Unit 1 Test: Immigration, Industrialization, Urbanization, Progressive Era

What are the push factors for immigrants?

• War

• Corruption

• Politics (collapse in government)

• Overpopulation

• Persecution

• Military abuse

• Cost of living

• Disease

• Poverty

What are some of the pull factors for immigrants?

• Freedom (voice)

• Job

• Safety - refuge

• Media presence 

• Opportunities (education)

• Family/friends

• Weather

European immigration: old immigrants

• Arrived primarily before 1820

• Came from Northern/Western Europe

• Often times spoke the same same language and shared similar cultures/traditions

• English, French, Irish, Scottish, etc.

• Some came after 1890 but in much smaller numbers

• Had light eyes, light hair, light skin (easy for them to blend in/assimilate in America)

European immigration: new immigrants

• Arrived between 1880-1921

• 70% were from Southern/Eastern Europe

• Usually spoke a different language (not English)

• Italians, Hungarians, Greeks, Russians, Poles, Czechoslovakians, and Armenians

• Typically young, male and either Catholic or Jewish

• Dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin

• Took manuel, unskilled jobs because of language barrier

Describe the Rise of Nativism

• Nativism = people born in the US who favor pro “white” American citizens

• Catholicism was not compatible with American values

• Fear of immigrants

Where is the European immigration center?

Ellis Island, New York City

What is the 1921 Quota Law?

Set # of immigrants in the US in 1880. Biased against Eastern and Southern European immigrants

What is the 1924 Quota law?

Limits immigrants based on later immigration number (more balanced immigration), begins to shift primary inspection to American consulates abroad.

How many European immigrants were denied entry to the US?

2-3%

Describe the Replacement Theory

Fear that immigrants will replace whites (native born). This includes people of color (African Americans, Asian Americans, etc) and women

When did Chinese immigration take place?

1850-1900

What was a major pull factor for many Chinese immigrants?

The Gold Rush in California (1850)

What was the major push factor in Chinese immigration?

Economic instability

Were Chinese immigrants accepted in society?

No, Chinese miners were quickly resented by white miner

Did Chinese women and children immigrate to the CA?

No, because there were no laws in California because it was a new state. Due to competition for gold, there was rape and murder which was not safe for women and children 

What type of jobs did the Chinese immigrants work?

Less desierable jobs to avoid white confrontation. They worked in large groups to protect themselves 

Describe the discrimination law that CA passed for Chinese immigrants:

Chinese miners were taxed half their wages and any citizen could collect the tax

When did Congress start to work on the Transcontinental Railroad?

1862

Who built the Transcontinental railroad: the Chinese immigrants or whites?

Whites didn’t want to work on the railroad because it was a dangerous job, but the Chinese thought it was safer than working in the Gold Mine. They were paid $35 a month, which was the same as whites

Describe food poisoning that railroad workers faced:

Whites and Chinese were paid the same amount, but the whites were provided food while the Chinese were not. From their provided food, whites got food poisoning (from canned meat) but Chinese payed $1 to their families at home to get fresh foods from farms and didn’t get sick.

Who assimilated more: the European Immigrants or the Chinese immigrants? 

The European immigrants. The Chinese immigrants did not want to assimilate with American culture (dress, language) because they didn’t intend to stay in America

Did the Chinese want to stay in America?

No, they wanted to make money through the Gold Rush and go back to China.

How many Chinese people died while working on the railraod?

500-1000 workers

Describe the work ethic of the Chinese railroad workers. Describe the response of the public for their work.

They worked fast; they finished the Transcontinental railroad in 1869 (started in 1862), building 1 mile of tracks a day. However, their work was not appreciated. They were once again unemployed and unwelcome

After the Gold Rush, where did the Chinese immigrants go?

Some Chinese didn’t go back home and moved across the country instead to own laundromats and restaurants

How many Chinese immigrants worked on the Transcontinental railraod.

In 1868, 25% of Chinese worked on the railroad

Describe the Replacement Theory:

Irish and Chinese immigrants will replaces whites, then the Chinese immigrants would replace the Irish immigrants

Describe the Chinese Exclusionary Act:

In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusionary Act which stopped nearly all immigration from China. It only allowed teachers, students, merchants, and those related to citizens to immigrate to the US

Describe the recession of 1870

When the recession hit, the public’s first response was to blame the Chinese for taking white jobs

Where was the Chinese immigration center?

Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, where all Chinese immigrants were processed. People would be there for week/months to prove they are who they say they are

How did Chinese people keep themselves safe?

They built Chinatowns that had a wall that would open in the morning and close at night to keep the whites out

What were paper sons?

Used in Chinese immigration, paper sons were pieces of paper that claimed a certain person was their father

How many Chinese immigrants were allowed to stay in the US from 1910-1934?

1 in 4 Chinese immigrants were allowed to remain in the US. 75% of Chinese were sent back

Industrialization:

From homemade products to machine made products

What were the causes of rapid industrialization?

1. Steam revolution of the 1830s-1850s

2. The railroad fueled the growing US economy (first big business in the US, a magnet for financial invest)

3. Technological innovations (Bessemer Steel process-made making steel easier, cheaper and faster to produce. Skyscrapers, bridges, railroad tracker)

4. Unskilled and semi-skilled labor in abundance

5. Abundant capital

6. New, talented group of businessmen (entreprenuers) and advisors

7. Market growing as US population increased

8. Government willing to help at all levels to stimulate economic growth

9. Abundant natural resources

Social Darwinism:

• British economist, developed ideology of Laissez Faire 

• Adapted Darwin’s ideas from the Origen of Species to Humans

• Notion of “Survival of the Fittest” (got rid of guilt for the rich - wealthy people are successful because they work hard and poor should die off)

Describe New Business Culture

1. Laissez Faire → the ideology of the Industrial Age (no room for the government on the market, keeping the government out of business. Individuals should compete freely in the marketplace

Trust definition:

Joining together competing companies into one large corporation (used extensively by John D Rockerfeller and his standard oil company.

Horizontal Merger Definition: 

• Companies of the same type merge to create one company (eg. American Airlines buying Hawaiian Airline)

Vertical Merger Definition:

Two companies completely unrelated merge together (eg. Ford auto buying a tire company)

Robber Barron definition:

An American capitalist at the turn of the 19th century who enriched himself upon the sweat of others exploited natural resources or possessed unfair government influence

John D Rockerfeller

• Founder of Standard Oil Company

• Considered to be the richest percent in history ( % wise)

• Used strategies such as: buying competing refiners and rivals, improving the efficiency of his operations, pressing for discounts on oil shipments

• Was a robber barron because he mainly spent money on himself and didn’t treat his workers well

• He built trusts and vertically and horizontally merged

Andrew Carneige

• Steel industry

• Scottish-American immigrant

• Later donated millions of dollars to libraries, hospitals, and museums

• Gave away 90% of his money

• Known as the 2nd richest man in America (came to American super poor)

• Carniege steel company

• He helped people help themselves - didn’t just give people money but gave them jobs where they can earn money 

Urbanization

Refers to the population shift from rural to urban residency, the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas and the ways in which each society adapts to this change

• People stayed in Tenement buildings

• 5 cents a spot by Jacob Riis (Danish photographer)

Muckracker

• Reform-minded American journalist who attacked established institutions and leaders as corrupt 

• Jacob Riis educated rich women with pictures of immigrant children cramped in a tenement apartments with his flash camera

The Jungle

• A novel written in 1906 by Upton Sinclair

• Novel was written to expose the horrendous working conditions of Chicago’s meat-packing industry

• Sales in meat plummeted

• European companies refused to import meat from the U.S.

• Teddy Roosevelt called upon Congress to pass a law establishing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and set Federal inspection standards for meat (Meat inspection act)

• For the first time, the government had the power to regulate the production of food sold nationwide 

Progressivism:

A reform movement from 1890-1920 when many diverse groups in American society launched efforts to reform or eliminate many social problems resulting from industrialization, urbanization, and immigration

Who were the Progressives?

• Women

• Evangeliacs

• Journalists 

• Social Workers

• Experts

• Professionals

• Politicians

• Conservationalists

• Civil Rights Activist

Political Reforms (Progressive Era)

The problem:

• Corruption 

• Unresponsive government

The goal

• Give the government back to the people

• Get more people voting

• End corruption with political machines

Federal Reform

The 17th amendment: the direct election of Senators

State government reforms: the initiative

Allows voters to petition state legislature in order to consider a bill desired by citizen

State government reforms: the referendum

Allows voters to decide if a Bill or proposed amendment should be passed

State government reforms: the recall

Allows voters to petition to have an elected representative removed from women 

What was the amendment passed for women’s suffrage?

19th amendment; women granted the right to vote

Economic reforms: the problem

Monopolies (no competition causes the prices to decrease), dangerous products

Economic reform: the reform goals

Move away from laissez faire with government regulating industry. regulate unfair trusts and bring about changes in labor. Wanted U.S. Government in charge and not industrializations 

Economic reforms: Corporate Regulation

Sherman Antitrust Act - To break up large companies to restore competition

Economic reforms: interstate commerce comission (ICC) 

Regulated big businesses

Economic Reforms:Federal Trade commission

A watchdog agency monitor business to ensure fair trade practices

Economic reforms: Clayton Antitrust act

Gave unions the rights to exist

Social reform - Pro labor reform

• Wanted new safety regulations and workers compensation

• Unionization of major industries

• Limited hours worked by women

• Setting zoning laws and building codes

• The # of child laborers increased to two million by 1910. As young as ages 5-6, they worked 18-20 hours a day

• Boys got black lung from coal with no ventilation and mining

• Girls got white lung from lint/dust in washing machines (no ventilation)

• New laws passed that set minimum ages and maximum hours

• Compulsary education laws required children to go to school

• Children’s Bureau (Taft) investigated child labor abuse

Temperance:

Moderation or elimination or alcohol

Social reform - Temperance

• Alcohol led to poverty and abuse

• Progressives wanted to remove this temptation 

• In 1917, the 18th amendment made the sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcohol illegal (alcohol rates increased)

Social reform: living conditions for urban poor

• Safe drinking water

• Clean streets

• Municipal service

• Decent housing

• Settlement houses

Settlement houses affect on urban poor

• Provided social services to urban poor (warm places to be in Chicago)

• Classes on childcare (taught women to work)

• Taught English to immigrants

• Nursery schools and kindergardens

• Jane Adams

Who was Jane Adams?

She created settlement houses in Chicago (hole houses)

Simple definition of muckrackers:

Journalists who exposed the harsh living conditions of the poor

Conservation Reform (progressive era)

• Set aside 148 million acres of forest reserves

• Established 50 wildlife reserves and several national parks

• National Reclamation act of 1902: funded large scale irrigation projects such as the Roosevelt Dam

• Yellowstone was the first national park made by Roosevelt

• Roosevelt was not an activist for civil rights