New Immigrants ►1820 – 1860: 5,000,000 Europeans
Most were from Ireland, Britain, Germany They came due to overpopulation (fewer jobs / less
farmland) , famine & economic hardships ►1860 – 1890: 10,000,000 Europeans Increasingly from southern & eastern Europe Religious pressures added to reasons Steamships make journey in 10 days ►WHY? Opportunity!
New Immigrants
Tough journey ►Steerage passengers (cheap, in cargo holds)
Foul water, no ventilation, disease, rarely allowed on deck ►Ellis Island 11,000/day
Medical Testing: for serious diseases
Gov’t inspector to prove that you weren’t a felon, that you were able to work & that you had some money to get started in your new life
2% rejected / 20% detained
Age, Sex, Married, Occupation, Nationality, Last residence, Support or lodging in the U.S., Final destination in the U.S., Ticket to final destination, By whom was ticket paid?, Possession of money?, Ever been to US?, Joining a relative?, Ever in prison or supported by charity?, A polygamist?, Under contract to labor in US?, Condition of mental/physical health? , Deformed or crippled, nature or cause?
Tough journey ►Chinese/Japanese : 300,000 ►Gold rush / Hawaiian plantations ►Angel Island, SF, CA
►Long detentions, dirty
Tough journey ►Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
►Banned all but students, teachers, merchants, tourists & government officials
►Repealed 1943
►Gentleman’s Agreement ► Anti-Chinese Anti-Japan segregated schools ►Japan protested ►T. Roosevelt & Japan’s deal limited Japanese
immigration of unskilled workers = end of segregated schools
Nativism ►New immigrants work
for less ►New immigrants were
not assimilating ►Rise of Nativism:
“Overt favoritism to native-born Americans”
Nativism ►Anglo-Saxon= superior ►Slavic, Asian, Latin
races = “down-trodden” ►Catholics & Jews – will
undermine Protestant democracy
►Anti-immigration groups demanded immigration restrictions
Why do immigrants live together? ►Fear of/ lack of
knowledge of US culture
►Seek familiar culture, values, religion, language
►Pool resources to build churches, businesses Cemeteries, (native
language) newspapers, medical expenses
The U.S. was a “Melting Pot”
Italian shoe shine boys
Urbanization ►Less opportunity on farms 1880s – 90s ►Cities offer mills and factories
►Unskilled labor ►Steady jobs
►Cheap housing
Urbanization (cont.) ►Follow the other immigrants
NY Irish : 2x population of: Dublin, Ireland Chicago Polish > Warsaw By 1910: immigrants are 50%+ of pop. in 18 US cities
►200,000 Blacks move north 1890 – 1910 Inventions (ex: McCormick reaper) = less labor needed Escape: racism (violence, poverty, political oppression) To Obtain: Factory jobs and domestic service Found: only slightly better conditions than in the South
Urbanization ►Many immigrants chose to NOT abandon traditions
Polish grocery store
Jewish Kosher Chicken Market
Urban perils ►Overcrowding in Tenement
housing ►2-3 families per flat
►Water ►Dirty ►Limited indoor plumbing ►Cholera & Typhoid Fever
Urban perils (cont.) ►Sanitation
Garbage and horse manure in street until 1890s
Coal smoke = soot ►Fire
►Wood dwellings ►Limited water supply ►Volunteer firefighters
►Crime: pickpockets & thieves
The Great Chicago Fire: Oct 8 – 10 , 1871 ►Mrs. O’Leary’s cow? ►Fire burned 24+ hours ►Estimated 300 died ►100,000 left homeless
►More than 3 sq. miles of the city was destroyed
►17,500 buildings destroyed ►$200 Million in property
loss ($3.8 Billion today)
The San Francisco Earthquake, April 16, 1906
►More than 5 sq. miles of the city was destroyed
►28,000 buildings destroyed ►$500 Million in property
loss ($13 Billion today)
►Earthquake lasted 28 sec. ►The fire for 4 days ► Est. 1,000 died ► Over 200,000 homeless
Reformers want to aid poor and immigrants ► Educated middle class (mostly women) ► Social Gospel Movement
Salvation through service to poor Build churches in poor communities
Reformers want to aid poor… (cont.) ►Settlement houses = community centers in slum
neighborhoods Classes: English, health, crafts, music Social services
Visiting Nurses Support for deserted women & widows
Hull House - 1886 Chicago (founded by Jane Addams) Locust Street Social Settlement – 1890 Hampton VA (f. by
Janie Porter Barrett) – for African Americans
Reformers want to aid poor and immigrants ►Jacob Riis: social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social
documentary photographer This pioneering work of
photojournalism by Jacob Riis focused on the plight of the poor in the Lower East Side, and greatly influenced future "muckraking" journalism. Riis mostly attributed the plight of the poor to environmental conditions, but he also divided the poor into two categories: deserving of assistance (mostly women and children) and undeserving (mostly the unemployed and intractably criminal). He wrote with prejudice about Jews, Italians, and Irish, and he stopped short of calling for government intervention. Still, the catalyst of his work was a genuine sympathy for his subjects, and his work shocked many New Yorkers.