Urbanization, Technology & Immigration PDF

Unit 2: A Changing Society and Progressive Era Part 1: Background Information Jacob Riis was an author and photographer during the Progressive Era. His work exposed the living and working conditions for immigrants and the working class. - Tenements: a multi-occupancy residential building, often...

Unit 2: A Changing Society and Progressive Era Part 1: Background Information Jacob Riis was an author and photographer during the Progressive Era. His work exposed the living and working conditions for immigrants and the working class. - Tenements: a multi-occupancy residential building, often run-down and overcrowded, with poor living conditions. Urban Rural - City - Farms - Apartments - Homesteads - Lots of people (population was larger) - Animals/Livestock - Shops/stands - Population is smaller - Crowded streets - Acres of land/field - Countryside Population Growth in U.S. Cities (1850-1900) - In 1850, New York City was the only U.S. city with more than 500,000 people. - By 1900, several cities had populations over 500,000: - New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Saint Louis, Boston, and Baltimore. - More than 35 U.S. cities had populations greater than 100,000. - About 40% of Americans lived in urban areas by 1900. Causes of Urban Growth 1. New Immigrants: Immigrants, particularly from southern and eastern Europe, contributed significantly to city growth 2. Rural to Urban Migration - Many Americans from rural areas moved to cities in search of work, especially as farm equipment replaced laborers. - African Americans from the South migrated to northern cities to escape discrimination and seek better opportunities (e.g., Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York). African American Migration (1890s-1900s) - Increased African American populations in northern cities, especially Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit. - Economic and social mobility motivated this migration. Chicago's Rapid Population & Economic Growth - Population grew from 30,000 (1850) to 1.7 million (1900). a. Surpassed Saint Louis as the largest city in the Midwest. - Immigrants (southern and eastern Europe) and African Americans made up 3/4 of the population by 1900 - strategic location made it a key hub for railroads connecting the East and West coasts.  a. became a major center for trade in lumber, grain, and meat. - Many new residents worked in meatpacking and slaughterhouses. Urban Challenges 1. Cities were unprepared for rapid population growth. - Housing was scarce. - Transportation was inadequate for crowded city streets. Skyscrapers and Urban Space 1. Cities ran out of space for buildings due to rapid population growth 2. Steel - the late 1800s - stronger, cheaper steel was available - allowed for taller buildings a. Buildings were usually only 5 stories - materials couldn’t support taller structures b. Louis Sullivan - designed early skyscrapers in Chicago using steel frames i. Safety Elevator - Elisha Otis - made skyscrapers practical Mass Transit - a growing population meant an increasing need for better transportation 1. Elevated Trains - trains above the streets a. NY - 1860s b. Chicago - 1890s 2. Subways a. First U.S. subway in Boston - 1897 b. New York City - 1904 3. Streetcars a. Cable cars and electric trolleys were used for affordable commuting b. 4. Suburbs - many people moved to suburbs and used public transportation to get to the city Mass Culture and Leisure Publishing Growth 1. Linotype machine - made printing faster and cheaper, increasing the number of newspapers a. By 1900 over 2,000 daily newspapers were published 2. Comic Strips - Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst a. added comic strips to newspapers - boosting sales. 3. Department Stores - Marshall Field (Chicago) a. sold products at low prices and added features like restaurants for shoppers World Fairs and Amusement Parks 1. World Fairs - Showcased new ideas and products a. 1904 - St. Louis fair - Syrian food vendor began making cones for a nearby ice cream vendor - ice cream cones became popular 2. Amusement Parks a. Coney Island - NY - became famous for affordable entertainment - first U.S. roller coaster, the Switchback Railway. 3. Public Spaces and Urban Design  a. Frederick Law Olmsted - designed Central Park, Prospect Park, US Capitol Grounds b. Increasing need for open public spaces in growing cities Patents & New Technologies Copyright - the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, musical recording, etc., for a certain period of time Patent - A legal document that gives inventors control over how their inventions - including devices, machines, materials, processes and substances - are made, used and sold for a set period of time The US government has a patent office that issues over 150,000 patents per year. Every inventor must submit a detailed patent application. If the patent is approved, the inventor has sole rights to manufacture the invention, usually for 20 years. Communication 1. Cyrus Field - 1866 - transatlantic cable - US & Europe 2. Alexander Graham Bell - 1876 - telephone “talking machine” - 1877 - Bell Telephone Co. Thomas Alva Edison: “The Wizard of Menlo Park” (NJ) - minor invention every 10 days & a big thing every 6 months a. Lightbulb, phonograph, projector - Electric power plant - NYC - 1882 - “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” Technology 1. Gustavus Swift - refrigeration 2. Christopher Sholes - typewriter 3. George Eastman- 1888 - Kodak Camera 4. Elijah McCoy - oiling device “the real McCoy” 5. Granville T. Woods - telegraph messages between railroad trains 6. Jan Matezliger - shoe making machine Automobiles Henry Ford - did not invent the automobile or assembly line, he PERFECTED them 1. Moving assembly line - Model T was mass produced - large quantities, quickly and cheaply 1914 1. Paid employees $5/day - more than double average salary 2. Reduced work day from 9 to 8 hours 3. Added a third shift (8x3=24)  By increasing volume and efficiency, he could reduce the price of the product = capture the biggest possible market By raising salaries = employees are potential customers for automobiles Airplanes - Orville & Wilbur Wright - Kitty Hawk, NC - Dec, 17, 1903 - First flight did not attract much interest - US military saw a use for it Advertisements used pathos, logos, and ethos 1. Pathos - an appeal to emotion 2. Logos - an appeal to logic or reason 3. Ethos - an appeal to credibility or character Coming To America 1. “Old” or first wave of immigration (1840-1890) a. Northern & Western Europe b. Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, and France 2. “New” or second wave of immigrants (1890-1924) a. Southern & Eastern Europe b. Russia, Poland, Italy & Spain Push & Pull - *applies to immigration* 1. “Push” factors - factors that “push” people to leave from a place 2. “Pull factors” - factors that “pull” people toward a new place Year/Wave Push Pull (towards the US) Old/first - 1840 to 1890 - Political unrest & - Railroad building & Military draft in free Western land Germany - Irish famine New/second - 1890 to 1924 - Anti-Semitism & - U.S. Industrial Military draft in Expansion Russia - Hard times & epidemic in Italy A New Wave of Immigration I. Changing Patterns of Immigration  - Immigrants from Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, & countries of Scandinavia (mid-1800s) - Many were skilled workers - some settled in rural areas becoming farmers a. Would later be known as old immigrants A. New Immigrants 1. New immigrants - Southern & Eastern Europe ( 5 Million+) - Czechs, Greeks, Hungarians, Italians, Poles, Russians, & Slovaks a. Came to find better lives - new opportunities 2. Many different cultural and religious backgrounds - Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, & Jews 3. Some were escaping political or religious persecution 4. Eager for the job opportunities created by the US industrial expansion B. Arriving in a New Land 1. Immigrants faced difficult journeys by ship - Most travel in steerage - cheapest on the ship - could hold 2,000 people a. Steerage was hot, smelly and cramped - long narrow compartments b. Seasickness - some died from diseases they caught on the journey 2. Government-run immigration centers - Ellis Island opened in New York Harbor in 1892 a. Busiest center on the East Coast - Annie Moore Schayer (first immigrant processed) - Officials would interview and examine immigrants - decided whether they could enter the country a. People with contagious diseases or legal issues would be turned away b. Less than 2% were denied entry - Angel Island opened near San Francisco in 1910 a. Immigrants from Asia - would enter here on the West Coast b. Became a detention center for Chinese immigrants - laws limited them from entering ( Could only enter if their fathers were citizens - took weeks for confirmation) 3. Mexican Immigrants - Main center to process them was in El Paso, Texas - Most settled in the SW a. Found work in construction, steel mills, mines and large commercial farms II. Adjusting to a New Life 1. Immigrants needed to find homes & jobs - had to learn new language + new customs  2. Children often learned American customs more quickly than their parents A. Immigrant Neighborhoods - Moved to neighborhoods with ppl from the same country a. Could speak their native languages 1. Published newspapers in their own languages b. Eat foods from home country c. Could practice customs from their families - passed down by generations 1. Founded schools, clubs, places of worship - preserved their customs - Often opened local shops and small banks - Italian immigrant Amadeo Peter Giannini - Bank of Italy in San Francisco a. now known as the Bank of America - Benevolent Societies a. Aid organizations - offered immigrants help in case of sickness, unemployment, or death - Tenements a. Poorly built, overcrowded buildings B. Finding Work - Many found jobs in the city where most of the city’s manufacturing took place a. Few were skilled in moser manufacturing or industrial work - had come from rural areas - used to work on farms b. Took low-paying, unskilled jobs in garment factories, steel mills, or construction - long hours were common - Sweatshops a. Named for the long hours worked in hot, unhealthy conditions b. Often associated with the clothing industry - Immigrants with skills a. Found work as bakers, carpenters, masons, or skilled machinists b. Some would save or borrow money to open laundries, barbershops, or street vending carts - small businesses - Worked hard for long hours to become successful III. Opposition to Immigration A. Support & Growing Opposition - Some Americans especially business leaders welcomed immigrants a. Immigrants were seen as a source of cheap labor willing to work for low pay - Labour Unions a. Worried immigrants would take jobs away from native-born Americans - Nativists a. Believed too many immigrants were entering the country b. Feared that immigrants wouldn’t adapt to American customs - harming society c. Held racial and ethnic prejudices  d. Some were violent - Chinese Exclusion Act a. Banned Chinese people from immigrating to the US for 10 years b. Violated treaties with China - Congress continued to renew the law 1. First time a nationality was banned from entering the country - Law was passed restricting convicts, immigrants with certain diseases & those needing public assistance (1892) B. Successful immigrants - Worked for low pay in factories - Helped power the continuing industrial expansion a. Built buildings, highways and railroads - Did not always achieve their dreams as quickly as they hoped