Immigration and Labor Lecture

Immigration and Labor

Key Topics

  • Who are the "new" immigrants? Why did they leave their countries? Why come to America

  • What is Laissez Faire and Social Darwinism? How did it affect poor laborers and immigrants?

  • What are the main movements in the US that affected the new immigrants?

  • What were the two processing centers for New immigrants?

  • What was the consolidation of large source labor?

  • How did workers fight back?

Reasons for Leaving Home Countries:

  • Push Factors include:

    • Religious persecution.

    • Political persecution.

    • Land shortages.

    • Famines and other disasters.

  • Pull Factors include:

    • The pursuit of a better life is often referred to as the "Land of Opportunity."

    • Economic opportunities to earn money and support family members back home.

      • Growth in manufacturing and industries that encouraged immigration.

    • Possible support for the immigration of family members.

Demographics of New Immigrants from 1870 to 1920:

  • Approximately 25 million immigrants, mainly from the following groups:

    • Italians, Greeks, Russians, Hungarians, Poles, and Jews.

  • 500,000 Asians, notably Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos.

  • 500,000 from Latin America, primarily Mexicans.

Immigration Processing Centers:

  • Ellis Island, New York:

    • Operational from 1892 to 1954, processed over 12 million immigrants.

  • Angel Island, San Francisco:

    • Active from 1910 to 1940, similarly processed immigrants with stringent inspections.

  • Required passing inspections, including:

    • Physical exams.

    • Document checks.

    • Proof of one’s ability to work.

    • Proof of preexisting financial resources.

Hostility Towards Immigrants:

  • Nativist Movement:

    • Involvement of the American or Know-Nothing Party.

  • Temperance Movement

    • Reform the “horrors” of urban spaces.

  • Evangelical Movement

    • Promoting Protestantism (a form of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone).

  • Xenophobia,

    • The idea of fearing an immigrant or an immigrant group

    • Rising into the 20th century

    • Used as a political platform

  • Nativism:

    • Characterized by:

    • Anti-immigrant sentiments.

    • Religious prejudice.

    • Concerns about job competition due to cheaper labor.

    • Fears of foreign influence.

    • Influenced things like the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

Consolidation of Large Source Labor:

  • Factors leading to labor consolidation include:

    • Population growth

    • Natural increases:

      • Advances in medicine have led to longer life spans.

    • Migration trends from farms to urban centers.

    • Immigration in search of improved living.

Problems Workers Faced

  • Working Conditions:

    • Standard work hours average ten hours a day, six days a week.

    • Discrimination against African Americans, exemplified by the phrase "Last hired, First fired."

    • Significant employment of women and children:

      • In 1880, 20% of children aged 10 to 15 were employed.

    • Poor working conditions often detracted from the benefits of the Industrial Revolution:

      • Limited labor laws and protections.

    • Workplace accidents

      • Surpassed rates in other countries.

      • There was a lack of disability insurance, and pensions were almost nonexistent.

  • Laissez-Faire Economic Policies:

    • Associated with Adam Smith's ideas in "The Wealth of Nations," advocating minimal government intervention in the economy.

  • Social Darwinism:

    • Refers to the interpretation of Charles Darwin's theories presented in "On the Origin of Species," which was used to justify socioeconomic inequalities.

Solutions & Organization

  • Political Machines

  • The Labor Movement

  • Labor Unions:

    • Collective bargaining

    • Safer working conditions.

    • Higher wages through organized strikes.

  • Notable Strikes:

    • Great Railroad Strike of 1877:

      • A major nationwide strike that impacted transportation and the economy.

    • Homestead Strike:

      • Conflict at a steel mill led to heightened tensions between unions and industrialists.

    • Pullman Factory Strikes of 1894:

      • The American Railway Union was formed in Chicago, leading to a national boycott of Pullman railroad cars by ARU members crippled nationwide railroad traffic.

      • US government intervention

        • Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)

        • Halt the spread of big business and their practices to encourage a return to a more competitive economy of smaller firms

Labor Unions Development:

  • National Labor Union (1866):

    • Called for an 8-hour workday

    • Attempted third-party political movements but dissolved in 1873.

  • The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor (1869):

  • Grew from 9,000 members in 1879 to approximately 1 million by 1885.

Additional Context and Visuals

  • Political Cartoons Illustrated:

    • Themes of capitalism, monopoly, and the struggles faced by the working class.

    • Terms depicted include "Plutocracy," "Wage Slavery," and "High Rent" associated with poor labor conditions at Pullman.

    • Emphasis on the role of labor unions and socialist movements in advocating for the laboring man.