6.9 American Responses to International Migrants (1865-1898)

During the Gilded Age, millions of European and Asian immigrants arrived in America.
Many settled in urban industrial centers and worked in factories under dangerous conditions for little pay.
This wave of immigration led to debates about what to do with these "non-American" immigrants.
Immigrants grappled with whether to assimilate or maintain their native identities; many partially assimilated.

Nativists strongly opposed immigration, viewing it as an attack on American culture.
Nativism is defined as protecting the interests of native-born people against those of immigrants.
Protestant ministers like Henry Lodge expressed extreme nativist views.
- Lodge argued that Anglo-Saxon Americans were committing "race suicide" by allowing inferior races to mix with pure-blooded Americans.
Groups like the American Protective Association (APA) formed to resist immigrants, particularly Catholics.
- The APA opposed Catholics due to the large influx of Irish Catholic immigrants.
- They falsely believed the Catholic Church was planning to take over America.

Labor unions feared that immigrants would work for meager wages, undermining their ability to negotiate with manufacturers.
Manufacturers could replace union workers with underpaid immigrants during strikes.

Social Darwinism, a pseudo-scientific idea, contributed to philosophical racism against immigrants.
- Social Darwinists applied biological Darwinism to societal realities, arguing that the strong eat the weak and only the fittest survive; This idea was used to argue that white American culture was superior.
Social Darwinists believed immigrants were racially inferior and would degrade the American gene pool if they intermingled with American women.
- Astonishingly, even white immigrants like the Irish were considered a different, inferior race.

On the West Coast, primarily Asian immigrants, especially Chinese, faced hostility.
By 1852, approximately 20,000 Chinese lived in California; by 1870, over 50,000.
Chinese immigrants contributed significantly to the transcontinental railroad and took up undesirable jobs.
Nativists blamed Chinese immigrants for economic troubles during the Panic of 1873, claiming they depressed wages.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned all further Chinese immigration to the United States.
- This act is the only U.S. law to target a specific nationality for exclusion.

Jane Addams established settlement houses, such as the Hull House (opened in 1889), to help immigrants assimilate into American society.
Settlement houses provided:
- English classes
- Early childhood education programs
- Education on democratic ideals
- Recreational opportunities (e.g., theaters)
The goal was to improve immigrants' economic and social opportunities.

Immigrants faced significant challenges during the Gilded Age, with many people opposing their inclusion in American society.
Individuals like Jane Addams helped soften the nativist blow and assisted immigrants in getting on their feet.