6.9 Responses to Immigration in the Gilded Age

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Explain the various responses to immigration in the period over time

INTRODUCTION

• Few laws orginally restricted immigration to the United States

  • Large restriction only applied to banned Chinese immigrants

• Year the Statue of Liberty was displayed

  • Congressed passed number of new laws restricting immigration

OPPOSITION TO IMMIGRATION

• Several groups supported restriction

  • Labor union members (motivated by economic concern)

    - employers used immigrants against them (depressed wages)

  • Employers (feared immigratns would advocate radical refrom)

    - blamed strkes and labor movement on foreign agitators

  • Nativist (feared they immigrants would take over their jobs & society)

    - most were portestants who were prejudice against Roman Catholics

    - American Protective Association (anti-Catholic organization)

  • Social Darwinist

    - believed immigrants were biologically inferior

RESTRICTIONS ON CHINESE AND OTHER IMMIGRANTS

• Hostility towards Chinese came from western states

  • Mining towns

    - mainly made up of immigrants

    - pressure from native-born miners—→ Miners tax ($20 a month for foreigners)

  • Chinese Exclusion act

    - banned all new immigration from China

• Restrictions were also placed on ¨undesirable¨ persons

  • paupers, criminals, convicts, mentally incompetent

    - Contract Labor law of 1885(restricted temp works due to competiton)

    - literacy test, medical examinations, and taxes were placed to make immigration process difficult.

  • Ellis Island

    - immigration center in New York harbor

THE IMPACT OF RESTRICTIONS

• Flow of newcomers kept coming

  • Foreign population made up 13-15%

    - Statue of Liberty acted as beacon of hope

BOSS AND MACHINE POLITICS

• Political Machines (tightly organized groups of politicians)

  • coordinated needs for business, immigrants, & underpivledged

    - brought modern services to cities (apartments, jobs)

    - were as equally greedy (stole from taxpayers)

    - Tammany Hall

  • ¨Boss¨ (top politician who gave orders and jobs)

    - managed competitng social, ethnic, and economic groups

SETTLEMENT HOUSES

• Young, educated, middle-class settled into immigrant neighborhoods

  • Settlement Houses

    - made to help releive effects of poverty through scoial service

    - established education, industrial arts, theatres, music schools

    - Hull House (started by Jane Addams)

CONTINUNITY

• Immigrants remained in poverty

  • Their children took advantage of public education and opporunity

    - better ability to join growing middle class