached salvation through
service to the poor.• Established Settlement Houses: community centers in
the slums to assist people especially immigrants. • Run by middle-class college educated women• Classes in English, health and general aid.• Founded in 1886 by Charles Stover and Stanton Coit in
NYC• Jane Addams- founded Hull House• By 1910 there were about 400 settlement houses in
the US.
Section 3- Politics in the Gilded Age• The Emergence of Political Machines• Organized group that controlled the activities of a
political party in a city, offered services to voters and businesses in exchange for political or financial support.
• Role of the Political Boss- not necessarily the Mayor. Controlled access to municipal jobs and business licenses. Influenced courts and other city agencies. Roscoe Conkling of NYC build parks, schools orphanages, and hospitals
• Not only $ that motivated city bosses. Solving urban problems reinforced voters’ loyalty and extended their influence.
Immigrants and the Machine
• Many precinct captains and bosses were first or second generation immigrants.
• Few had much formal education.• Could talk to immigrants in their own
language• Helped with citizenship, jobs, housing etc.• In return immigrants provided votes.
• Big Jim Pendergast- city boss Kansas City- by 1900 controlled entire state’s politics
Harry Truman
Municipal Graft and ScandalTo win elections some used fake names of voters- multiple ballots- the dead votingGraft- illegal use of political office for personal gain
• Politicians granted favors to businesses in return for cash also bribes to look the other way for illegal activities.
• ****Until 1890- police were hired and fired by political bosses.
• Tweed Ring Scandal• Wm. Tweed- Boss Tweed head of Tammany
Hall- powerful Democratic machine who were constantly defrauding the city.
• NY County courthouse- billed taxpayers 13 million- actual cost was 3 million
• Thomas Nast- political cartoonist- helped break the Tweed ring. Tweed indicted on 120 counts of extortion and fraud and was sentenced to 12 years in jail. Sentence was reduced to one year- immediately arrested on release. He escaped to Spain. Rearrested after being recognized in a Nast cartoon.
• Political corruption had become a national issue.
Civil Service replaces Patronage
• Patronage: giving government jobs to people who helped a candidate get elected.
• Evolved from Spoils System of Andrew Jackson• As a result, many were not qualified for the
jobs they held…. Even at the highest level.• Patronage vs merit system
• Rutherford B. Hayes- couldn’t convince congress for the need of the merit system.
• So he appointed independents to his cabinet.• He set up a commission to investigate customs
houses.• As a result, Hayes fired two top officials of
NYC’s customs house. These jobs were controlled by the Republican Party.
• This enraged Roscoe Conkling (senator and city boss) His followers were known as the Stalwarts.
• When Hayes decided not to run again in 1880, free for all at Republican convention between Stalwarts and the reformers. No resolution so:
• Convention settled on independent James A Garfield from Ohio (tied to Reformers) and as his VP Chester A. Arthur ( a Conkling supporter)
• Garfield gave reformers most of the patronage jobs,,, thus angering the Starwarts.
• July 2, 1881- Train Station in DC Garfield was shot twice by Charles Guiteau, whom Garfield had turned down for a job.
• “I did it and I will go to jail for it. I am a Stalwart and Arthur is now president.”
• Once Arthur became president he became a reformer. His first message to congress was to pass a Civil Service Law.
• Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883• Bipartisan civil service commission make
appointment to federal jobs via a merit system based on performance and examination.
• By 1901- 40% of all federal jobs had been classified as Civil Service jobs.
• Because politicians could no longer demand cash to keep jobs, politicians turned to other means to raise money. They turned to wealthy business owners
• Business Buys Influence• Republicans wanted high tariff- Dems wanted
no tariff because it caused prices to rise.
• 1884- Grover Cleveland (Democrat) elected president. First time in 28 years.
• Cleveland tried to lower tariff rates, but congress refused to support him.
• 1888- ran again against Benjamin Harrison, grandson of Wm. Henry Harrison. He was financed by big business who wanted higher tariffs.
• Cleveland won the popular vote, but Harrison won the electoral college.
• He signed the McKinley Tariff Act which raised tariffs to their highest level.
• In 1892 Cleveland was elected again- only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
• He supported a bill (Wilson-Gorman Tariff) to lower tariffs, but refused to sign it because it had a provision for an income tax. It became law without the president’s signature.
• 1897- McKinley became president and promptly raised tariffs again.
• Attempts to reduce the tariff failed, but reform was far from dead.