Chapter 7 Notes
Immigration and Urbanization
The Largest Mass Movement in
Human History
• 1880 – 1921, 23 million immigrants arrived
• The U.S. had no quotas or limits except for
Chinese immigrants on the west coast
• Most of this 3rd wave came from southern
and eastern Europe
• The majority were unskilled agricultural
laborers with little money or education
Push Factors
• Agricultural industrialization left many without
work on European farms
• Disease was rampant; infant mortality was high
• Natural disasters, coupled with soaring
population led many to seek work elsewhere
• Political and religious persecution against Jews,
particularly in eastern Europe and Russia
Pull Factors: Urban “Opportunities”
• Industry boomed in major U.S. cities, so
people flocked to where the jobs were.
– Amer. farmers (incl. Southern freedmen) were
forced out of farms by mechanization.
• Promise of better life in America lured
many to our shores
– Religious and political freedoms
– Job opportunities
– Farm land (Homestead Act)
– Family or friends already here
The Journey
• Crowded ships, took about two weeks,
uncomfortable for most to say the least
• About 16 million passed through Ellis
Island in New York Harbor
• Medical inspections were traumatic,
dehumanizing, and discriminatory
• Legal inspections involved extensive
questioning. The inspectors had your future
in the palm of their hands
• Upon entering the U.S., most settled in
areas (ethnic enclaves) with familiar
customs, language, etc..
Urban Problems
• Many families lived in small
apartments (tenements) which were
very unhealthy.
– No ventilation, rats, trash
everywhere, and dirty water led to
much disease and sickness.
• Crime was very common b/c little or
no police force and fires plagued the
inner cities also.
Working Conditions
• Most immig. were unskilled and desperate
for work, and industry was booming, so lots
of jobs were available.
• Owners exploited this and paid immig. very
little, even though they worked all day.
• Conditions were dangerous, unsanitary, and
unhealthy (to say the least)
The Bright Side
• Despite the obstacles immig. workers faced,
most were better off than they had been in
Europe.
Reform
• First forms of community centers to
help poor are established to help the
urban poor.
(Social Gospel movement)
(Jane Addams and “Hull House”)
Nativism
• ‘Native born’ Americans viewed these new
immig. with fear, hostility, and suspicion.
Nativists worked to restrict the number of
immigrants entering the U.S.
– Literacy tests
– Laws like the Dillingham Bill (Est. Quotas)
Ch. 7, Section 3
Politics in the Gilded Age
(Gilded Age = glittering exterior
but corrupt and ugly core.)
The Political Machine
• City politicians offered services to
those who supported them.
– The “pyramid” was topped by the
city boss who controlled the money,
who that money would go to, and
how it would be spent.
(often it was worthy – going to parks,
orphanages, schools, etc. But
usually the $ was spent to secure
their own political gains.)
Scandal
*election fraud often ensured victory to
political machines.
(Graft = the illegal use of pol. influence
for personal gain)
• Politicians granted favors or looked the
other way in exchange for cash. Since
the “political machine” controlled the
police, they got away with it.
Pendleton Civil Service Act
• All this corruption led the fed. gov. to
look at people’s qualifications before
appointing them to powerful positions.
(not just who you know or who you pay)
• This led to public servants being more
honest and efficient, but it also forced
politicians to get $ from other sources.
Big Business gets involved
• Wealthy business owners wanted high
tariffs, so they padded the purses of
presidential candidates in order to win
their influence. (today, these are
special interest groups and lobbyists)
Chapter 8 Notes
Technology encouraged more
urbanization
• Skyscrapers, mass transit, and urban
planning allowed millions to successfully
live in and around the city.
Public Education
• Gov. and society at large recognized
school as a way to gain status and
prosperity.
– Passed laws requiring school until the
age of 14.
– More high schools and colleges were
built to teach expanded subjects incl.
industrial training. (carpentry, drafting,
secretarial training)
Af.-Amer. Education
• b/c Af.-Amer. were excluded from most
secondary public schools (segregation),
most never received higher educ.
(this contributed to oppression of an entire
race!)
– Booker T. Washington = Tuskegee
Institute – specialty training.
• Teach valuable skills in order to get
a good job. Financial security will
(cont.)
bring gradual inclusion into mainstream
Amer. life, hence, equality.
• W.E.B. DuBois = blacks should get
liberal arts degrees (history,
sociology, math, etc) so blacks
would have good leaders and a more
immediate entry into mainstream
Amer. life.
Mass Culture
• Amusement parks, leisure activ., and
spectator sports became pop. As people
finally have more time away from work.
• Newspapers were widely circulated,
becoming more of a business.
• Advertising, catalogs, and the
department store are born out of a
healthy consumer economy in urban
centers.