URBAN AMERICA 1865 1896 I Immigration GUIDING QUESTIONS

URBAN AMERICA 1865 -1896

I. Immigration GUIDING QUESTIONS �WHY DO PEOPLE MIGRATE? �HOW IS URBAN LIFE DIFFERENT FROM RURAL LIFE?

Europeans Flood Into America How did European immigrants of the late 1800 s change American society? Let’s find out!

Europeans Flood Into America � Between 1865 – 1914, 25 million people immigrated to the U. S. � 1890 s ½ the immigrants were from eastern and southern Europe � Old Immigrants- mostly Protestant from northwestern Europe �Irish, British, German, French �Arriving between 1800 -1880 � New Immigrants- mostly south and eastern Europe �Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese �Arriving between 1891 -1910 Angel Island Ellis Island

Push Factors �Something that “pushes” you out of Pull Factors �Something that “pulls” or your home country or “causes you to leave” “attracts” an immigrant to a new country �Push factors: Religious �Pull factors: Job opportunities, persecution, scarce (limited) land, famine, no jobs, wars, family already left 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 Island �New York Harbor, next to the Statue of Liberty �Most European immigrants passed through Ellis Island � 12 million people pass through between 1892 – 1954 Angel Island �San Francisco �Processed Asian immigrants HISTORY CHANNEL: Deconstructing history: Ellis Island Statue of Liberty Unknown Ellis Island

Stop and Think �Explain what a pull factor is and give three examples �Explain what a push factor is and give three examples �Describe the conditions that many immigrants faced as they traveled to America

Immigration Station � Extremely loud, crowded � Had to undergo medical exam � Criminal record check � Sometimes had name changed or altered Ellis Island Angel Island

1. Why was it important to know whether an immigrant could read and write? 2. Why might the immigration agents be interested in who paid for an immigrant’s passage and how much money the immigrant had? 3. Why do questions about being a polygamist or an anarchist seem out of place? 4. 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

Diverse Cities � 1890 s immigrant made up large portions of cities’ population �Separated in ethnic groups �Little Italy �Lower East Side (Jewish neighborhood) �Spoke native languages �Re-created churches and synagogues �Clubs �Newspapers from their homeland

Asian Immigration �How were the experiences of Asian immigrants different from those of European immigrants? Let’s find out!

Asian Immigration China � 1800 s China had severe unemployment, poverty and famine � 1850 Taiping Rebellion caused suffering for thousands � Settled mainly in the West (California) � Central Pacific Railroad employed thousands of Chinese � Some opened their own business Japan � Japanese immigrants soared upward between 1900 and 1910. � As Japan industrialized, economic problems caused many Japanese to leave their homeland for new economic opportunities.

Asian Immigration �How did the experiences of immigrating to the United States compare for Chinese and Europeans?

Asian Immigration �The 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 Island

Nativism Resurges �Why did nativism oppose immigration?

Nativism Resurges Nativism – hostility toward immigration by native-born people �Surfaced during the heavy wave of Irish immigration in the 1840 s and 1850 s. �By the late 1800 s it was focused mainly on Asians, Jews, and eastern Europeans.

Nativism Resurges �Some feared the influx of Catholics from Ireland, Italy and Poland would swamp Protestants �Labor unions argued immigrants undermine American workers �Would work for low wages �Accept jobs as strike breakers

Backlash Against Catholics American Protective Association founded by Henry Bowers (1887) �Voted not to hire Irish Catholics �Later all Catholic immigrants �They were usually illiterate �Worked at lowest paying jobs

Restrictions on Asian Immigration �In West, Chinese sentiment led to racial violence �Denis Kearney (Irish) organized Workingman’s Party in 1870 s �Fought Chinese immigration �Won seats in California legislature �Pushed to stop Chinese immigration

Restrictions on Asian Immigration � 1882 Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act �Barred Chinese immigration for 10 years �Prevented Chinese in the country from becoming citizens �Law made permanent in 1902 �Law repealed in 1943

Restrictions on Asian Immigration � October 1906, San Francisco Board of Education ordered all Chinese, Japanese, Korean children to attend “Oriental School” � Japan took offense to this Act � President Theodore Roosevelt proposed a limit on Japanese immigration �If school board rescinds segregation order � Roosevelt negotiated and agreement with Japan. Ban lifted. � Became know as the “Gentlemen's Agreement”

Nativism Resurges �How did President Roosevelt respond to Japan’s protest about the treatment of Japanese students?

Nativism Resurges �He brokered a “Gentlemen’s Agreement, ” by which San Francisco schools agreed not to segregate students if Japan accepts limits on immigration to the United States.

Journal �You 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 from �Why you are leaving (2 push factors) �Why you are going to America (2 pull factors) �The journey itself �Your experience at Ellis Island �Where you are living in NYC